My Least Favorite Shot

  Anytime I have to put a camera looking straight down over anyone it gives me the willies. I hate it. I'm in a constant state of nervousness until it's over. The above shot is an extreme example. Sixty floors up, over a bunch of schoolchildren. You can't really see the whole setup, but it's off a Peewee sideways on track and it's a left to right move of about twenty feet. Shots like this are nerve wracking enough when you're doing the standard offset-on a riser-over-the-bed-shot. When you're eighty feet up, it just magnifies it. Always remember to do any rigging, attaching the camera to the head, lens changes etc. before you swing the offset out. I actually prefer to swing the actual offset rather than  the R.O. because I can see the bolt and how much engagement it has as opposed to the R.O. knob where the threads are hidden. Don't forget to safety the matte box as well as the camera and double check everything before swinging it out. If there isn't a "Jesus pin" on the plate, screw a 3/8" bolt into one of the holes in the plate below the camera. On this setup, I have a daisy chain through an eyebolt, around the handle and around the rods just for a little more piece of mind. Some lenses have little tabs with holes for wire safeties too. I have seen a lens fall out of the mount and hit a stand-in so don't take anything for granted in this situation.  Whenever I'm in the old lock off looking down at an actor position, I'll usually support the arm too. It's overkill but if the hydraulics ever pick that moment to fail, someone's going to the hospital or worse. Sometimes AC's will laugh at me for taking all of these precautions but I'd rather over rig than under. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong and a matte box or focus motor from that high up could kill someone. Don't take shortcuts.

   I've added a new link in the long neglected links section for filmtoolkit.com. Give them a look. It looks like some well researched info.

  I've had a little more time to post lately mostly because I've been doing B Camera on the last two shows and frankly I'm not as tired as I normally would be. Plus, both are in the Marvel universe and that means ten hour days. I had the opportunity to work with my old buddy the legend Brad Rea on the last one which was a treat, and I'm helping fill in for a friend who needed some time off on this one so I'm getting to work with some other A camera guys who I wouldn't normally see. It's always kind of fun to team up on a show with another A camera guy, although doing B camera can leave you feeling a little left out when you're watching the other guy in the middle of it all. Anyway, it can be a nice break from the action and I get to see some friends without all the pressure.  I hope you all have a safe and joyous holiday with family and friends.

Happy New Year!

The Double Tap

  Something happened today which gave me an idea for a post. Since I have a long turnaround (a week of days into a Friday night exterior) I find myself with a few hours to fill up while I try to force myself into nights. Anyway, the inspiration was an actor committing what I call a double tap. I was pulling back with an actor as he lurched toward, then descended a small staircase. We'd done a couple of rehearsals and at least two takes. No problem. He lurches, I start the pullback. and he stops. He Stops. For about a second, then goes into his descent down the stairs. By this time I was a good two feet further than I should have been, but there was nothing to do but slow down and keep going. This is a double tap, when an actor appears to commit to a movement and suddenly pauses before actually committing. It most often happens on stand-ups or sit-downs. He or she will lean forward, my fingers start to turn  the boom control in anticipation. The actor's knees tense. His head starts to rise. The knob turns and the camera ascends in perfect synch with his head. Then, he stops. He settles back, and shoots up in frame toward the ceiling. Except he's not in frame because we left him long ago on our journey upward. At this point I shake my head and fling my arms outward in frustration. I learned long ago that there is nothing you can do about a double tap. They are usually committed by relatively inexperienced actors and hopefully, after the second or third time it happens, the operator or DP will gently explain to them the situation. In any case, if you get double tapped, it's not your fault. Let it go until they get it right.
  I've been watching and enjoying Mindhunter on Netflicks. It's a beautifully written and shot show that reminds me of True Detective's first season, only a little less tedious and with a little more humor. The  dolly work by Dwayne Barr is stellar in addition to the operating by my old friend Brian Osmond. I  mean really flawless and my hat's off. Nice work!

  Ok, time for another cup of coffee as I head deeper into the night.

