Putting Back on the Tool Belt

A friend of mine who's Besting second unit on a TV show has asked me to come on out and work as a third tonight for some car work. So I'm going to go down into the garage and see if I can find my old tool belt. Should be an easy night (oh boy, what was I thinking?)

Supersliders

It is true that I and a couple of friends have bought Supersliders. The owner, Tom Slocum, unfortunately passed away and a friend of mine (who was a friend of Tom's) was offered the company by Tom's wife. I, unfortunately, never knew Tom, but I have met several people who did and he is remembered as a good man who started a business and made it a success. The Superslider he created is a beautiful piece of work. Since I've become involved with it, I have become familiar with the care and attention to detail he put into developing this machine.
Our plans are to first, pay off the loan we acquired to buy the company, and then carry on Tom's vision of excellence in his company.
A few of you have enquired as to what the status of the Superslider is now. Right now, we aren't selling any sliders. I have several lengths (28", 3', 4' 5' 6') and we are renting them out to pay back the loan first. We're still in the process of trying to get it all set up and then we will begin making them again. It's very important to us that the Superslider continue to be made to the exacting standards Tom set forth and made the Superslider the best on the market. As soon as we have all our ducks in a row, we will begin to make them available for sale. To those of you who have asked, we're working on it.
Thanks to all of you who are fans of the Superslider and have asked about it.

I'll Never Do Another Music Video

I have been saying this for years, yet I keep taking them when I've got nothing better to do. I just finished a video in Las Vegas that was an 18 hour orgy of pain. We shot at the Red Rocks Casino (which is beautiful by the way) and the production shorted us a guy right off the bat, so I ended up Besting and pushing dolly ( I hate Best Boying. I hate dealing with the office and accounting etc. and I hate doing time cards). We shot from one end of the casino to the other with a Key and three and got our asses kicked because there was never enough time to catch up. Halfway through the night, someone got the idea to move the truck from the side of the casino where we started to the other side where we ended, ( a freaking half of a mile) leaving half of our crap still there for us to figure out how to get it to the truck at the end of the night. I was behind the dolly and didn't know anything about it until it was done. So, I ended up using my pickup truck to haul two loads back to the truck . Oh yeah, for all you production types, grip and electric sharing a truck doesn't save you money. It may look cheaper when you see the initial costs and are comparing the price of one truck to two, but the grips or electrics always sit around waiting on the other department to get loaded depending on who goes on first. My guys were waiting on electric to wrap about 2 miles of cable last night before we could load our stuff (at $100.00 an hour). If I hadn't gotten tired of waiting and used my own truck, they'd probably still be wrapping. And if you think we all pitch in together to help, wrong. I'm not an electrician. I don't know anything about electricity other than it makes lights glow, so I'm not going to muck up some juicer's wrap by "helping" him load 4 ought. I'm a Dolly Grip. You don't hire a plumber to put a new roof on your house, so figure it out. If you are too short sighted to have two trucks so the boys don't get beaten up at the end of an 18 hour day, I'm more than happy to take your money by sitting on the dolly and watching juicers wrap cable. I'm a helpful guy but I have my limits. Anyway, I didn't mean to get off on a rant, but it really was a ridiculously planned day. The producers were all very nice and I was treated very well with accomodations, per diem etc. I just hate to see someone trip over a dollar to pick up a dime and the working guys all get the crap kicked out of them as a result.
Now I'm much calmer.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all us Dads out there. I hope you're all taking a well deserved day off. I'm in San Francisco with the In -Laws, headed to the House of Prime Rib. Everyone have a great day.

New Video

Check out the Video Bar for the Travel Channel show Made in America's trip to Chapman/Leonard to see how the Peewee is made.

