Great Post on Hollywood Juicer

Check out this week's post on http://hollywoodjuicer.blogspot.com. It concerns the move to renegotiate the IA contract that HBO has been beating the crap out of us with for years. This contract was awarded to HBO when they were starting to do their own original programming and we threw them a bone. Now, they're a powerhouse, yet still working under the same low rent contract. Check out the post and sign the petition to the IA.

Things Are Slow

I'm not sure what's going on in the business right now, but from all I can gather, things are slow in the feature world in LA. Two friends of mine are working in Detroit (the latest winner in the incentives race). Personally, I've been offered, and then lost two shows in the last month when they went away. One was in Atlanta and one was in Detroit. The Detroit one disappeared when the producers apparently didn't turn in their paperwork on time for the incentives and lost them. They then decided to move the show to LA and shoot it as a "tier 3" production (think $19.00 an hour to key) My Key Grip told them they'd be doing it "MOU" (Mit out us). The other one just disintegrated when the director got fired. I'm fortunate enough to be working on one of the two studio features shooting in LA right now. It's a mixed blessing, however, because it's second unit and has quite a few down days while we wait for first unit to finish a particular stage or actor. So, I'm in the midst of an eight day layoff and the phone ain't ringing. Not for features, anyway. Television is going gangbusters though. Those same guys we felt sorry for when all us feature guys were working and they were off, during the writer's strike, are now passing us on their way to work as we walk to the mailbox. It is one of the most fun second units I've ever done though. We've had a Techno almost every day (if not two), and are doing actual scene work as opposed to just inserts of radio knobs or POV's of guns. I've made an uneasy truce with my dolly and am starting to get the feel for it. It had been a good ten years since I'd pushed a Fisher and was not happy at first, but it's getting a little better as I get reaquainted with it. The grips are all top notch and we have a good time. I probably have a better time than they do though as I watch them haul 40x40 greenscreens up to the perms.
I am getting some commercial calls and picked up a few days during this hiatus, but I need a full on first unit feature for about 4 months.
We go until October 6, and then who knows?

I Won the Contest

I won the "Best Wrap Party" story over at Script Goddess ( http://scriptsupervisorforum.blogspot.com). with my intoxicating tale of a night many years ago when I was much younger and hangovers didn't take three days to recover from. Check out her site and learn about the mysterious world of the Script Supervisor (a Dolly Grip's best friend).

Supersliders

The new website for Supersliders is up at http://www.supersliders.net. Check it out!

Quick Reference for Searchers

I can tell what a lot of people are searching for when they find this site from a search engine by checking my stats. To aid some of them and save them some time, read this...

You can't buy a Fisher or Chapman dolly, they are only rented.

There is nothing about Dolly Parton on this site (But maybe there should be).

The link for Doggiecam is to the right in the links section.

There is nothing meaningful about the Wally Dolly on here. I've never used it but it's Australian.

Key Grips on larger budget films make anywhere from 35.00 to 40.00 an hour. (In the US). Email me if you want to know general dolly rates. I'm not going into it here.

There's nothing on here about making dolly track out of PVC or making your own dollies.

I don't bad mouth people or productions on here. If I have a story to tell, I'll generalize it so that you can't tell who it is, but you'll get the point I'm making.

Dolly Grips deliver camera movement in the motion picture industry. We rig cameras on objects and keep camera crews safe.

Deferred Payment is a way to get you to work for free and make the producer feel better. You won't get paid. It's a scam.

There is nothing about moving furniture on this site.

I hope this saves some time for those who accidentally stumble on this page. You are still welcome to look around.
There is another new post below this one. It's two-For-One-Day!

Race Between the States

Hi all. Not much going on here this week. The SAG strike/non strike seems to still have most people in a state of confusion, me included. But work continues and there's no strike as of yet. I was suppose to be off for most of the week, but will be shooting some tests for a couple of days.

