Hi gang:

I've been waiting to put my reels up online for a few years, until the compression and technology was in place to assure that the movement was smooth enough to complement the Steadicam shots, without a lot of streaming delay.

Well, I've finally gone and done it; signed up with the Demo Reel Network. Thought you guys might be interested in seeing the stuff (my DP reel is up there also).

Here are the reels (http://www.demoreelnetwork.com/chupap/).

That is freakin' awesome! Totally fluid, liquid camera movement.

Must be all that beer I drink.

Thanks Dan!

Great stuff!! And very inspiring....

Charles--you must be one athletic son of gun--that last shot around and around the SCRUBS guy...whoa--I'm tired just thinking about the weight of the rig and you doing that dance.

The one shot that really impressed me is the West Wing shot...(the President in bed with his wife)

It was so subtle and smooth---one wouldn't normally notice or associate it as a steadicam shot, and that is the point I guess.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you John. Good eye! The West Wing shot is one of my favorites also. It's a very demanding style of shooting, when the camera is slowly moving and the actors aren't (or are distant in the frame). A critical viewer can become very aware of the architecture and converging lines, and imperfections in the operating are magnified. A similar shot that I like also came earlier in the reel, during the "Crazy/Beautiful" segment with Kirsten Dunst past the dining room table in the glass house.

These types of shots are not as showy or legendary as something like the "Goodfellas" Copa sequence or the opening to "Boogie Nights" (and many kudos to my associates Larry McConkey and Andy Shuttleworth for their great work on those), but imitating a slow-moving dolly shot is it's own sort of "epic" challenge.

That Scrubs shot at the end of the reel, that was fun. The director originally wanted to just pull Zach down the hall (i.e. precede him) but since we had done so many of those in previous episodes, I suggested the roundy-round. It took some co-ordinating between myself and Zach to get him to shift his position in the narrow hallway to counter the camera without it being too noticeable. I think I was a little red-faced by the end!

Toughest shot on the reel, operating-wise: the one that pulls Edward Norton down the stairs in the "American History X" segment. Particularly heavy camera, low ceilings, and stairs always suck, especially at that speed!

beautiful!

you have truly made it my friend!

you inspire all of us lowly shooters in the midwest doing coroprate video for small peanuts.

(you also piss us off b/c we wish we were you.)

thanks for sharing! :)

I'll say it again, you are the man Charles P.

Matthew:

Thanks, and if it helps: I too was a "small peanuts" corporate shooter in Boston until about 8 years ago. Every day it seemed was another corporate mucky-muck interview lit with venetian blind patterns in the background, plus B-roll of guy at computer or two nodding guys standing around with file folders (or the same guys walking down a hallway with me following them with the rig). Wasn't a bad living or lifestyle but I wanted to work in the movies something fierce, so I packed it in and moved to L.A.

The interesting thing is that now having done that, I find I again want to MAKE movies just like I did at 17 (before getting distracted by that shiny floating contraption with all the springs and knobs). And the cool thing now is that you don't have to live in Hollywood to do it. This forum is more than proof that anyone, anywhere can easily access all the tools and techniques to realize their dreams.

I am equally inspired by all of you; those who are making films and putting them on the web, experimenting and learning and sharing the results. It's an exciting time.

Hey Charles, that was awesome man... I've always liked the stair shot in American history X beautifully done, maybe someday I'll manage stairs with rig without falling on my ass :-), everything on that reel was just amazing. It's something to aspire to for amateurs like me :-) I think I'll watch that from time to time to remind me how it should be done :-)

Kudos.

John.

Whoa Charles, or shall I call you sir! I can't believe that some of my favorite movies, shows and actors had scenes shot by a fellow member here at DVINFO.net! American History X is just way up there for me and I was thinking the same thing about getting down those stairs and into a corner to shoot Norton and Furlong. That's a tough setup. Office space I love, Scrubs, well a lot of them I own on DVD and just love. Thanks so much for your constant contribution to this site, it really is an amazing board. You shot most of the steadicam shots on a Glidecam 2000 right? Only kidding ;) - your pro steadicam is obviously a marvel of an instrument.

