The Week in Review

This is how my week went (Stream of Consciousness):

12X's, 8X's, beams, track, rain, sleet, cold, night, splinter, dance floor, rope, hills, truck, jib arm, bounce, gold, candle, too many carts, Skoal, drink, boxes, doorway dolly, level, Guv', epk, twitter, dark, more dark, 250, Hampshire Frost, tent, "What are you guys doing?" move the truck, new boots.

In a nutshell, the previous list pretty much sums up most of what ran through my brain over the last five days. We have basically taken over an entire subdivision and are shooting in or around six houses there. None of them are close to the others. Great crew. Great DP. I spend most of my days in confusion switching between set grip, doing things I haven't done on a daily basis in at least fifteen years, and Dolly Grip, walking in and not really knowing what the shot is about before doing it. Still, we're having a great time and getting some really beautiful shots. I'll be back with more later.
D

Answers to Questions I've Been Asked...

  Here are some answers asked by various emails, search strings, personal experiences etc.

You can't buy a Fisher/ Chapman Dolly. They aren't for sale except under certain conditions involving those of you living outside the US.

If you're using a single sheet of plywood, you don't need a plastic top (unless the DP doesn't like the light bounce off the plywood)

Wedge the boxes first. Make 'em stable.

Please stop trying to wedge the crossties between the joints before I level the joints.

Don't fill in behind me until I ask you to.

No, I didn't bring the starter track. I have enough to keep up with. Pick the dolly up the four inches it requires to get the front on the track or get me some wedges. Sack up and be a grip.

No, I don't have a cupholder.If there is one in the hole I'm trying to put the seat in to set up your shot, I will throw it across the room.

Yes,  I have a seat offset. You are now the subject of my next post.

No, I do not want a clamp on the end of the track.

Get me a clamp for the end of the track.

It's not a magic vibration isolator.

No, these wheels will not mark a wood floor.

I don't know how you can become an extra. Believe me, you don't want to.

No sir, you said fifteen seconds. I timed it on my watch.

I don't know where it is. I think it's over there.

Yes, I started when he did. (I really didn't because I was checking my Twitter page).

No, I can't get you a stinger.

Day 48 out of 51

  Hi all. I just finished my first week on the new job. As I said on Twitter earlier today, "They didn't fire me yet."  So far, everything is going smoothly, minus the usual first week craziness as the company settles into a rhythm. This job is especially unusual for me. First of all, I'm not the "A" camera dolly grip, or the "B" camera dolly grip. I am the co- Dolly Grip under the "A" Dolly Grip and also the local Best Boy. Let me explain, because this is complicated. The DP on this movie (who is up for an Academy Award this year) has his own dolly grip who travels with him on every show and has for the last twenty or so years, including the movie he did last year in the UK for which he is nominated. This cameraman operates himself and mostly shoots off of a jib arm with a remote head. His Dolly Grip operates the arm while I operate the chassis. There is no "B" camera.  The Key Grip, as well as his Best Boy, has also been with him for many years, and is a highly respected name. He is also old friends with my Key Grip, for whom I have been pushing for many years. This show comes to town. My Key Grips talks to the other Key Grip. I go to work for the new Key Grip who also asks me to put a crew together for him and act as kind of a local Best Boy. Cut to- now when I'm not on the chassis (we also carry a Fisher Eleven for tight quarters, of which there are many) I'm stringing up twelve and twenty-bys and helping coordinate equipment and manpower. And I really enjoy it. The Key and Best Boy are the absolute best, and I am honored to work with them. The crew we have is truly one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of working with. These guys know their stuff, they work their asses off, and never question or complain. And it's nice to not always be on set and also to re-acquaint myself with the nuts and bolts of gripping. It's exhausting and a little bewildering to switch back and forth from set grip to dolly grip as the need arises, but it's a great challenge. And it's also an honor to work with such a well regarded DP. I'm always up for learning new things, and I hope to learn some new skills from all these guys. Many of us tend to work with the same Key Grip or cameraman over and over, so it's always good to get out and see what the other guys are doing. So that's about it for now. The first week was spent in the pouring-down rain and mud, followed by a day of shifting twelve-bys around to block the sun. In between, I worked on some cool shots and had some laughs. I'll have another report in a week or so. Till then, stay safe and work smart.
D

PS- I have a tradition here of not really ever naming names. It's not that difficult to figure out who I'm talking about, though. Many people have asked how this DP is. Here is an indication: More than once after a shot I've heard him turn to his Dolly Grip, who has been with him for many years and is a great guy, and ask, "What do you think? How was that?" The guy is a gentleman, meticulous about his compositions, and respects his Dolly Grip's opinion.That's how he is. Think about that next time you work with some jackass who treats you like a mindless  cog in his machine. This guy, roundly regarded as one of the best in the world asks his Dolly Grip what he thinks about the shot.