I keep hearing that the rest of the year will be busy. Around the country, Shreveport appears to be ramping up. Michigan is busy. And Atlanta, which just passed a hefty tax incentive package is poised to get busy. So continues the neverending race by the states to see who can pass the most giveaways to entice producers to shoot in their state. In a lot of ways, this is a good thing. In many of these states, the local technician pool just can't support two or three productions, so that means a rate and housing/ per diem for the rest of us. I benefitted quite well last year (Connecticut, Shreveport) and this year (Massachusetts) from this situation.What can get comical about this is the insistance by producers that you hire non-existent locals to crew up. We ran into this situation last year in Shreveport. With three other productions going on, the people just weren't there. Yet the producers insisted on hiring locals. Acording to the Best Boy, the conversation went something like this...Producer: "We want you to hire locals." Best Boy: "There aren't any. They are all working." Producer: I know, but we want you to hire locally." Best Boy: Yes, we understand, but there aren't any more." Producer: "Yes, but to maximize our tax breaks, we're going to need you to hire some local technicians." Best Boy: "If they aren't working right now, there's a reason. We can't find any more. There are three other shows right now." Producer: "We need you to hire locals." This supposedly went on for another 20 minutes or so.
Later, when one of the locals we did hire almost got run over by a bus he was lying under and another couldn't figure out how to open the does- all cart (lift the latch), more outside techs were brought in. This is a generalization and the order of events may not be exactly correct, but it all happened.
Here's the thing, I was a local on the East coast for years. I know what it's like and the good ones who are there will be the first to tell you when there aren't any more. I don't know if the local Film Commission is fudging the numbers when they tell the studios about the crew base or what, but many times they arrive in Ball Ground, Georgia or Natchitoches, La thinking the place is crawling with out of work top -of -the- line grips and juicers. And the deals they offer to bring you in are even more hilarious sometimes. Producer: "We'll give you 25.00 and hour and 100.00 a week living allowance. Best Boy: "That's against union rules and we wouldn't work for that anyway." Producer: "OK, how about 200.00 a week box rental and 28.00 an hour and you join the union there (we know a guy) and work as a local?" Best Boy: uhh No. Producer: "I'm sorry, but the prices you are asking are way out of line for _____________." Best Boy: "Well we're not from ____________. We can stay home and make our rate and go home every night."
Producer: "Allright, I'll pay your rate but you have to hire the locals that aren't working on the other four movies here in ______________." Best Boy: "There aren't any locals."
You can imagine the stories we tell.
So wherever you end up this coming year, be safe, have fun, and save your per diem.

Checking In

Still on 2nd Unit although we've shut down for a few days (I guess to let 1st unit catch up-ha ha) We move along pretty fast. Chris, who has written to the site several times, was working on the Sony lot on a commercial and stopped by to say hi, although we only had time to shake hands and say "Hi." It was good to see him. That's one great thing about starting this site is that I've made friends with a lot of Dolly Grips and Grips I otherwise might have never met. Dolly Grips by design rarely work together, but are starting to fraternize more than they used to. It's starting to be seen as more of a specialized craft than just something some guy bumps up to to get the rate, at least in my opinion, and the more we all communicate the better it will get.
I'm using a Fisher 10 on this one and as most of you know I'm not a regular user. The DP chose it before I got there though and I'm stuck with it. Other than his taste in dollies, which I have yet to bring up to him, he's a good guy, though , and I like him a lot. This dolly, though, is going to be the death of me. I had a push in and boom down on a doorknob the other night on a 65mm at about 4 ft to 3 ft with about 2" depth of field and it was a trial to feather the stop on the boom down. I remembered something from my earlier days on the Fisher, however, when someone told me to use the whole forearm rather than the wrist which should dampen it a little. I'm just used to the immediate feedback from the arm on a Hustler/Hybrid that you don't get with the 10.
Chris, it was good to meet you in person. If any other of you are on the lot in the next few weeks, please stop by and say hi.

Rocket Cars and Technocranes

Hey everyone,
Still on 2nd unit. Had a lot of fun tonight with the Griptrix camera car. We mounted a 15' Techno on it and raced down the stage following Tom Hanks. We also had the 50' Techno on a 20' platform swinging around above us, so it was a chaotic day. Herb Ault himself came in and drove the car and it was a pleasure to work with him (for those of you who don't know, Herb is John Toll's Key Grip).
We just got a set of the new Fisher skates delivered. I haven't put a dolly on them yet. I looked at them and just from that I think the wheels are too soft. They are certainly sexy looking, but I don't think they'll withstand a long period of sitting still before flat spots become a problem. I'll let you know after I get a dolly on them. The wheels come with a set of inserts for the 11 (god forbid) and are really nicely machined.
I hope you all are staying busy and safe.

