Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Look out! Here comes 2017!


Thankfully we’re just days away from putting 2016 behind us. I think we’re all ready to move on, however, thanks to Facebook and  Google, a lot of people have gone back and re-read a lot of our posts here. I know that the posting has come to a stand still thanks to being too tired from work, NDAs and general unoriginality on our part but we’d be thrilled to revisit any topic. If you’re new here, please don’t hesitate to broach any topic new or old. Things change. Either new technology or thanks to conversations started we may have changed our minds or other’s minds. This is a constantly evolving job - hence why you can’t replace us with robots yet. We would like to stay in the forefront of our jobs and that requires discussion, either with other dolly grips or even camera operators.

Let us help you help us. If there’s a topic that you’d like to know more about please let us know either through the comments here, or on the Facebook page.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a knowledge prosperous 2017!

Friday, December 23, 2016

Twas the night before wrap and all the through the set...


Now Fisher, now Libra, now Scorpio and Techno!
On Hybrid, on Hustler, on PeeWee and Slider!


Okay, I know… a lame attempt. That’s why there are writers and I’m not one of them.

From the team here at Dollygrippery, we wish all our new friends and old, the very best for the holidays. May you and yours be happy and healthy! (get better D!) and enjoy a prosperous 2017!

Friday, December 09, 2016

Update!

  Hi guys! I'm still here. The demands of a six-year-old and the endless hampster wheel of work and family have unfortunately cut into my posting time. However, I was sitting here drinking a whiskey and watching King of Queens and somehow found the will to check in. I'm presently doing "B" camera on a huge studio extravaganza. After that, I get two weeks off and start as "A" camera on another huge studio extravaganza. I fully expect weeks of life on a green or blue stage, punctuated by days or nights of freezing cold in some godforsaken forest. Til then, I'll have another drink and listen to some 80's music.
  I've been getting a lot of questions about the Stabileye. For the uninitiated, the Stabileye is a remote stabilized head, much like the Moviee. I did a big Marvel picture on it earlier this year. The big difference is that the Stabileye, designed by David Freeth, is specifically intended for dolly grips to move. We shot probably 85% of the movie on it (the rest being Technocrane). I actually enjoyed it. You, as a dolly grip, are actually closer to being an operator. You manually are more free to move the camera to where it needs to be to make the shot. Decisions can be made more quickly and creatively than when chained to a dolly or crane. The danger is the length of takes, especially in digital. After about ten minutes, you just can't effectively hold it any more. I wouldn't do it again without a significant bump in the rate. Anyway, this is the way the business is going. Please email me with any detailed questions. I'm out.
d


PS: By the way, I am really good on it. My rate is now 60.00 an hour. Hit me up! (I won't hold my breath)