Date Night

  An unfortunate, and somewhat ironic, by-product of working in the movie business is that you have little time to see any actual movies unless they're late night bleary eyed cable or Netflix offerings. I hadn't been to a theater in probably a year or more before my wife and I hired a babysitter and ran out to see The Bourne Legacy, which I actually liked. Not as much shaky-cam and a good performance by Jeremy Renner made it quite enjoyable. I still haven't seen The Dark Knight Rises, and only got out to see the incredibly disappointing and overblown Prometheus while I was on location and had a free Saturday afternoon to fill up. Luckily it was one of those theaters that also doubles as a bar, so after the first plot hole, I started downing gin and tonics. It's a shame, really, because I still love the movies. I've had the great fortune of working regularly with a DP whom I admired before I even knew what a dolly grip did exactly. I just knew this DP shot movies that I really liked looking at. That he later became a friend and frequent coworker is one of the coolest things that could happen in my career.
 There's still nothing quite like a darkened movie theater when the previews come up. I still get a little excited and it also gives me a chance to see firsthand what my fellow dolly grips have been up to. My buddy Azurgrip, who helps me run this site, had been telling me about the movie he had been doing last year involving multiple Technocranes and miles of greenscreen. When I saw the trailer for Pacific Rim, I suddenly understood what he had been talking about. I like watching the results of my friends and colleagues' labor. Too often, our contributions to the final product are lost in a sea of red carpet events and award shows, so I like seeing their work and knowing what long hours and years of expertise went into it, because only those of us who do this every day really recognize it when we see it.
  On the same note, I recently managed to hire the babysitter and take the wife out for a night at the movies again. We saw Jack Reacher. I had long been a fan of the books by Lee Child so was somewhat jealous of my friend Bill Wynn when I learned he was doing it. Bill is a veteran with such credits as Talladega Nights and The Town. Billy and I worked together once a few years ago when I came in and did B Camera on some reshoots (This very reshoot as a matter of fact). We have a lot of mutual friends and have kept in touch over the years.  Jack Reacher was great. It totally captured the spirit of the books, and Tom Cruise was a great Jack Reacher, though he is physically not anywhere near the 6'5", 250lb Reacher of the books. He nailed it with attitude and an understanding of the character. Bill did a great job. I texted him soon after watching and told him what a great movie it was and what a great job he did. He probably hates this but that's what this place is for, to recognize good work. Great job Billy!

Merry Christmas!

  Well, we've almost made it through another year. The 21st came and went without incident, so I've gone ahead and lined up my next job. I may as well go ahead and do my End of Year What We Learned Post because I will need to start sobering up soon.
Here are a few things the year taught me:

1. Handheld sux. But it sux much worse in tv than on a feature. I did one of each this year- a totally handheld pilot and a totally handheld feature. Though neither was a particular joy work wise, I did meet some cool people and a new camera operator whom I really like. After the pilot almost threw my back out, I had some trepidation about repeating the painful, dreary chore. The feature actually wasn't that bad. It's the pace that gets you in tv. It was one shot to another without much of a break, but the slower feature pace allowed me to rest a little between setups and saved my back. Of course the worst thing about handheld is that for a Dolly Grip it's simply monkey work. You have no real input into the process and nothing much to offer except a strong back. But, you can at least earn some respect if you know what you're doing which leads to my next post...

2. Experience wins out. Act like a professional. Stay alert and let your camera operator and DP know you are there for them. You may be a monkey but at least they'll realize that you're a trained monkey.

3. You're not 25 anymore. It's ok to let the younger guys take up some slack every now and then. It gives you a break and lets them get familiar with handling a camera. It also gives you an opportunity to teach them about things like keeping an operator safe, looking ahead to future obstacles, and paying attention.

4. Always use equal force when getting help on a chassis move, or when you have a couple of guys moving a crane chassis. I knew this already for dollies but it was brought home on a 50' Techno move in which more chassis guys were on one side than the other. The crane, all 6000+ lbs of it skipped off the track. No harm was done. A quick application of the Pettibone set things right, but it hammered home that you have to pay attention to everything.