D

Hi Guys

Well, here we are. It's been a while since I've turned up a bottle and joined you. A lot has happened over the last few (or many) months. As always the demands of family and work have taken priority over the writing. I now have a six year old boy destroying the house and a twenty-one year old daughter spending the tuition. As you can imagine, the time for inspiration and writing about the glories of the craft of camera movement have been supplanted (I had to look that one up) by just grinding out a paycheck. Never fear, I am still with you. I've been on the Marvel train for a while. In between, I've done a couple of less than admirable shows just for the paycheck (patio furniture, bedroom suite) and have done a couple of posts just as placeholders to let you know that I'm still here. I know that useful technical info has been at a minimum. Honestly, guys, I'm drained. I do have a lot of ideas for posts that I will get around to when my son makes Eagle Scout, but till then we are selling popcorn to pay for the overnight on the aircraft carrier (Den 7). In the meantime, here are some things: Precision track is heavy as shit. I've used Filmair on, like, 20 movies. It's fine. Save yourself the trouble. Also, I tried the Hybrid 4. I really dislike it. I'm still a Hustler 4 guy. Also, you don't "need" a Peewee 4. The Super Peewee 3 is just fine. Also, I still hate seat offsets. Get a Banjo seat. Flat stock sux. Arri geared head levels have never been accurate and never will be. And, I've decided to leave the dance floor cart loaded and strapped off, because life is too short. Along the same lines: Dear set decorators, we will never see the two-inch thick rug on the floor. Thank you all.
D

Logan

  I've always been an X-Men fan. Especially Wolverine. I have the Wolverine Limited Edition circa 1985. I won't get into the fanboy crap about (spoiler) Wolverine dying. Well, a little. I thought it was stupid. Although I get the whole worn out, aging superhero thing and totally get this version. Come on. Anyway the thing that most excited me about this movie as I watched it was the classic visual style of storytelling. There wasn't any bullshit handheld "let's reinvent the wheel" style of moviemaking here. It was very well done dolly and crane work that told the story without drawing attention to itself (except to an old Dolly Grip). We all know the deal: fight scenes are handheld. It's refreshing to see a movie that doesn't fall into the old(or new) trap of handheld fight scenes that are unfollowable and messy. It's bad film making. Doing a picture handheld isn't "edgy." It's lazy. That's what made Logan such a pleasure to watch. Nice job, guys. It was a beautiful picture to watch and refreshing to see some classic camera moves.

Fisher Open House!

I got it, Frank!

Alien Dudes Talk About Alien

This is a really cool video I found about the guys who did the creature effects for a lot of the Alien movies. In honor of Alien: Covenant coming out soon, I've decided to link to it here. My buddy Scott Sakamoto was the operator. I'm looking forward to this movie a lot in the hope that it will erase the bad taste that Prometheus left in my mouth. What a horrible movie that was. Let's all hope for the best.Check it out.




/www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7T2s0yDWWQ

The Stabileye

  A movie I did last year is about to open big next week. When I signed on to Guardians Vol 2, I knew immediately it was going to be different than any other job I had ever done. The DP, Henry, and James, the director, had decided to shoot primarily with a handheld stabilization system called Stabileye. So I knew right off the bat that I wasn't going to be spending my time behind a Hustler like I usually do. Yes, we had the dollies. My usual Hustler 4 and a Peewee 3, but they rarely worked. Instead we had a new stabilization system called the Stabileye. Those of you who have used the Movee have a general idea of how this works. The Stabileye is like a Movee on steroids. It's not prosumer. It's designed by a former Libra tech, the brilliant David Freeth, and is designed specifically for feature filmmaking. I've used both systems and can tell you that the Stabileye is the ultimate handheld device for dolly grips to use on feature films. The Movee, although I have used it on high budget features, often falls short. The Stabileye is quite simply the state of the art handheld stabilization device for feature filmmaking. While it does have it's eccentricities and can glitch out at times, it does get the job done. We shot around 80% of Guardians 2 on it and the rest on Technocrane (from the good people at Cinemoves) and a small portion handheld. We did drag the dollies out every now and then for plates. The Twindolly from Solid Grip Systems achieved some great shots especially in the jungle type settings. Thanks to Onno for his generosity and brilliant design. Henry, the DP brought in his British key grip, Paul Hymns. He worked alongside Alan Rawlins, our American key grip.  There was a little confusion in mixing the American system with the British, but we made it work and Paul became one of my favorite people in the world. He's a fantastically talented grip and a good dude. He and I often shared duties on camera.. The Stabileye techs, Tim Dean and Joe Marsden became good friends and their technical expertise and great personalities made a lot of tedious days easier to get through. I made some good friends on this show.
Go see it. It's good.

