Sorry guys, I'm coming off one of the rarest of scheduling occurances, the reverse split. 1 am call downtown after two weeks of nights. I also, as you know, lost my phone and now my computer is acting up so I'm writing from the camera truck. Anyway, when I get time and a chance I have some upcoming things to think about- the rarity of decent birch, hydraulic leaks, safetying a camera and some more things. I also want to put out a call to our regular readers for some material of your own. It's hard for Azurgrip and myself to always come up with new ideas so I welcome ideas and posts of your own. I want to make this place kind of an online magazine for Dolly Grips so if you have an idea, write up a post and email it to me at dollygrippery at gmail dot com.
For now, I want to start a little discussion on tips. We all have little things we do that we've developed on our own over time that help us save time or effort. If you have one, email it to me (or leave in the comments). I would rather have you email it so I can put all of them together in one post and attribute them to the sender. I'll kick it off.
For a quick surface to hold over -the -shoulders or make small adjustments, most people throw down planks or a 4x8 sheet. To make things easier, I bring in two of my 2x8 plywood pieces and lay them out with about an 18" space between them (much like you would planks) and go crab on them. This still gives me a little over 18" of mobility (give or take) in and out as well as the 8' right and left and they're easier to maneuver into a set than a full 4x8. this is a big help when the DP wants to tighten up or widen out a little. I rarely use planks, I just don't like them, but these offer a dance floor surface that is variable size wise and goes in quickly. That's my tip of the day, send me yours.
D
Never thought of 8 x 2's, but I guess it is a lot easier to manouver.
ReplyDeleteMy Tip:
I have a little adaptor that I have made for the fisher 10. I love the dolly, but find the boom dial a little too sensitive for my liking. I have an 8 inch lever that clamps at 90 degrees to the boom knob, so you have a lever rather than a knob, I find it very easy to operate while pushing and booming up and down. you can have both hands on the push bar and use 2 fingers to boom up or down. It also gives you more travel for the same move on the knob, so less sensitive. Don't need it so much for the Hybrid or peewee.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello There,
ReplyDeletethis is not on topic, but I think I'll share it anyway.
I Recently did a remark in the Guestbook Section of Oliver Stapletons Essay "SO YOU WANNA WORK IN MOVIES?".
He answered on that and added a paragraph about dolly grips that you can read here:
http://www.cineman.co.uk/#grip
Happy readin'
greetz Dan
ps. still thinking about a good Tip...
pps. sorry for doublepostin'..
Forgive my ignorance, or maybe it's a regional thing... but what do you refer to as "planks"? (or are these just the full 4x8 boards?)
ReplyDeleteGripworks- Great tip. That's a great solution for a jumpy arm. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDan- Great read by Oliver. I did a movie with him last year and he is such a gentleman. Thanks for the link.
Anonymous- "Planks" refer to 1x12 planks, usually clear pine. Most DGs cut them into several different sized pairs (12', 10', 8' etc) to throw down for a quick surface or when actors are walking across track. I personally threw them into the pile of things I don't like a few years ago (along with seat offsets and pie pieces) but that's just a personal thing.
Thanks for that great tip Sanjay! I'm going to try it. I remember a couple years back I worked with a model eleven that had a lever instead of a dial. I don't know if the rental house had done that themselves or the guys at Fisher. I do know that it helped feather my starts and stops even more. I wish I could remember where we rented it from and the model number. Anyhoo, I think this thread is awesome D. Thank you! I love reading all the great advice you guys post on here. Take care and ciao for now. I wish you all a week full of yummy craft service and one take wonders! =)
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Alexa