[Todd Terry]

They were selling for $379, but all 500 sold out right away.

Dick’s Sporting Goods is selling an similar though not “official” one for $400.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

Ha!… incredibly stupid and funny at the same time.

Of course since I have to over-analyze everything, the first thing I noticed is that the were advertising the “Steadi-Kid” for what would actually be a fraction of what that particular Steadicam rig really costs.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

An update… to the side of my post that had good customer service.

My package from Fotodiox just arrived.

Remember I sent them a light that had a problem with the dimmer. They determined it was not under warranty, but sent me a new light anyway.

I had sent them just the defective instrument head in a little box… but they sent me back a brand-new full kit. Light, case, batteries, power adapters… the whole shootin’ match.

Man, I cannot say enough good things about this company. The next time you need lighting, please give them a look.
Not only are their lighting instruments fantastic… but you absolutely cannot beat the service. Dumbfoundingly good.

Hear that, DJI?

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

The BM camera might be an option… but I already own all this other equipment so I’m not looking to buy anything new.

All that being said, when it works the image from the X5 is absolutely spectacular. I use it as part of the Osmo Pro setup, or I’ll also separate the head from the handle (I have a long cable that does that) and put the camera head in various places… even on the end of a 10′ boom/jib that hangs out the back of a vehicle for automotive running footage (and I have the handle, monitor, focus wheel, and all camera controls riding inside with me).

I actually can’t say enough good things about the X5… as I said when it works. Right now the camera works fine (and the gimbal is flawless) except the issue that I’m having is that the camera is not talking correctly with the app that you have to use to control it (it keeps incorrectly recognizing it as the wrong camera, and about half of the functions don’t work). I honestly think its an interface or an app problem, but DJI wanted the camera back for diagnostics. This is a problem that came on suddenly during a shoot when we changed batteries.. and looking at the forums I see quite a few other people have exactly the same issue.

For what all it does I think the whole setup is a bargain, and I have mine as tricked out as you can get with a lot more than the base kit in it (which is why I don’t want to buy another camera). I have the Osmo Pro rig, plus a couple of other lenses, the wired adapter, the focus handwheel, and the CrystalSky monitor. The CrystalSky monitor is actually pretty awesome (it’s basically an Android device with a 2K screen and is 4x brighter than a phone or tablet… you can view it just fine in direct sunlight). The CrystalSky is a bit pricey ($500-$1000 depending on model), but honestly is totally worth it.

So… I’d be perfectly happy with the rig I have…. if it only worked.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

… and good to see Ron making a B&M appearance!

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

Well, Tom, it hasn’t worked out yet…

Our case is still in Houston… supposedly.

Actually they can’t quite seem to put their fingers on it right now. We’re in Vegas, trying to make do. Fortunately the COW Services listing led me to someone who led me to someone who helped us make arrangements at midnight last night to get some of the things we need.

We’re still hurting a bit for proper gear but limping by.

Oh well, on the upside, it’s only a 108 degrees here.

But you know, it’s a dry heat.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

It’s probably different because we’re very small shop, but we’ve always taken a slightly different view of interns…

Firstly, we rarely place interns, unless we have something that needs doing and can find someone with legitimate talent and value to come in. Otherwise interns are just too much of a monkey wrench thrown into things.

I would love to be more helpful to up-and-comers, but we just can’t accommodate everyone who calls and wants to “just hang out and watch you guys work.” I have to take the somewhat cold attitude of “We’re not a school, sorry. ”

So, we always only place fairly talented young people as interns. And more importantly, I think, we have always paid them. We’ve never allowed anyone to work for free, ever.

A zillion years ago when the dinosaurs roamed, I started my own career as a free intern…and I remember what that’s like, and how even just a few bucks to say “Thank you for your hard work” would have made such a huge impact to me, and would have been a pittance for my employer.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

Well, we’ve arrived in Vegas, but not all of our cases did… one of them is still stuck in Houston.

They hope to be able to deliver it by midnight, but I’m not super hopeful.

It contained our light stands, tripod, mic boom, and slider. Is anyone here in town that might be able to help with gear in a pinch? We are expected to be shooting on location at 7:30 in the morning!

Thanks much,

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

Hard to say…

An avenger terminates with just a standard 5/8″ baby pin on the top… so you’d have to figure out a way to put a head on it. It all depends on what head you have, there are so many different types of head bottoms out there.

if you have a tripod head that terminates in a 3/8″ male threaded stud (as many do), you could use a regular grip head to attach the tripod head. If your head terminates in a female receiver (as many do), you need a piece of threaded stock to put in there and attach to a grip head in the same say. With other head types, no doubt it would require some kind of creative jerry-rigging, but it could be done relatively easily I’m sure. I’d probably just hit the Matthews catalog and start browsing through the various pieces of gear to either see if there is something that would work, or or something that would spark some ideas to custom build something.

Then again, I’d personally probably just use a ladder and be done with it. 🙂

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Todd Terry]

What kind of “stability” are you concerned about? I’m just thinking that jib shots would normally be pretty stable… and if there were conditions that would not allow a jib to be stable (i.e. wind or whatever), that if that was the case then a C-stand would likely be much less stable than a jib.

Also… what’s the camera? It’s one thing to put a GoPro on top of a tall stick, entirely another to put an Arri Alexa up there.

If you want to go the stand route, rather than a C-stand I’d look at any of the Matthews stands that have “Vator” in their name… such as the Minivator, Crank-o-vator, Supervator, etc. Or at very minimum, at least a junior stand or a Combo stand.

I think the last time I needed a high shot like that where a jib wouldn’t work (I can’t even remember why we didn’t jib it), we just used a plain ol’ 10′ a-frame ladder. I drilled a 3/8″ hole in the top of it, where a tripod head mounted like a charm.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com