Skate Wheels Etc,

Hi guys,
I'm still on nights so posts are a little skimpy. A discussion was started on skate wheels in the comments of the last post. Continue it here if you like. For newcomers, the older posts tackle everything from dance floor to Lambda Heads so if you're looking for info on these subjects, try the older posts. At some point , I will go in and rename and categorize them better so that it's easier to find a specific topic. The floor's open, I'm going to work so talk about whatever.
D

2nd Unit Cont'd....

30' Techno, 50' Techno, 3 cameras, 300 extras. But it went really well.

2nd Unit

I start a second unit tomorrow night on a very large movie. It's with a Key Grip and DP I've never worked with. The Best Boy is an old friend of mine who called me for the gig. Anyway, I always dislike starting from scratch with guys I don't know and who don't know me. The first day is always like an audition. I always fear the infrequent but occasional personality clash (which has actually only really happened once in 20 years, but is always a possibility). A buddy of mine was supposed to push on it but decided he didn't want to be locked in to a 2nd unit for 3 months. I'll take it cause I've got nothing steady until possibly October anyway.
One of the music videos I did about 3 weeks ago is giving us money problems. They only sent half of what they owe and supposedly will send the rest later this week. I smell a rat. What is it with these guys? They made the budget and hired the crew and they decided to shoot a 16 and then a 20 hour day and now they don't have the money (or decency) to pay what they owe? I have never understood this mentality which seems to run rampant in the world of music videos. If we were plumbers and they didn't pay us they would expect to be taken to court (or the parking lot) immediately. But since it's the film business they think we're somehow so priviledged to work on their crap that they can't pay us the full amount even after a month? Gee, I wonder if the director got paid? If you want to hire people for free or only pay half of what you owe, take that crap to craigslist.

To Connect or Not To Connect

I've been working lately as a third, partly to get a little time away from the sled (and it's fun to set flags, something I had forgotten), and partly just because I'm in between jobs and I still have to make a mortgage payment. During this time, I've had a chance to observe other Dolly Grips at work, something I haven't had a chance to really do in quite a while.
I know a lot of you are of the "don't connect the track until it's level" school and that's cool. Everybody's got their system. After our earlier discussion, I thought I was in the minority because I actually connect it (preboxing is the key) and then level, usually by eye on long runs. A lot of guys still connect it first. I think it's about half and half. It's interesting to see the different ways guys have of laying track. A good friend of mine, who is presently pushing on Terminator 4 has recently gone to the dark side and switched to colored pads rather than wedges. I don't even want to know what he does first as I have disowned him and no longer speak to him (of course, I'm kidding). I'm just afraid he'll bring it up in one of our frequent phone conversations and it will get....awkward.
By the way. If you've been behind the dolly for 10+ years, and you go back to set gripping, it hurts. I'm not 25 anymore. Although I still try to throw a sandbag on my shoulder and grab a Mombo (stupid). My left arm will never be the same.
I remember, when I was a very young and virile grip, being proud of the fact that I could pick up a stack of 10 c-stands and carry it. If I saw someone doing that today I would berate them extensively. This reminds me of a story.......
When I was in high school I worked as a laboror for a brick and block mason. I weighed all of 140lbs soaking wet and got a daily ass kicking. Years later, I was a successful Dolly Grip and during some down time decided it might be fun to go back out on a Saturday and stack some brick. So, I called my old boss (whom I hadn't spoken to in 10 years) and asked him if I could come out and play. Bad move. I soon remembered why I had abandoned a career in the masonry arts. That's a little what I feel like now when I show up with my girly tool belt (yes, as discussed earlier, it's my wife's belt) as a dayplayer and all the regulars are asking, "Who's this guy?" Anyway, I have had the pleasure of watching some really old school Dolly Grips and I'm always up to learn a new trick or two.

PS- I tried carrying ten c-stands and one of the guys, who couldn't have been more than 25, berated me. (There's nothing quite like being yelled at by a 25 year-old who was still trying to get a date to his 6th grade Valentines dance when you were carrying c-stands).