Staying Put

The one thing I hear most from other people about my job is,"I don't know how you stay behind that thing all day and never leave." The one thing I hear from most operators is, "You won't believe how many Dolly Grips just leave when the shot's over, and then they come back and I have to explain the next one to them." It's hard to stay there all day. Typically, you go from blocking rehearsal, to discussing the best way to do it, to laying a surface, to rehearsal, to shooting, to tear down, to blocking rehearsal. During the lighting and building phase, your camera buddies get to leave. You are the one guy who never can (except during the three favorite phrases: "Sticks," "High Hat," "Private Rehearsal").
It ain't easy, but this is what separates a lot of real Dolly Grips from the part timers. It can be grueling and tedious and sometimes infuriating but it's all part of it. I don't know how someone can leave all the time and know what's going on. I like being part of the process and making decisions about the best way to do a shot. Once I take myself out of that equation, I'm invariably screwed. Any time I've left and not been there for the discussion and set up, I've had problems with the shot. No matter how good the key grip is, if I'm not there to be in on the process, I've just made things harder for myself and had to redo what was done in my absence.
On dolly intensive days, I usually allow myself two breaks (not counting lunch). I take one in the morning at a slow period (actor discussion, lock offs, waiting on actors) and one in the afternoon. I just pick someone I trust to watch the thing for 10 minutes while I get away. There have been days when I literally never left except for lunch. It's hard, but this leads to the operator, DP, and director trusting you. They know they can count on you to be a calm voice of reason when things are starting to get a little wacko. There's also nothing like that chorus of PA voices shouting your name when they discover you're outside and they need you.
A lot of Key Grips count on you to be their eyes and ears when they're out doing something else too. The DP knows if you can't personally take care of whatever it is he wants done, you'll see that the grips know about it.
So, Stay Put (We always said this in the South, meaning, "stand still". I don't know if they say it anywhere else.)

It's Over

We finally wrapped. We shot our last day in New York City where I had the pleasure to work with some great grips (including Ted, who has written to the site before) It was great to meet someone who's actually written in.
Altogether, it was a great job to work on. The crew and the director were wonderful and the DP, Oliver Stapleton, was a pleasure to work with and top notch in every way. Jimmy McConkey, the "A" operator, and Dave Knox, the "B" operator were the best.
The main thing I learned on this job (actually I didn't learn it, I already knew it, but it was re emphasized) was the importance of checking out your dolly at the shop before it's shipped. This used to be a common thing, but productions no longer want to pay for it (unless you're getting your dolly out of the same town you're shooting in, then you can do it on a prep day) The last time I got a dolly out of Orlando, the production actually flew me down there for a day and back that night to check out dollies. The one I got this time was not good and I won't go into anymore details, I've covered it all previously, but the dolly was crap.
Productions just don't understand that the money you save in not checking out your machine will be lost and then some in down time and blown takes if you get a crappy one.
Anyway, enough about that, it's over and I made it work.
Another thing I learned: if you use a Euro-head, and don't have an adapter to Mitchell, a half-inch roll of camera tape works like a champ. I have a picture and will put it up when I get to my own computer.
Thanks all for the encouragement and the comments. Keep them coming. I'm headed home on Tuesday after a wrap day on Monday and I'll have more then.
D

Skate Wheel Talk

Thanks so much, guys , for keeping the discussion going. Internet is sketchy here so I'm popping in when I can.

Gripworks had a question about whether Porta-Glides worked for large dollies. The answer is yes. They are the same as other trough systems as far as that goes. I use Hybrids and Hustlers on them as well as Peewees (and Fisher 10's). I would be hesitant to put anything extreme like a dolly with a Fisher 23 jib on them (although I've done it) just because of the swing arm system they use. The wheels aren't directly under the troughs, they are extended out from them on swing arms. Like I say, I don't know that you shouldn't, I just didn't want to until I got the specs. As far as the wheels go, as Azurgrip says, they are different size wheels interspersed across the track, which keeps a smooth wheel always in contact with the rail, eliminating the bumps from flat spots. I mainly love them for this reason. It takes the headaches and second guessing out of moves where long dialogue necessitates sitting in one spot before tracking. I love 'em and the redesign sounds interesting.

Thanks CB and Megamoose for the play by play of the Fisher Open House and the panel. Sorry I missed it.

Sanjaya sent pictures and I'll go through them and post when I can.

Keep the discussions going. That's why we're here, to learn from each other and advance the craft.