Thx, John and Bryant.

<<your pro steadicam is obviously a marvel of an instrument.>>

It is that for sure. Although a few things on the reel survive from the pre-Pro days...American History X, for one, was just prior to the PRO purchase so I was using my old Model 3 and also testing out a Master Series Elite for some scenes.

The scene on the stairs still gives me nightmares. It started pushing in Norton as he came out the door, then I turned right and panned the rig left as I started barrelling down the stairs (ending up in the "Don Juan" position, where the camera is looking behind you), trying to keep an eye on Ed to adjust headroom as he broke the first stair. Then I had to squeeze under a bizarrely low header as I turned the corner and stopped on a dime when Norton stopped, then accepted Furlong into the frame. As Norton starts up, I took the last couple of steps and blindly panned the rig with him as I turned my body back around into standard/"missionary" position (hence the only part of the shot that bothers me; the headroom gets a little excessive since he ducked on this particular take and I didn't see until it was too late).

Number of takes, including lens changes (tighter versions): probably 25-30.

Weight of rig: Steadicam 3A with Arri BL3, Zeiss prime: approximately 75 lbs.

Rank of difficulty, entire career: #1

Ugh!

Wow man! What an awesome insight into a fascinating field of work. Thanks so much for sharing...can I tell people I "know" you? hehe. I really enjoyed watching your reels, and all the info on the shots. Thanks.

Very nice demo, Charles!
The scene on the stairs looks very complicated, indeed. But very well executed! This makes me wonder: we can see in "making off"'s and the like how the director asks for another take because the interpretation is not really what he/she has in mind. But is there the posibility of a "let's do it again, I didn't shoot it right!"? I know I did about 15 takes on a comercial scene so I could shoot it right. But we where just three peoples and the "actrees". How do you go in a 20 - 30 people team? I wonder what the steadicam opp in "Russian ark" could have said to hundreds of people if he would trip in the last 5 minutes of the one take movie...
Very nice work Charles. Thank you for sharing with us!

That's a complicated one, Cosmin.

I have successfully lobbied for "just one more" under certain circumstances. Part of the "politicking" of being a Steadicam operator is knowing what to say when. Sometimes you really want another, but when the director asks you how it was you just have to say "great!" and let them move on, or it will reflect against you. Other times you can make a pitch for why it would be worth it for them to let you have another. It's usually more successful if the issues in a given take have to do with timing that was outside your control, such as an actor missing a mark or mis-timing a move, or an extra doing something wrong. Not that it's about blame, but if the director can see what could be improved and decides it is worth it to go again, you are all set. I've definitely had moments of wanting another and hoping that there will be another because of performance reasons (and many more where I hope this doesn't happen!)

Most interesting of all; it is possible to "ruin" a take by hitting the rig against your leg or something, forcing a "go-again". Does anyone remember the 1st season of "Project Greenlight", where the DP didn't like his opening pan and busted the take? He wasn't smart enough to pretend it was a mistake and everyone got pissed about it, but that sort of thing happens all the time. I personally don't like having the actors have to run through an entire take if the beginning has a problem that I know the director will be unhappy with in the edit, so I will, under the right circumstances, bust the take. Usually this isn't because of a problem I had, more likely the timing just isn't working or there is a shadow across the actor or something, but there are those moments where it just might be due to something I did or didn't do. Picking those moments is very tricky though. When the heat is on due to the sun setting, or an actor having a hard time with a scene, you don't do it then.

Politics is as much a part of being successful in this industry as one's skill. And it takes at least as long if not longer to learn!

Gorgeous. Out of curiosity, what were the legal issues involved in your being able to use the footage on your web site? It's certainly great advertising for the various productions, as well, but wasn't it complicated to get everyone to agree to your use of footage shot specifically for their productions?

thank you for the reply, CHarles!