5. Use more of everything than you think you need when it comes to safety. Again, this is something I generally practice anyway, but I was reintroduced to the concept when I had to harness in a camera op  to the bed of a speeding pickup to do an actor POV over the cab of the truck as it careened down city streets. I had four points on him, but neglected to do the one extra that I thought of, but discarded, that would have pulled him into the back of the cab. Add one nervous actress behind the wheel and your omission quickly becomes apparent. Take the time. Do it right. Do more than you think you need. No one was hurt and I quickly added it on the second take but it was a painful learning experience.

6. I actually am not that bad on a Fisher Ten. A long time ago, a great dolly grip told me that I had to be good at both dollies. I, of course, knew this but if you use one dolly consistently over the other, getting behind the lesser used one can be uncomfortable. I filled in for a buddy of mine for one day on a very big movie earlier this year. I thought he was a Fisher user and dreaded it for a week before the day arrived. As it turns out, he was using my old friend the Hybrid, so it was a non-issue. But I did get pressed into service on a Fisher Ten on a couple of other shows, and you know what? It was fine. I tend to be very particular about the boom setup on my dollies and the Fisher just isn't comfortable for me personally, but after a couple of shots I got into the groove and soon began to enjoy the difference in timing. It's not bad, just different. I started out on a Ten many years ago on In The Heat of the Night  (the tv show not the movie) and had not really been behind one more than a couple of times since. The timing for the action on the arm is a little different. You have to actually do everything a split second earlier, but my friend was right. It does make you a better dolly grip. I no longer dread the Fisher Ten.

7. It's not the destination, it's the journey. Enjoy the ride. We all end up in the same place anyway, so have fun, laugh, love, don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff).

That's about it for the list.

   Everyone have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Life is good. I'm not rich, but I'm sitting in a cozy house having a cozy drink as the rain falls outside. My children are safe. My wife (inexplicably) loves me, and I've got it pretty good. And I have a lot of friends, including many of you whom I've met over the years on Dollygrippery. Some of you I've never met in person, but I feel like we're old friends just the same. I will one day have a drink and a laugh with you in some bar in Toronto, or Atlanta, or India, or Los Angeles, or wherever, but till then I thank you for your friendship and raise a glass to you. Stay safe and stay in touch.


D

PS

Azurgrip blew his own horn earlier for a show he did last year. Here's one of mine (although it's not as cool as his.) Check it out.       Beautiful Creatures. And you get to see the back of my big head!   More of the back of my head. And my actual hands. For about a half second.
  I would like to reiterate that teenage witches can in no way compete with giant robots rising out of the sea, but you can see the back of my head. And a hellacious boom up. Which I F'ing nailed.

Just a little horn blowing. The trailer for the movie I was working on last winter has just been released (I think it's also running at the start of the Hobbit in the theatres).

Pacific Rim was an all time mind blowing experience to work on and looks like it will be in the theatres. Working with Guillermo Del Toro was a blast and a half!

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/pacificrim/

Another One In The Can

  We just wrapped our latest epic. Eight weeks of handheld work is over. I actually didn't think I would be able to bench press an Alexa for that long, but it actually wasn't that bad. We did have two crane shots, one was a 50' Techno and the other was a 35'-45' Moviebird, but other than that, it was all handheld. Over the last eight weeks I've been shot at multiple times, smoked out, blood spattered, and heard more incarnations of the "F" word than I knew were possible. I've met a former governor, stood in a lake in 37 degree weather at night, had the flu, laughed a lot, cussed a lot, and made a fair amount of money which is already gone. My impressions are that handheld sux, and the Moviebird is a great crane. I just like the thing. The bearings in the arm are so sweet that I marvel at the action on it every time I have to finesse an over-the-shoulder at forty feet .One handed. Overall, a tough show but possibly a good movie. Or a s&*%ty one. Hard to tell. Now for a few weeks off before the next one.

  My heart breaks for those babies in Newtown tonight.Please keep their parents in your prayers.  Those of you who are parents, hug your children and keep them close. The wolf is always at the door.

  I got my .com domain back from the crazy lady. At some point in the coming days, you'll be able to use it. So at least there's that.

   Look out for each other. There are some evil bastards walking the streets.