Find a Door and Stand In It

Ever been to Vegas? There is a phenomenon that goes on there that I like to call the "moving block." It consists of crowds of tourists walking slowly through the casinos in throngs that take up the entire walkway as they stare about slackjawed. It is maddening. This phenomenon has a similar effect seen in film companies sometimes. Usually it shows up in one of two groups: extras, or directors and actors (there is a subgroup consisting of hair, makeup, and wardrobe and actors that I'll just assume is part of the larger groups for brevity's sake.) We've all been there. The 1st AD yells "Grip and electric's set!" then instead of actually making this so, the director decides to have a motivation conference with actors in the center of the room. Or, the extras wander aimlessly in clusters of befuddled wonderment at the frantic energy exploding around them. They seem to be deaf to calls of "Move or bleed," "Free dental work," or the ever popular, "Get the ##$& out of the way!" They'll even watch you, dumbstruck as you close in on them with a ten foot steel piece of track, wide eyed, yet unmoving as you approach.
After a couple of minutes (and a close call or two) I go to the 1st AD, who's merrily recounting some bit of tomfoolery with his 2nd and ask him to please remove the unnecessary personnel from the set. This usually works as he suddenly snaps awake and realizes that this is eating into his schedule. Unbelievably, there have been times when even this didn't work, at which point I start proclaiming loudly, "Double time's coming guys, this can take as long as you want it to." When this doesn't work, I simply go to my Key and explain the situation and tell him that I'll be sitting down on set until I have room to work without killing/maiming anyone with a piece of track. He will smile and nod. I'll pick a conspicuous place to sit down and invariably the 1st will spot me and ask if I'm laying track. I'll tell him I'm not doing anything until I have room to do it safely. This has always worked.
To me, apart from a safety issue, it's a matter of respect. When the actors and director are doing their thing I'm quiet, respectful and professional. I give them room to work. We should expect the same from them. Can you imagine who would get the boot if you happened to brain some actor in the head with an 8 footer because they were in your workspace?
Another favorite of mine is when the PA won't let you back on set. They've been told to guard the door and I've just run out to grab something and suddenly there's this 22 year old bruiser bodily stopping me (let me preface this by saying that PA's have a very difficult job and we'll all be working for them one day. I'm not talking about the veterans who are our best friends, but the newbies who haven't taken the time to learn to distinguish between the operator or dolly grip and the wandering extra) I try to explain nicely that I have to actually move the dolly during the shot and this has no effect. Depending on my mood, and what hour we're into, I'll give them a dismissive wave and brush them aside, or yell (I'm not proud of this one, but after 18 hours on day 5 you should know who everyone is).

Anyway, this is one thing that has driven me nuts for years so I thought I'd bring it up.

ah - here we go...

Hopefully this is readable. You may not want to see the specs as it is a little mind blowing...

An opportunity.

I've had an exchange of emails with Horst B over at TechnoCrane; he's looking into the future and is looking at the next great crane. They are hoping to start working on the prototype this fall with a roll out some time in late 2009...

The next beast? And I mean beast... the ST100. If I can I figure it out, I'll post the PDF he sent me with the specs they're hoping to deliver.

As it stands... 12' + of rise in the main column. At full stick, the top of the crane is 27' from the ground with a max lens height of 107' (!). Over 80' of travel on the arm alone!

Other than The Jolly Green Giant operating this behemoth, I can't wrap my head around how one would use this crane. What kind of base? You'd almost want to have it truck based (a la Titan).

In my conversations with Horst, he's graciously allowed me to bring the topic here and open it up to discussion. What would you like to see in Techno's next crane. Any suggestions on how to deal with the ST100 from an operator's point of view. Over time we can pull together thoughts and ideas and send them to Horst for review.

New Video

Check out the video called "My Russian Grips." I want to work with these guys. The other one just keeps popping up . It's a bunch of idiots jumping into thorns. I fear for the future of our country. I couldn't get it to go off, so you might as well watch it.