D

Sitting on Stage

Hi all,
Sitting here on stage and finally got a minute to break away ("B" only shot). We're on airplane mockups all day so I expected a relatively dolly free day until they decided to build the crane and jam the arm down the aisle. I'm still having dance floor problems. The lumber up here (which is pretty crappy to begin with) seems to swell and contract. I'm getting floors with 1/32" lips at the joints, even with double laying everything. we ordered a whole new batch of birch and it all doesn't match, so it's been a nightmare but we're making it work. The rest of the show is mostly on stage until the last two days when we go to New York. I hear LA is extremely busy gearing up to the SAG strike.
I'm curious as well about how the Fisher speed wheels perform, but I can't see trading in my Porta-Glides for anything.
I hope everyone is well. I'll have more to post when all this is over.
D

New Pictures

Just because I haven't posted in a while, I added some new pictures just of various grip crap. Mainly to let you know I'm still here.

JL Fisher Open House

This post was written about the 2008 Open House. I'm writing this from the future. It's now 2009 and I noticed some searches for the open house leading here, so wanted to help you guys out. The Open House is on Saturday May 16, 2009. The address is JL Fisher, 1000 Isabel St. Burbank, Ca 91506. Please come on out. You can also visit http://jlfisher.com.

Since the both of us are on the East Coast now and are a few time zones away from L.A. I was wondering if anyone was going to the JL Fisher open house this Sat, May 17th. I would love to go and am disappointed to miss out on the "Movement of Camera" panel. If you do go, could you please drop us a line here and tell us about (the panel, any new products, etc)? Thank you kindly!

Cranes on Boats

This job involves a good amount of water work. We've had both the Techno 15 and the Phoenix on boats. I've learned two things- It's freaking cold in New England in May; Sightlines on crane shots change as the tide comes in (or goes out). The first two weeks of the show, everything I laid track on moved (docks, crappy carpet dance floors). I'm constantly tweaking my track because it moves. Anyway, we got some great crane stuff on the water, and we have one more day of it (I hope). Our cranes are mounted on a boat called a "Flight Deck." This thing will fly.It's not easy muscling around 2000 lbs of mass when you're flying and you can't feel your fingers. Hope everyone's doing well.

Just Checking In..

Hi everyone. I'm just adding some pictures to show a little of what we've been up to. It's all going well so I've got no complaints. Internet access is a little sketchy so I haven't been posting as much. The grips and a camera operator all got a beautiful house on the ocean and moved out of the crappy hotel, so at least we have a nice place to stay now. Everyone stay safe and send along any questions/comments.

The Endless Scene

We've all had them...the scene that comes last in the day that just goes on forever. It usually involves dogs or cats or some special effect. Yesterday, mine was a three sided mirror. We shot the master from one side. Two actresses standing in front of a three panelled mirror in a twenty by thirty room. We did a slow push in on them, switching from the mirror to them as we crossed their profiles. After two hours of endless miror tweaking and lighting, we switched to the other side to do a complementary push in ending in a complementary over. More mirror tweaking. The catch was that the room was smaller on the other side so we couldn't get as much movement in before blocking our lead actress before we were supposed to cross. Add timing all this to dialogue and you have yourself a recipe for a meltdown. We got it, though. At the end of it, the operator and I were pretty much done. The director (a great lady) came in and gave me a hug. I needed it.
Keep the comments and pictures coming. Going out to dinner with the boys.
Later

Update and New Pictures

We've been getting our asses handed to us for a couple of days so the posts have been a little few and far between. I've added some new pictures from the last couple of days work so you can see what we've been up to. Cranes, water, insert cars, and 9 hour turnarounds are pretty much the routine we've fallen into. It's cold up here too. Especially on the ocean trying to muscle a Phoenix crane around on a boat at high speed. Anyway, I'm tired and turning in. By the way, one of my hard track wheels fell apart (the bearings fell out as I was changing tires around) and one of my pneumatics has a leak. The hits just keep on coming. I'll catch up with everyone when I get a chance.
Later,
D

And The Brake Sucks

That pretty much sums it up.