         D

   

Cold Weather Part Deux

 First of all, a congratulations to my old compadre Dolly Grip Frank Boone and Key Grip Eddie Evans on the success of The Walking Dead.  Arguably the best show on television, it is consistently compelling and, most importantly, the dolly work is top notch. I watched the second season in practically one sitting on Amazon and I save the third season episodes for my long turnarounds with the Captain. Nice job boys This is one of the shows I wish I'd worked on ( if I had it in me to do tv anymore). If you haven't watched this show, do yourself a favor and catch up. Nice work, Frank!
   Now, back to the job at hand. We have covered what to wear in cold climates, but now need to give some tips on how to keep your machine working when it gets cold. As I've mentioned, I have never worked in temps below 20 degrees or so, so I depend on those of you who regularly work in those temps to give us some tips on how to keep your machines working. For myself, I know that when Winter sets in, I let my Chapman rep know that I need a little special consideration. They will replace the normal hydraulic fluid with very thin fluid. The heaters on Chapman dollies are also helpful, but only until you are well into the day. They only work if you bleed the air, and plug the dolly in. Not much help past call on a brisk day. I know my friends in Canada have techniques they use for keeping the fluid warm during the day ( battery powered heaters etc) but I have never had to look for these products in the states. What other tips do those of you in cold climates have for us?

Cold Weather Work

  This post grew out of a conversation between Wick and Sanjay about an upcoming job Sanjay has in Poland and Germany. As I know very little about extremely  cold working conditions (anything under 15 degrees F or so, it's fortunate that Wick does. We have a few other readers and contributers who are used to this kind of cold. Please send in any suggestions or posts you have on the subject. Thanks, D.

I got to talking with Sanjay Sami today about working in the cold. He’s going to be on the German-Poland border in January and February, and is looking for tips on how to stay warm in that kind of winter climate. There are two things that really affect us on set in the winter. One is staying flexible enough under those layers of clothing to keep moving and doing the work that we do without sweating so much that when we do come to a standstill, we’re freezing in our own sweat. The other is of course staying warm while we’re just standing around waiting for anything to happen.

The main thing is to dress in layers, and adjust your coverage according to how hard you’re working. This can’t be stressed enough, and I think most of us understand it in the abstract.  This should extend to wearing double or even triple layers of socks, with the ones nearest your feet being thin and chosen for their ability to wick sweat and condensation away from your skin and into the next layers. Same thing for underwear, both tops and bottoms. I’m a fan of silk for those first layers. It seems to adjust best to the body temperature and exterior temperature changes, removes moisture quickly and dries quickly too. After that, I prefer wool over cotton for the next layer, and finally a wind-blocking outer shell, something like a Carhardt coverall or two-piece Thinsulate snow pants and jacket. Also always keep your head warm and your ears covered - wear a hat or a balaclava. I picked up an arctic expedition hood with a zippered face cover several years and that’s been my salvation several times.  It’s made with Thinsulate and so is an excellent wind block, and lets me adjust the amount of coverage I want or need pretty much as I please. It also doesn’t interfere with radios, and I can keep my nose covered without fogging my glasses.

Footwear is a tough one, especially for dolly work. Again, you have the “standing around vs moving around and controlling a dolly at the same time” problem.  I’ve settled on some regular insulated boots (Thinsulate again) that are big enough to accommodate the extra layers of socks, and for extreme weather, I got some LaCrosse “Frankenstein” boots that are supposedly guaranteed to –70 Celsius. I have never really been happy with any solution for footwear, and get chilly feet no matter what I do. Fortunately, once I  got the LaCrosse boots, they seemed to have the same effect as carrying an umbrella – once I had them with me, I didn’t worked outdoors in heavy snow or extreme temperatures again. Or at least for a few years, then the magic wore off in Poland.

Gloves are of course another weak spot.  I generally prefer some wool rock climbing gloves, with all five fingers open, and another glove or better yet, a mitten, over that.

Another thing is to be aware of the warning signs of hypothermia, frostbite and dehydration. Read up on them in any first aid manual, if you’re not sure what warning signs to look for in yourself and in others.

I never really had any experience with pocket warmers, or electric socks, or any other fancy gadgets, and am curious if anybody has recommendations or advice with that sort of stuff. The one thing I will say is that cold will suck the life out of batteries, like the one in your phone. Carry it on you, in an inside pocket, so it doesn’t freeze and dump all it’s data while sitting in your car or backpack in the truck. 

Sanjay’s looking for some serious input and advice. He’ll be in the middle of nowhere, and it can get nasty there (0° Celsius is the average high for January / February, and it can get much colder (-20° c. is not uncommon). Add in wind and snow, with the snow having started in December or late November, and as you can see, it’s not a fun place to be outdoors all day.  What do our brothers and sisters recommend, aside from calling in sick?