PS: Here is a link to some behind the scenes stuff that shows the Stabileye in action.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmOoBloa090

PPS This is the Next Day Sober Rewrite.

That's A Wrap on the Marvel Picture that I'm Not Sure I can Name!

   As Azurgrip said, the NDA is a mighty frightening thing. Therefore I will just say this. It was a movie about a cat with big claws in an African country. We shot for for months and used a variety of camera support devices including: The Chapman Hustler 4 dolly, my favorite. This machine never fails to deliver. It's just a well made dolly. The arm is superior and it tracks well. The Super Peewee 3; I don't even worry about this one. It does what it should. From my friends at Cinemoves, the Supertechno 50', the and the Moviebird 35'/45'. As well as their new detachable Movee. All of these devices performed well under the most trying of conditions. We shot in the water, the heat, and the cold and they all came through. Of course there were some glitches as there always are, but the guys worked them out. Thanks to my old friend and pickle guy Mike Howell, his tech, Henry, and, as always, head tech Kenny Rivenbark. The Oculus performed spectacularly and we achieved some fantastic shots. Thanks everyone from Chapman and Cinemoves! I could not do my job without you.

You, me and the N.D.A..

Just a quick update. It's great to hear, through the grapevine and to see the daily people joining the Facebook page that people are reading and still finding the site worthwhile. Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions or possible topics of discussion.

I know in my case, the last bunch of shows have had me under Non Disclosure Agreements which forbid me from taking photos and talking about the shows which puts a real downer on any topics which may come up on set.

We're still here and want to hear from you.

Can't wait to see / hear what comes out of the J.L. Fisher and Chapman open houses in the coming months.

JL Fisher Open House 2017

  It's that time of year again. I push this event every year because I am such a big fan. It's the Dolly Grip's day to be center stage and we don't get many. Frank at Fisher sent me a flyer to post but I can't seem to open it so I'll just give you the details:


JL Fisher Open House
Saturday May 20, 2017
9am to 4pm
1000 West Isabel St
Burbank, Ca 91506

There will be reps and discussions from the SOC, IA, and ASC and you don't want to miss it.

Hope to see you there!

Reposts

  After ten years of operating this font of information on an obscure craft that half the world sees but few understand, and the fact that I have a child who refuses to take up less than every minute of time my beautiful wife or  I have to give, I have decided to offer some reposts of past columns. Don't be upset. I generally say the same thing over and over anyway. And I'm ususally under the influence anyway.I will accompany these reposts with pithy drunken comments and asides. They will be hilarious or unintellegiable, depending on what is going on. My spell check is telling me that I have misspelled "Unintelligeable." I honestly don't care. Actually it's driving me crazy but I refuse to give in to the ...... screw it. You know what I mean. Unintelligeable. Uninteligeable. Unknowable.

Shut it.

  A recent commenter mentioned how he is an up and coming dolly grip who often loses out to guys who say they are an "awesome dolly grip." Heh. I told him I've always fallen back on the old axiom that if you have to tell everyone how good you are, you probably aren't that good. Guys, if you ask me, I'll tell you, I'm not that good. And most dolly grips I know will tell you the same thing. What keeps us going is our desire to be better. I've spent years studying camera movement. I watch the work of dolly grips I admire. As a matter of fact, I told my camera operator (one of the most respected in the world) today that I try to model myself after another Dolly Grip I know whom I consider to be one of the best.. Anyone who has to tell you that they are the best, or awesome probably isn't  very good. Let your work and your resume speak for itself. The best Dolly Grips I know (and I literally know some of the best in the world) tell me how insecure they are. And that insecurity drives them to go the extra mile. They work that much harder because they honestly don't think they're that great, I'm talking about world-class, A-listers here. If I was a Key Grip or an operator and someone told me they were an "awesome dolly grip" I would move on. If you're good, you don't have to tell anyone. They know.