Charles

I wondered how many takes Dave Luckenbach had to do on one of the X-Files episode (Triangle) where the whole episode was done using a Steadicam.

I think they had to keep one long shot where Scully was running out of Mulder's office in the basement and as she turns around the corner, she almost wipes out. You can see her slipping in her high heels but quickly regains her balance. The decision here was to keep the shot instead of reshooting it.

As usual, great stuff Charles! How did you do those whip pans with those kids outside by the Pepsi machine and stop so precisely? How many takes or did you nail it? Also, all of your video on both demos plays continuously but with rather occasional skips like film jumping teeth or bowing in a projector. Any idea what that could be? I watch Apple movie trailers all the time with no problem.

mmmff, sorry to hear that about the web issue. I'm wondering if the buffer is too short and it keeps getting hung up momentarily? Does pausing for a few seconds help as it allows the stream to get a little ahead, I'm wondering? Maybe our web guru friends can answer this.

I can, at least, answer to the content!

The whip pan scene (from a very good but scarcely seen film called "Squeeze", worth a rental) took a few takes. This goes back 10 years so I don't remember how many. The tough part was getting the kids to be in a predictable spot when I would land on them--there's not much reaction time available during a whip pan to adjust if the actor is well off the mark. That particular movie was shot with an Arri BL4, an absurdly heavy camera and thankfully one I haven't had to carry since. It helps greatly with the stability but it's a lot of momentum to start and stop for whip pans. I do believe that they cut a few frames out of the middle of some of the whips to shorten them.

Whip pans are always a bit dicey with Steadicam; very few operators can consistently nail them take after take. In all humility I sort of feel like I got lucky on that particular take! During my two seasons on "Scrubs" I had to do a lot of whip pans as editorial transitions and got it down pretty good (probably got rusty again since!) Like most things Steadicam related, practice makes perfect.

No. I know what you're talking about how it sometimes pauses when the slider catches up to the download and it's not that. It literally jerks like an 8mm home movie projector is known to do.

So for the whip pans you just grip, twist and release real quick and then hopefully clamp down at the right moment? Does your rig have the knurled collar area for better grip when you're fingers or gloves may get a little moist? Mine has that baby smooth powder coat finish and when your fingers are moist you can forget it. Like you said, I can't imagine spinning that kind of weight in an instant and then stopping on the mark without some major practicing. If I remember correctly there were 3 of those in the same shot. Unbelieveable!

The knurled handgrip is the way to go. Barring that, some friction tape may work for the short term. I remember before the handgrips some folk were using the sort of padded rubberized stuff that one wraps around tennis rackets also?

Perhaps the Demo Reel Network needs to apply some baby smooth powder coat finish to their server....?

As far as the technique for whip pans, you have all the steps but the last and probably most important--when you clamp down, you have to release your grip almost immediately, then clamp again to a lesser degree, release etc. like an ABS braking system. If you clamp too long, the rig will jerk a bit and probably lose level, or bounce back the other direction in pan. Getting a feel for this is a big part of the successful whip. Being in good dynamic balance is another.

Yes. The ABS example is a perfect way to describe it. I totally agree with dynamic balance playing a key roll. My biggest frustration is a slight wobble with that kind of move. Just the slightest wobble is a dead giveaway. Under normal operation, do you grip full hand or just with index, middle and thumb and above or below the gimbal? I've seen some operators using a full hand grip. It seems that there is more control with fingertip use.

When a Steadicam operator screws up a shot for whatever reason, losing vertical, horizontal or overpanning, etc. are they more forgiving because of the nature of it's properties or do they give you the look when you say, I'm sorry, can we do that again?

<<do you grip full hand or just with index, middle and thumb and above or below the gimbal?..

I'm a traditionalist, I use a classic grip with the fingers spread apart and palm set back from the post. All fingers are in contact with the rig though. The full hand grip has become more popular, but it is deceiving--they are actually just using their fingertips also, it looks like they are clamping because they have the fingers curled around the post further. The nice thing with this grip is that you don't have to shift back and forth when working in high wind or doing a whip pan. I use it from time to time. I work below the gimbal almost all the time. Occasionally in very low mode I will go above the gimbal, which is also becoming a standard practice for low mode.