Some Thoughts On Handheld

   The movie I'm doing now is all handheld. When I say that, I mean ALL handheld. We don't even have a dolly. It's this director's style, I saw it coming. With an all handheld show comes the usual complaints, the biggest for me being that I literally have no creative input into the process. Where I'm used to being intimately involved in the making of shots, from design to execution, here I have no part. This is the most painful for me. My operator is great and, of course, I am responsible for his safety so he does defer to me on that note. Normally, as our friend GHB so eloquently points out, carrying the camera is a courtesy we provide as Dolly Grips. On an all handheld show, however, I have to justify my being there and if I want any part of the process at all, I'm always there to take the camera and make the operator as comfortable as possible. Boring, yes, but necessary. So, for the next eight odd weeks I will be wearing a backpack and clearing branches and other obstacles out of the camera operator's path while I long for the days of fifty foot dolly runs and complex Technocrane moves. There is an art to providing handheld camera support. Knowing how much or how little guidance an operator needs, knowing when to step in and point out a safety issue, even pointing out eyeline errors (my favorite), all require a certain amount of experience that is a little comfort when you are excluded from the little powwows you're used to being included in. So with that in mind, I've compiled a list of things to look for in handheld mode:

Safety is number one. You are the operator's eyes and ears when he's in the eyepiece. Take the initiative to head off any situations beforehand. Which side of camera is the gun firing? What's minimum safe distance? What does he do if something goes wrong? Have all this planned out before the shot gets hairy and you're all stumbling around in a hail of gunfire.

How does his path look? What obstacles can you remove or have removed?

What's the "Safe Word?" On our show there is a lot of gunfire and squib action. The operator is swathed in eye and ear protection and can't always communicate. I told him to just point the camera up in the middle of a take if he gets in trouble and I'll know something is wrong (or just drop it and run).

He's holding that camera for a long time, especially on an HD show. Make him comfortable. Take the camera when you can or give him a box to sit on when he can.

Know when not to be there. Sometimes it's just silly to be in tight quarters just so you can take the camera. In tight spaces, let the AC do it. He has to be there anyway. Make sure he's safe and comfortable, and then leave.

  As hard as it is, sometimes to stay involved in a show like this, remember that your camera operator is depending on you. You may not be providing the same input into the process, but you can damn well be sure that if you are vigilant and do your job well, he will appreciate you. Be professional. Stay alert.

Since I'm not dealing with the usual rehearsals, marks, track etc, I actually am able to become a second set of eyes for the Key Grip and help him out a little more.


  While it isn't much fun, a handheld show offers it's own challenges, although they are more physical than mental. I don't enjoy it. It's tedious. But at the end of the day, I'm still right in the middle of the action. I have to be. The operator might fall down if I don't.




Stay safe.

Learning Your Craft

   This is something that we have harped on time and again. I often get emails from young beginning dolly grips asking what they can do to improve their skills, and thus, their hireability. Many are just out of college and have decided that this is a career they want to pursue. I always tell them,"Be a set grip first." I don't think you can be as effective as a dolly grip if you don't know the fundamentals of set lighting and rigging. Aside from this, there are a lot of subtle rules of behavior to working on a set. Unwritten laws abound in this business and you can often offend someone or put your ignorance on display for all to see, and have no idea what you did if you don't take the time to immerse yourself in set life and learn it's rhythms. This is not fun to hear I can imagine, but believe me, it makes all the difference in the world. It will teach you endurance and discipline. It will teach you the correct way to work and how to be as efficient as you can. You will learn to immediately assess a situation, formulate a plan, and attack, all the while ignoring the pouring rain, pitch dark, and freezing cold in which you're expected to perform.. As a dolly grip, you have little time to mull over the situation. You can't stand there and "ummm" and "uhhh" with a vacant look on your face as the operator or DP, or both, wait for your solution. You are constantly thinking a step ahead, and set gripping teaches you all this. If you're young and just out of college, don't worry, you have time, and all the more reason to take the proper steps and learn the job from the bottom and inside out. Aside from this, I can't tell you how many times the dolly grip has to take over the set if the key grip has to step away (and he will sooner or later). Now you're the defacto key grip. Any minute now, the DP will look over at you and ask if you can rig a camera in the ceiling, or fly a 20x20, or flag the condor, or set a double off an actor, or "Hollywood" a lenser. If you haven't been a set grip, odds are you have no idea and fumble for your radio trying to whisper that you need help. If you were a good set grip, you confidently take a second and give an answer, then you start feeding orders on the radio. Believe me, this will happen sooner or later. Take the time.