I raise one for all the awesome Dolly Grips,
D

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!

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!

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)

Mr. Carroll

  About twenty-five years ago, I worked on my first tv series. It was a weekly crime drama, popular among the older set, called In The Heat Of The Night. We shot in the little town of Covington about thirty miles east of Atlanta. This last week, the movie I'm presently working on shot in that little town and that, along with the sudden death of one of my coworkers from that show, got me thinking...
  I had signed onto the show as an extra hammer. The grip crew consisted of an LA key, dolly grip and best boy and all local hammers. The hammers were all guys who had been in the fledgling Atlanta film industry for years. I was a wide eyed young grip, still learning the ropes as well as the politics that invariably accompany film crews. I met a future Business Agent of the local, several future key grips, and a cast of actors that to this day still all hold a special place in my memory. Of course the leader of all this was Carroll O'Conner. Most of us knew him as Archie Bunker even though he had by this time been a movie star for the better part of forty years. Carroll, or Mr. Carroll, as I called him, was the executive producer as well as the star and writer of many of the episodes.  Many of the cast and crew called him "Pops." I for some reason never did. Maybe it was because I was still trying to fit in and didn't think I had yet earned the right to call him by this familiar nickname. "Mr. O'Conner" was too formal. "Carroll" was out of the question. So I resorted to the Southern tradition of mixing formal with casual, yet still showing respect for my elders, and calling him "Mr. Carroll." Mr Carroll was the heart of the show. A gentle, friendly man, he ruled the show fairly and graciously, yet there was no question who the boss was.  He loved his cast and crew and was loyal to those who deserved it. I have many great memories of Mr. Carroll and those long days in Covington. He always had a joke or an observation. In my twenties, I was a smoker. Seeing me with a cigarette hanging out of my lips one day (I think, being around 24 years old at the time, I thought it made me look older.) he pulled me to the side and said, "Darryl, I wish you would quit those things. I smoked for years. I even had a cigarette when I was taking a crap. They're no good for you." by now, he had had his famous heart surgery wherein Joe Don Baker had been recruited to fill in for him. It's these types of moments I remember. He gave me my first dolly job.  He was a good man.
  Another person I met in those days was a blustery, swaggering electrician named Carl Johnson. Carl was a huge presence on the set. His big personality filled any room he was in. He worked hard and played hard and I learned a lot from watching him and working beside him. Carl was from the small town of Willacootchie, Georgia. He had gone to Vietnam as a soldier and come home to somehow find his way into the film business. I learned this week that Carl has left us. Although I hadn't seen him in a few years, not many days went by that I didn't think of him, mostly inspired by some saying I'd learned from him. Carl was also a good man. A big hole has opened up in the Atlanta film industry. I wish I had taken the time to keep up with him for all those years.
  Anyway, I'm rambling. I just started thinking about those days and felt the need to write about them.

Rest in peace, Carl. And you too, Mr. Carroll. I'm a better person for having known both of you.
D