Week One Over

Week one is over! The first three days were a little rough due to some equipment issues but since then, I've found my rhythm and it looks to be a fun show. This DP (who is a complete gentleman) likes to work the dolly. We use a lot of dolly and boom shots which I like. The operator, Jimmy, is first class. One thing I like about this cameraman is that he doesn't turn dolly shots into Steadicam shots because he thinks they're faster (see "Steadicam is Not Faster" 11/24/07). Dolly shots are dolly shots and that's how we do them. In answer to a question from earlier this week, I have used the cedar shingle shims. I think they're fine. It's more a matter of what works for each person. I have a pack or two of shims that I keep with me in case a crosstie is too low for a wedge (esp. on carpet, the weight of the dolly makes them kick up and hit the wheels). They're not the wide shingles, though. They're about 2" wide by 6" long. The wedges we make ourselves (or have made by someone).
I know the blog has been a litle sloppy and sparse lately. I'll try to get more done when I can. Azurgrip asked earlier this week what those of us who go on location a lot take with us. I think it's an interesting question, so let's see some answers. (This isn't what Azurgrip had in mind, but I take my Xbox 360)
I hope all is well where you are. Stay in touch.

Checking In and Laying Dance Floor on Carpet

Hi all. It's been a rough couple of days. I finally got my dolly issues taken care of. Chapman sent a tech out from LA and he tweaked the arm. It's pretty good now. At least I can tell where the detente is (the neutral space in the arm between up and down). It was non-existant before and the up has been taken off hair trigger. It's still slightly "on-off" for my taste but still night and day from what it was. We also are shooting in a large office with uneven floors and thick carpet. Normally (always) you double lay the plywood when on thick carpet and screw the top layer into the bottom.. Our dance floor moves were so large that we didn't have enough plywood for two layers, though. So after a couple of attempts (the plywood layer "walked" about 10 inches after only three or four takes) so we had to go to Steadicam until a shipment of ten more pieces of ply showed up today. The first shot, before the ply showed up, which we were able to do was a push in and turn through a 30" doorway chasing our lead actress into an office and then dancing around some more in there. It was a little tense when the plywood wouldn't stay in one place even after spiking it into the carpet with screws and simpson plating it together as much as we could. We managed to get the shot though. So the two headaches of the first day have been resolved and everything's starting to go better. There's nothing like that feeling that you can't give the DP what he wants (even though it's really not your fault) and everyone's looking at you. Unfortunately in this line of work it happens every now and then and there are some tense moments. It all worked out though.
I hope you all are doing well and working. I know Gil is working and Azurgrip is starting a pilot. Hope all goes well.

Hello From Boston

Hi all,

Spent the day prepping. I ran into a common problem (well, unfortunately it's common today). A lot of shows no longer want to pay a dolly grip to check out his dolly at the shop. Many times now, you arrive at location and your dolly has been shipped to you after being picked at random from the dealer. This can lead to a few problems. You might not have all the accessories you need, and the arm might not be what you like or need.I'm using a Hustler 4 and a Peewee 3. The Peewee is fine. The arm on the Hustler, however, is not quite what I would like. Most Dolly Grips like their arms a certain way. A certain amount of resistance and the way the arm actuates are a big deal when you are looking at spending 12 hour days for 10 weeks with a particular machine. The arm I have has a great, smooth action all the way up and down. It's a little faster than normal on the up (which I actually like, even in the "Normal" setting) but it has a hair trigger. The feather in is very sensitive and goes from 0 to 60 in a very small turn. It's also a very loose arm, almost no resistance. I like about a half inch of turn before actuating with a slow feather in and a little bit of drag on the turn. I spent the day on the phone with Chapman and they were wonderfully helpful. I ended up cracking the thing open and loosening the nut on top of the gear a little which gave a little more play before the start and seemed to slow down the start a little. Since I'm in Boston, I'm a long way from the nearest other Hustler. The arm is workable (at this point it's just becoming a matter of taste) but it's still not the way I would like it. I'll give it a couple of days to see how it responds and then see what my options are if I'm still not happy with it. It just seems silly to me that the machine you plan on shooting your movie with isn't checked out by the guy using it. It always makes for more headaches later. Anyway, that was my day. Hope yours was good.

Leaving Town

Hi everyone! I hope you're all busy and doing well. I'm leaving town tomorrow morning to start a movie in Boston so I may be quiet for a couple of days. Or maybe not, depending on how crazy it is when I get there.
Speaking of slider use, strangely enough, today I did a push in on track as the operator slid left and then poked a snorkel lens through a hole in a piece of hard gel for a French perfume commercial.
Anyway, I'll check in later.
D