Cinegear Atlanta and Fisher's New Stuff

  Cinegear Atlanta is this weekend at Pinewood Studios just south of Atlanta. Although I won't be able to make it this weekend, since I'm working on the lot I did walk over for move-in day and see some old friends and get a preview of things to come. I visited the Chapman booth where Nichole and the team were busy getting everything together. They have some cool stuff to see including the 15' telescoping crane and the new head from Spacecam. Check them out if you head over there this weekend.
  Wick from Fisher had encouraged me to stop in and see Frank and Jimmy in Stage 3. Nichole  from Chapman was actually kind enough to point me in their direction. We all shook hands and they showed me the new Refined Hydraulic Control for the Fisher Tens and Elevens. They've pretty much redone the boom system on their dollies and they let me try it out. It was nice. It was actually better than nice. I was very impressed with the action on these machines. They were responsive and I wasn't searching for the start of the move. The things that I personally always found uncomfortable in the movement were gone. I was especially impressed with the action of the Fisher Eleven, a dolly I have never been a fan of.  Again, the arm was responsive, more powerful and it was easy to change the speed during the move. I'm going to go on a little bit of a tangent here. People often ask me which dolly is better, or which do I prefer: Fisher or Chapman. My answer is, it's a personal choice. When I teach  dolly classes for our union local I tell the class that they have to find the dolly that they are most comfortable using. I happen to be a Chapman user. I've pushed their machines for 25 years and have a relationship with them. By the same token, some of the best dolly grips in the world, guys who are much better than me, use Fisher dollies and swear by them. I've used them myself many times, and have huge respect for the company,  I'm just more comfortable with the Hustler 4. In the beginning it was mostly about the action of the boom. I've always liked the transmission in the dollies I just found the boom control was a challenge for me personally. This changed today. The arm was sweet. Jimmy Fisher also showed me another feature; the variable speed control. You can dial the speed down to a painfully slow creep with the turn of a knob. I think some dolly grips who found the Ten and Eleven challenging will be pleasantly surprised, and much more inclined to use them. Please stop by their booth and introduce yourself and check them out. They are in Stage 3, Booth S131 Thanks to Jimmy, Frank and Joe for the demo this afternoon. If you see them tomorrow tell 'em I sent you.
 
  You can find out about the expo and register at cinegearexpo.com.