I am a Dolly Grip

  I am a Dolly Grip. This means that I am an expert in camera movement. I have a highly developed sense of spatial relationships. I can stand an actor up and sit them down consistently. I can repeat a move down to the millisecond. I understand blocking. I know where a camera has to be to make the shot work even without staring into a monitor. If a camera operator asks me,"Can you boom up and push in at the same time?" my answer is, "Can you pan and tilt at the same time?"  I can swing a Technocrane arm around inches over an actor's head, land on a mark and repeat it precisely. That's what I do. If you can't do these things consistently, you are not a dolly grip. If your signature move is to park the dolly, grab an apple box, sit down and open a paper or Facebook, but you can't stand up an actor, you are not a dolly grip. You are a pretender. And you make my job harder .Pushing dolly is a craft. It takes years,YEARS of work. You don't learn it overnight. You don't learn it by being the only guy available so you get the job. You learn it just like you learn anything else: repetition and time. It's not about a bigger paycheck. It's about the craft. Learn your craft. Learn your craft. LEARN YOUR CRAFT. I am tired of going onto jobs with operators I have never worked with before and having to audition because they are used to working with crappy Dolly Grips. I should start each job with at least the assumption that I am a competent Dolly Grip. But because we have allowed mediocrity to be the rule, I have to prove myself over and over again to new operators and DPs. Get off the apple box, pay attention, learn blocking and eyelines and basic filmmaking or do something else. It ain't hard, we are not doing brain surgery here. It just takes dedication and work. Every job I go on, I hear stories about how bad the previous Dolly Grip was. You should be every bit as good at your job as the camera operator is at his (or hers). I started this website to uplift the craft. To teach those who are just starting out, and to share tips among us veterans. But I'm tired of hearing horror stories from camera  operators about how bad their last Dolly Grip was. Here are some basic skills: Stand up or sit down an actor consistently; Know and understand eyelines; Repeat a move consistently; Do a compound move with the tilt wheel not being turned; Repeat a Technocrane move consistently and know how to find and remember an eyeline; Understand blocking and know the general shot before the op or DP tells you where it is; Know when dance floor or track is called for; For god's sake be able to execute a basic compound move. Guys, we have to do better, or we will always be the second class citizens they already think we are.  Anyway, rant over. Drink up and stay safe.
D

The Dolly Dock

  I received a cool little gadget last week that I've been trying out. It's called the Dolly Dock and it's from a company called Cinegack. It started out with a dolly grip friend of mine voicing his need for something he could use to mount his monitor and still use his push bar extension, as well as be an extra rigging point for lights, flags, etc. It has threaded holes for 3/8" as well as 1/4"20 on all sides.
One very cool feature is also that the pushbar extension can also be mounted vertically for better control of the dolly when doing a move in crab. It also features a quick release attachment for a 1/4"20 mount. It's basically a multi-tool for your dolly.

 The Dolly Dock screws into the threaded holes on the ends of the pushbar. The locknut allows you to fix it at any angle, and if you wish, the extension bar can screw into the other end.

  It comes in it's own plastic case.
   My first thoughts are that it's a pretty handy little device to have in your tool kit. As a matter of fact, we almost used it to mount a light on the dolly for the first shot the first time I took it out of the case. It's very well made, and if you like to mount a monitor on your pushbar, its the perfect thing. An inch and a half wrench fits it, although I have been advised by the maker that due to the anodizing, not all Chapman wrenches will fit it perfectly, but your personal ratchet will. They are coming out with a Chapman "master key" later that will fit it as well as other tools on the dolly.

  The Dolly Dock goes for 100.00.

You can purchase it and see more pictures of it in action at cinegack.com
 Check it out!


PS: That's not my cupholder in the picture.
D

Coming up for air

Just a quick intermission between shows, barely enough time to catch my breath nor catch up on sleep. It’s crazy stupid work wise here!

Next show, the operator has requested Fisher dollies for us to use. I’ll be the first to say “I’m a Chapman guy”, but I’ll also try anything -  once… I’ve done shows with Fishers which have been both good experiences and bad experiences.

The most recent Fisher experience was bad. Once again, the DP had suggested the use of a Fisher Ten. I had squeaky track wheels that I could not fix - Zep, Pledge, water, baby powder, locked wheels, unlocked wheels (not all at once) - nothing worked. I tried for as long as I could then finally the Key Grip stepped in and gently suggested a change.

I’m perplexed as to why I wouldn’t be asked what I feel comfortable using. Budgets aside, would production force one lens manufacture over another on a Director of Photography? Doesn’t a Gaffer have a preference of the manufacture of lighting fixtures? An operator be forced to use one fluid head over another? So why can’t I pick the dollies? (wow - doesn’t that sound like a six year girl whine!).

Thankfully I work in a market where there are choices, but in this case the choices are being made for me. What would you do? 

 

Hopefully once the dust has settled and the hangover has cleared, D will be able to deal with his technical challenges and share his most recent adventures!