"Crane Operators"

I've noticed an interesting phemomenonon the internet over the last few years. There seems to be a train of thought (mostly among the uneducated on feature film production) that crane operators are a separate entity entirely from Dolly Grips. To demonstrate what I'm talking about, you can go to Wikipedia.org, type in "dolly grip" and then go to the discussions page. Granted, there are some operators such as "Jimmy Jib" guys who are their own thing. I've seen them on commercials and music videos and it's actually a relief to see them show up sometimes because they do it all themselves and it's a nice break. A jib isn't a crane though. I also noticed on an industry discussion board (mostly frequented by younger types still trying to break in) that another person who said she was a grip wanted to know how to become a crane operator and talked as if it were entirely separate from Dolly Gripping and even the Grip Dept. The only thing I can gather from all this is that these are people in another market than feature or television production (commercials, videos, etc). A lot of this also may have to do with the rise of the Technocrane and the techs who come with it. Some of them are very bad operators, and some are incredibly good. On commercials, a lot of times I, and other Dolly Grips I know will just let the techs do the move if we know them and know they're good. Movies are different, though. On a movie, I already have a relationship with the DP and director that will span a number of weeks or months. I'm familiar with their style and I also want to protect my moves (which sounds kind of strange, but you feature guys know what I mean). I was a little peeved at the Wikipedia page I mentioned before because one of the posts was left by someone who obviously had no concept of a Dolly Grip or the multiple abilities he or she brings to a production, and had apparently never seen one in action. I take pride (as all of you do) in being able to operate many types of platforms and being able to land a crane on a dime consistently. How many of us have "scraped the paint" on a car racing past or experienced that home run feeling when a camera lands at the exact split second on the exact inch of real estate we aimed for.
Dolly Grips and Crane Operators are one in the same.

Off Topic - Gear gone to Heaven

In a time long ago, I was a Key Grip. Pretty much a second rung guy, but still a medium sized fish in a medium sized pond. Out of all the gear I owned, my prized possession was my trailer. A 45ft moving trailer that I lovingly restored, added more belly bins to and was the talk of the town for a number of years. The photo is from the ad from which I found it. It was at the start of the move from rental house owned 5 & 10 ton trucks to personally owned trailers. Personal gear packages where and still are nowhere to be found, as no one has been able to compete with rental house prices & inventory, but trailers were one way one could make some money.

I took out my first loan (even prior to first house purchase) to purchase and outfit this trailer and was able to pay back the loan pretty quickly. That trailer was my workshop & my home away from home with a comfy office and bed for my lunch time naps. I always preferred to have a place to change into rain gear or cold weather gear without having to empty the truck first and maybe even a cold beverage at the end of the day.

As a grip, losing gear is frowned upon. It does happen - loaning your c-wrench to a locations PA to deal with propane heater tanks and never see him or the wrench ever again, or your personally painted pony clips showing up on electrician's belts all over town.

Fast forward a number of years later; the industry has taken a turn & times are tough. I've got a family & home. I'm forced to sell the trailer to a rental house who will give me the best bang for the buck. I keep an ear as to where and what the trailer is doing - it does one feature, then sits for the next year, which is not great for a trailer, so the rental house ditches it from it's inventory. I lost track of the trailer there.

Until over the weekend.

Five years later, I trip across my trailer! It's part of a traveling mall carnival. It's in pretty good shape. I couldn't get right in and see what condition was in, but it seemed to be more than road worthy.

Nice to see it's getting good use and in a "happy" place! My trailer had run off and joined the circus.

CineGear 2008?

I have yet to come across on the Internet any type of posting relating to the show; either manufacturer's release or visitor's reviews.

Did anyone go this year? And if so, was there anything new to be seen?

Putting Back on the Tool Belt- The Aftermath

It wasn't as bad as it could have been. The best part was, I couldn't find the belt to go with my tool pouch so I found one of my wife's old belts (a rather girly camo number that goes great with designer jeans) and wore that. The first thing I told the Best Boy was, "No, this ain't my sister's belt, it's my wife's."
It was kind of fun to work the set again. It was just plain old nuts and bolts series shooting, like they've done for 50 years. Some other guy was tied to the dolly all night, so I set flags, carried sandbags, built 12x's, and sat by the carts. We started with 5 guys (one of them being a "permit") . But by lunch, two of them disappeared (I don't know where and didn't ask) so me and a buddy pretty much hauled ass after that for the rest of the night. We laid 100' of track and all I did was throw out wedges. That part was strange. The Key said they had more days coming up and to leave my number, but I don't think I want to do that on a regular basis. I'm too damn tired. I'm sick of getting laughed at because of my belt anyway.