   OK, now you've been working the set for a couple of years. It's time to move on. You've probably been working with a key grip pretty regularly and you let him know you'd like to push dolly. Now, he can start throwing "B" camera jobs at you. Maybe an operator you're friendly with has a low budget show and he's willing to give you a shot. All of this is an opportunity to learn. Go to a rental house. Familiarize yourself with the dollies. They are the tools of your trade and you should be intimately familiar with what they can and can't do. Learn approximate lens heights for any configuration. Learn what you need to do a Lambda shot off the side. How about straight off the front? It's about making the operator comfortable while achieving the shot. How far do you offset the track?. Do you need to offset the track? You have to be right the first time. You don't want to be relaying it while the DP checks his watch. Get all the accessories out and learn what they do and how to attach them. If you're a Chapman user or vice versa, you still need to learn the other dolly because sooner or later you will end up pushing it. As a set grip, you've probably helped put a crane together  so you are already ahead on that. What are the rules for operating it? What's a sightline? These are things you have to learn. I can't tell you how many thirds I work with who don't know how to lay track. While you are a set grip, pull the dolly grip to the side and ask him to teach you. I pulled out a couple of sticks at lunch one day and taught one of the thirds how to do it after she asked me. That's all it took. Learn how to mark the wheels. Learn how to do a compound move. Then two or three in succession. Believe me, the time will come when you're on a dance floor and the operator keeps adding boom and floor marks and the more he adds, the harder you'll sweat unless you've put the time in and have learned how to remember, and then execute them. Do you know how to lay a floor? Again, something you will pick up as a set grip. You don't want to be trying to figure it out on your first job as "A" camera. How do you lay a floor across a half-inch drop off? It has to be smooth and even. If you've been a third, you already know.

   As you can see, there's more to it than hitting your marks. These are a fraction of the things a dolly grip has to know, and a lot of them he picks up as a set grip. It's like taking the core curriculum in college. You have to have it before you can graduate.

Wubba Wubbba. Doodle doodle dee.

As an added bonus, here's a great article by camera operator Dan Gold SOC on the importance of the Dolly Grip to the process. http://www.soc.org/index.php?id=27&article=47

That's A Wrap: Show Round Up

 I apologize for being so sparse on the posts lately. I've been in the middle of a twelve week show and we just wrapped. All in all, it was a good one despite the problems we had early on with camera shake. We finally ironed it all out and it went smoothly from there. I had a fantastic camera and grip crew to work with (both in Atlanta and San Francisco). I give it a difficulty level of an even five. Almost every shot was a dolly or crane shot, but nothing really challenging, although I did have one fun dance floor move involving pulling through a set and timing the move to character dialogue. It was a lighthearted comedy and we spent a lot of time laughing. We did ten weeks in Atlanta and then moved cross country to San Francisco for the final two. Although I was the lone representative of the grip crew to travel, the guys in San Francisco were all great grips and great people. Now it's two weeks off and I start the next one.

Tools used: Hustler 4, Peewee3, and Fisher 10 dollies. 30', and 50' Technocrane from Cinemoves, and a 30' Moviebird as well as a Fisher 23 Jib. Remote heads were Libra and Scorpio. Cameras were Arri Alexas.

Now for two weeks vacation.....

Cables

I ran over one a few weeks ago and it actually derailed the dolly. It ran it the %^&* off the track. The fracking thing is as thick as a welding cable. Is this progress? It's like 1945 again. I used to bitch about the tiny BNC cable that I had to trail along. In comparison to this donkey d&*ck I'm dragging around now, the BNC is like a gossamer strand, almost lighter than air. What I would give to have it back. It's my first video show. Everything up to now has had a film mag with the name Panavision or Arri on the side of it. So now I'm dealing with a shaky camera (apologies to Arriflex. I know you guys are dealing with the issue. I have great love for you), a cable that rivals the one they strung across the ocean floor in the 40's, and you still have to reload the thing every twenty something minutes and it takes LONGER. I often wonder, if video technology had come first, would film be the new big thing? Would we all be rolling our eyes at this "new" technology with it's whirring cameras and quaint "gate checks?" Plus, the eyepiece isn't long enough. I now have to set the dolly up on the wrong side for a Lambda Head shot because the eyepiece isn't long enough to get the operator's head out from under the camera offset. I realize I sound like one of the old cranky Dolly Grips I used to laugh at and say, " I'll never turn into that guy." but I was young and stupid. Meanwhile, there's a concert at the amphitheater about four miles away from my house and I can hear it while I'm trying to sleep. So, excuse me, I've got to call the cops and ask them to turn down that awful rock and roll racket.

Drive

Every now and then, I see one I wish I'd done. Nice work, Sean.