<<When a Steadicam operator screws up a shot for whatever reason, losing vertical, horizontal or overpanning, etc. are they more forgiving because of the nature of it's properties or do they give you the look when you say, I'm sorry, can we do that again?>>

Depends on the DP, director etc. and the type of shot. If they know you do a good job, they are generally understanding to the odd bauble, unless the performance was perfect and/or there is a time pressure cooker, which is usually the case. If you have to whip pan into a shot, generally we keep the camera rolling over several tries until you land on a good one and the scene continues. If its in the middle--good luck! One of the cold opens (the scene before the opening credits) on the first season of Scrubs was a continuous 3 minute Steadicam shot that went from the parking lot through hallways, up an elevator and eventually into the ICU where I had to do no less than three whip pans. At the end of the bloody shot. Only took us 37 takes to get all the elements in order!

Charles,

Your video was so cool that right after watching it I was really pumped! I was so motivated in fact, that I strapped on my recently purchased Glidecam V16 and chased the dogs and wife around the house. After 15 minutes I pulled off the sweat soaked vest, grabbed a cold beer, and watched my video. You know what? It looked almost as good as yours...almost...if you can overlook my tilted horizon, bobbling stops, bounces from banging the sled with my leg, overshot pans, soft focus, uncontrolled headroom, and loud breathing, grunting, and cursing scattered all over the wild audio track. Your video showed me how easy it is for anyone to fly a camera <G>

Seriously, your video is indeed an inspiration, and provides much needed motivation for me. In only three weeks I have seen an improvement in my ability to handle the Glidecam, but I know I have a long...long way to go before I can even hope to approach a reasonable level of expertise. That's okay, because in my 30+ years of film and video photography, this may be the greatest challenge I've faced, and I'm having a great time learning this new tool. Getting there is at least half the fun.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful work. It's obvious from the responses you've received that there are many of us out here who really admire your skills, and truly appreciate the knowledge and experience you so graciously share with us.

Thanks Brad and to any others I may not have responded to directly within this thread. To be called an inspiration is itself inspirational.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing! Just keep strapping it on. I have described a few exercises here in the forum that might be found by searching under "Steadicam"; other than free-form chasing the family, it's very helpful to do walking exercises with nothing more than an X on the wall. Lets you really focus on your footwork, finger work etc.

Keep at it, make me proud!

Charles,

Good Stuff !!!


any chance these can be downloaded?, they dont seem to resume

uhh...dunno?

At some point I will have my own site, but I needed to get these up and out there temporarily. I don't know much about the Demo Reel guys other than that their introductory offer made it cheap and easy.

What do you mean by "they don't seem to resume"? not sure...?

If that's okay with you I'll post the direct download links here,
Charles. Do a right-click on the links below and choose save
target as (PC):

REEL 1 (http://69.22.162.215/~demoreel/reels/chupap_large.mov)
REEL 2 (http://69.22.162.215/~demoreel/reels/chupap2_large.mov)

Rob

nice one ta!

Charles,

by resume I mean when the line drops and I go back - it starts from the begining - so Ive only seen about 10%

If you dont mind Ill convert them to run on MS on my clie they should look nice at 480 x 360 - you never know who I run into on my travels :)

You guys are cool with the tech! Thanks Rob.

Is there a way for me to put them on my Treo 600? Although the resolution of the screen makes it hardly worth it. It's really too bad they didn't go with the Tungsten screen.

Charles,

Palm sized showreels are 'de rigour' over here

instead of 'thanks for for your time - I will send a DVD to you in the post'

its a case of -- take a look at this!!! (whips palm pilot out of pocket and nails the job right there and then)

dunno about the Treo 600 - I drive a Clie NX80V -128mb MS gets 20 min of top quality (palm sized ) showreel. Pays for itself in almost one hit.

Showreel in your pocket - way to go!