Repeats

I was absently watching a movie called "Freedomland" this evening as we readied for Christmas dinner. I don't know much about the movie, apparently it didn't do very well. What I did notice was the camera movement. Every shot was a move which led into another shot which was also a move. The Dolly Grip, Matt Blades, who is out of NY, did a great job of keeping the movement consistent with each preceding shot. Now, these shots may have been done hours or even days apart. This is something you will run into, remembering the speed of a shot you may have done earlier in the day, or even days ago and matching it. In time, it becomes something you can develop and it helps to know the context of the shot-i.e.- what's going on in the scene and how it connects to the shot you're doing. Being consistent with speed is something you will have to learn if you are going to be a Dolly Grip. Some people-most of them not Dolly Grips- will tell you to count or some other such system for repeating. For me, this is a bunch of hooey, it just doesn't work. At some point you will just remember the feeling that a certain shot had and you will be able to repeat it. If you have to, reread the dialogue or watch video playback if it was a shot from a while back. Once you regain the idea of the shot, you'll know when you have the correct speed just by how it feels. How were your steps? Did you land on a certain word in the dialogue? If you are a wheel watcher, you should be able to tell your speed by watching the wheels. The important thing is- don't overthink it. Go with your instincts and you will usually be right on.