The Searchers

  I am a huge John Wayne fan. One of my earliest memories is of seeing True Grit at the drive-in. I couldn't have been more than three or four, but the memory of the snakes and the big man with the eyepatch remains as an indelible image on my brain. Since then, I have voraciously read every biography of the man I could find, and seen as many of his movies as I could. In that vein, I recently read a biography of John Ford. Aside from all of the stories of his legendary venom towards his cast and crew, I learned a few things about composition and movement. Ford rarely moved the camera. He believed that it would disorient the audience. While this may be a quaint notion today, after watching  The Searchers again tonight (under the influence of The Captain, of course) I was amazed at how right he is. In my daily work life I long for challenging camera moves. I get bored with the same old drifts and pushes. Ford, however, believed that the action within the frame gave the movie interest. His compositions moved the story along without a lot of fancy camera moves. He rarely moved the camera. In fact, he hated it so much that when he finally did, it was much more effective. Today, we move the camera constantly. It swoops and glides and never stops just so that some former music video director can "make the scene interesting." John Ford would have punched him in the mouth and said, "If your story isn't interesting, moving the f&;$;*^ing camera won't save you." I did a movie years ago that was basically shot like a music video The camera swooped and pushed and drifted for no reason at all. We never blocked a scene, we just stood the actors in a room and swooped around them. As a result, when we reached a shot that would have benefitted from a dramatic push-in, the move had no power. Watch The Searchers. Watch the push-in on John Wayne as he leaves the asylum. It's like a punch in the gut because the camera has been mostly fixed up until then. Until you watch this film, you don't realize how much we over move the camera. This movie was made in 1958, and it holds up so well, unlike the crappy "remake" The Missing of a few years ago. John Ford would have punched Tommy Lee Jones in the mouth too. And Ron Howard.  So if you've never seen The Searchers, watch it. And learn.

Ironing Out The Bumps

  I often get asked about the importance of a level track vs a "lay of the land" one. My reply is usually that I'm more concerned with a track that has no bumps, than a level one. I had pretty much satisfied myself with my track laying and had rarely had a problem. Then along came the Alexa. This is my first feature that isn't film. Every show I'd done up to this one had been shot either on a Panaflex or an Arri 435, on back to the old BL (remember the coaxial mags?).  These old film cameras were as stable as anything you could ask for. Since the obsolescence of steel track, I rarely even had to use skate wheels anymore except for extremely long lenses (150mm or above). The first day on this show, I noticed something was different. I had a quick dolly move with an actor who stood up and walked briskly across a baseball field. We were on a geared head, on a relatively wide lens (I think around a 50mm on the 12:1). Take one, the director yells, "No, no, no!" He then yells that he sees a bump on the takeoff. Okay, I take a little steam off. Take two, the same thing. Over the course of the show, I begin to notice that I'm having to use the skates more often than ever, usually when we're on a long zoom. Complaints about the bumps become common from the operator and now I'm getting concerned. Finally, I've had enough and want to know what's going on. After looking at the camera, which I hadn't really bothered to do closely, I notice that it's supported solely by a tiny baseplate that's about 3" by 3". There's basically nothing supporting the huge lens or the back of the camera. It's all balanced on this tiny baseplate, an incredibly stupid design through which even the slightest of vibrations is transmitted. So, I've had to really go back to the basics on my track laying.  Now, I not only level with the whiskey stick (level), but sight down it afterwards and use shims to tune up the joints, even though it may not read exactly level afterwards, something I wouldn't necessarily have done if we had been shooting on a film camera. (As a matter of fact, I just finished a Panaflex show and rarely did this and never had a single complaint of a bump showing in the lens). I called some dolly grip buddies of mine who had done work with the Alexa and discovered that this was a common complaint, though maybe not as prevalent as on my show where we constantly use a long zoom and are also using the smaller diameter 15mm rods as opposed to the 19mm rods. We recently switched out to the 19mm and it seems to have helped, but it has been a pain up to now. My key grip finally told the DP that he can't redesign the camera in the field and the baseplate is an incredibly ridiculous design, so they tried the larger rods. Anyway, if you use the Alexa, be on the lookout for this. And lay it straight.

Product Review - CGE Tools' DollyMate MiniMate

For years I had an old ammo box that I had ripped the top off, and then velcroed it to whatever dolly I was using. As much as I liked having the storage space for all the "little things" - grease pencils for the Fisher Ten arm, pens for my crossword and shopping lists, etc - it was a little big and got in the way. I eventually stopped using it.

Like any good technician, I've been trying to up my water intake and with productions springing for water bottle alternatives, my dollies end up covered in water bottles - more stuff to fall off when "coming off the rails", etc.

Along comes CGE Tools' DollyMate MiniMate. As soon as I saw this little bag, I had to have one. I've been impressed with it's manufacture. I thought that the magnets wouldn't hold up to the weight of my larger water bottle, but it's been hanging on for a couple months now, without a sign of giving up. I asked CGE Tools John about the number of magnets sewn in the MiniMate and my concern, and get got back to me quickly saying that due to the price of the magnets themselves, it would have meant adding to the price. Fair enough. Works great as advertised!! I work day in / day out on a Hybrid and being able to slap it on the side of the dolly if I'm backed into a corner its incredibly useful.

CGE makes three sizes. The largest - the Archetype, is an apron that sized is appropriately for the back of a Fisher Ten and can carry almost everything and the kitchen sink. The medium is the MiniMate and carries two bottles, tape measure and any other little bits. The smallest (and not really) is the SaddleBag, with one main compartment, tape measure clip and a bunch of little pouches.

Thankfully I've been able to talk my local expendables store into carrying CGE Tools products (check out the website: http://cgetools.com) and have since bought four more MiniMates as gifts.

  It was interesting to read all the comments and emails from my last post. All the old-timers pretty much came up with the same answers, which were pretty much my own answers. The only one that they over-thought was the Fisher 10 question. I was looking for something along the lines of "ask if they are getting the round track wheels," but of course Sanjay and the others were correct. I did get a tweet asking about a question from the earlier post which was how the choice of head affects the Dolly Grip. The answer is that a fluid head requires you to be more careful in your starts and stops, especially on a tighter lens, as the operator is directly controlling the head with his own movements, rather than with a geared wheel. It's much harder to control the frame as the dolly accelerates or stops quickly. Everyone seemed to enjoy this post so I'll think of some more. Please send in some suggestions if you have any.
   Slate had a great article on the accident on Twilight Zone: The Movie, that took the lives of actor Vic Morrow and two children, as well as a helicopter pilot thirty years ago. Check it out here. Now, when you get those safety bulletins with your call sheets, you'll have a better idea why they're there. Check it out.

Next Day Sober Rewrite- A Week Later

Those of you who are regular readers may have briefly caught a post I did last week entitled So You Want To Be A Dolly Grip. It listed some questions that every dolly grip should be able to answer or situations that a good dolly grip should be able to think his way out of. It was written under the influence of several Captain Morgans and inspired by a situation that I was irritated about. After reading it the next day, I deleted it. I didn't like the tone which came across to me as a little smug and a lot obnoxious, which most of you probably didn't even pick up on, but sprung right off the page at me. I deleted it and got a lot of emails and a few comments asking where it went and when I would rewrite it. Everything I write comes from experience and long hours of doing things the wrong way until I figured it out, or someone showed me the right way. There's no substitute for putting in the time and you can't learn it all overnight. I still learn things every day and am still trying to be better. Dollygripping is a craft, like any other that requires you to develop specific skills and a base of knowledge to solve problems quickly. You can't learn it in school but if there was a final exam, these questions should be on it:


Director wants to boom up from the lens at ground level to roughly eye height (or as close as you can get), what do you need? (No, it's on a dolly not a jib).

What is the inherent problem with pie pieces in a dance floor?

What are some things you can do to eliminate a track that is squeaking?

Track is on a wooden floor, the floor is popping under the weight as the dolly moves, what can you do to help eliminate the noise?

100' of track on a 300mm. It has to be smooth. What do you need? (No, Sanjay)

Crane track should always be ________.

You're doing a commercial and the company has rented a Fisher 10. What question have to ask? (after, "What's the rate?")


Director wants to pull an actor down a sidewalk with the camera directly in front of him. He can't step in the track and the director doesn't want to use Steadicam. What do you suggest?


A camera is to be placed looking directly down on an actor lying on a bed. What do you need?



Doing a haul-ass move on track with another grip helping push. You rig up a push bar on the back of the dolly. What shouldn't you do? Hint: If you do it wrong, the dolly can go off the side of the track.)



All right. There are some basic questions that a dolly grip should know the answers to. Smugness removed.

Social Media and Miscellania

To help spread the word, you can also find us here:

https://www.facebook.com/dollygrippery

We've got a new Flickr page up for photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dollygrippery



If you have a moment also check out the adventures of Rodger the sandbag (it's a laugh riot!) at:

http://thetonguedollyexercises.tumblr.com