I get her, in a strange way. Not in the oppressing the people sort of way, but in liking shoes or bags sort of way.

It used to be Porta-brace was the only good option for a sturdy bag that would survive in the field. In the past several years I have tried most all of them. Behind Porta-brace, I would rate Kata and Arri. Both make good solid cases with lots of neat options. I have not had a great experience with Cine-bags.

Arri is making a very fine bag these days.

I recently wrote about my love hate relationship with B&H, and the other big east coast video retail outlets. In that post I cautioned against anybody that undercut B&H. I once found a “great” deal at Fumfie.com. It was my 5D and they had it a couple hundred dollars cheaper than anyone else. The scam was that I also needed to buy overpriced/off brand cards and batteries. When I refused, the camera was suddenly out of stock.

My laptop is huge. It is not a petite thing by any means. If it went to grade school, it would be nick named jumbo or tubby on the playground. I like it that way. It churns through video files like me through food at a Chinese buffet. But it is large and few computer bags can accommodate comfortably. The one that B&H sold me when I bought the laptop from them, finally told me to go to heck and dissolved into a little pile of thread and cloth.

The exhaust ports of my ASUS. Very similar to a jet fighter engine. I don’t shovel snow at my house, I just walk around with my laptop.

A new bag search was on! The first one I got was from ebags.com. The compartment dimensions indicated plenty of room. The bag arrived, and the laptop did not fit. Not even close. At least the return was easy. At this point I was scratching my head trying to find something big enough. That is when I went back to basics and looked up what Porta-brace had to offer. Jackpot.

The porta brace Director’s Case with built in laptop glare visor. Gaze upon its beauty.

I then hunted for the best price, and against my better judgement I tried a new place called  AV Alive. I just knew I was going to get screwed again, that the bag would arrive with no strap or something weird. But to my surprise and delight it was a perfect purchase. As I understand it, AV Alive is a smaller family owned business fighting it out with the big boys. I would recommend them as a strong alternative. And with that said, here is some bag porn…

The zippers are made of a magic composite that makes them extra strong.

Pockets, lots of pockets.

Tubby fits quite nicely. I suppose the bag size is “Husky”.

If this don’t turn you on, well, I don’t know what to say.

Yes, I may be somewhat of a freak.

The entrance to the land of temptation. If I am Hans, this is the Gingerbread house.

We had spent several days wandering the streets of NYC. Amongst our many destination stops was B&H Photo Video. I have been buying stuff from this mail order place for at least 20 years and have seen it grow to one of the dominant dealers of camera gear. My relationship with B&H could be described as love/hate. On the hate side would be the fact that I like to support local. B&H has the cards stacked against local dealers because local dealers, while they can match price, also have to charge sales tax. For whatever reason, mail order places can avoid this. Also, when I buy something, I like to be able to touch it and shake it around a bit. I can’t tell you how many times I have order the “jumbo large production bag” and when it arrives I discover it will barely hold a small towel.

The only gentile employee I think I saw…

Another “hate” is the strict adherence to all orthodox Jewish holidays. I suppose on one hand I respect their devotion to their religion. On the other hand, it is inconvenient for me, especially during Passover  when they shut down for 10 days. That always seems to be the time when I want to buy something and they have the best price. In fact, most of the east coast video dealers observe the same holidays. I just got an email from Filmtools.com reminding me they are not Jewish and are open for business.

Unlike a lot of stores,B&H is well staffed with people who know what they are talking about, and friendly.

Now for the love… B&H has the best prices on gear, always. You might find some off brand site with a lower number, but you will almost always get screwed. Any place that undercuts B&H has some sort of scam going on. I could tell you various stories of finding great deals, only to have them explode like poop into my face, and my mouth was open. Gross.

So when we began to plan a trip to Manhattan a few months back, B&H was one of my destination choices. I thought it would be fun to see the physical store, no big deal. We arrived around 10:30am on a Sunday morning. Tripods and jib arms filled the front display window. The first big display inside was all the latest and greatest cameras that are available. I was not in the market for anything but was excited to see them. After about 10 minutes I decided I had seen enough and it was time to go. Then I remembered maybe the used department might be fun to see. On the way to that the lighting department caught my eye.  I went straight to the LED lights and lost my mind. Within 10 minutes I had bought 2 IKAN panel lights. My heart was racing and dopamine surged through my bloodstream. We paid and went out of the front of the store. I felt like I had just rode a roller coaster. And I had to go again.

Do you wanna touch me?

So back in I went, this time I bought two bags for the lights. Headphones beckoned me. I had still not seen the used department. Lights flashed and my pulse quickened. A thin sheen of sweat covered my forehead. I had to get some fresh air and collect my thoughts. The cool air outside calmed me. Yet, I was drawn back in, just one more time. I knew there was something else to see or touch. It turned out it was the bathroom. In New York, bathrooms are kinda rare to the public, so I used the one at BH and called it good for the day.

The checkout process was smooth and efficient, like a modern slaughterhouse.

I wish we had one in Kansas City. Being able to touch and test gear is a wonderful thing. I suppose that is a bygone era. Even a local dealer would be hard pressed to carry the amount of inventory that B&H does. The whole experience makes we want to go to the fantasy land of NAB next. I will write a review of the lights when I get them. They are a few weeks out due to shipping and passover.

and a good deal was made…

Safety meeting prior to the shoot. I am just kidding, we are talking about Cozy Inn burgers.

To me the song is a haunting introspective look at our eternal existence  Our location was the Masonic Center in Salina, Kansas. We felt the long corridors filled with group photos of men long since passed would provide the ideal backdrop. We also wanted to create an “out of body” feel to the performance. We did this by mounting a long board on a doorway dolly and having each of the band members perform while “on the plank.” Chad operated steadicam on the opposite end of the dolly.

Allison walks the plank as Chad operates steadicam on the dolly. Notice my concern for safety.

Cain on plank as Chad operates steadicam. Notice I am no longer concerned about safety…

I am quite pleased at how it came out.

Here are a few clips of the doorway dolly with the plank.

Credits

Directors/Scott Jolley, Cain Robberson

Director of Photography/Steadicam Chad Chamberlain

Olassa, The Band/ Cain Robberson, Tyler Bachert,  Allison Olassa

Dolly Grip/Ryan Chamberlain

Grip/Dan Lacy, Max Jolley,  Johnny Stump, Whitney Spangler

Location Manager/Donald F. Hamilton

Executive Producer/Doug Jolley

Assistant to the Executive Producer/Marne Jolley

Special Thanks to The Masonic Center, Salina Kansas for the amazing location.

I think he practiced a lot…

My first advice to new operators is always to keep glancing up to see where the end of the jib is. It is easy to get get mezmorized by the monitor and forget about the business end of the arm moving around out there. The following video gives some good examples on this. We where shooting some promotional video for a band that they would use later. We put the jib on the stage which is kind of unusual. A big challenge to this was the band members moving all over and having to keep an eye on them as not to smack them. The other fun part was the producer thought it would be neat to feed the jib to the screen above the stage. It was literally “you are live the whole time”. I have done this a few time before and actually enjoy it.

You can see the jib feed in the big screen.

The last section of the video shows me operating. We have bird feeders around our house. I have noticed that when the birds feed, they constantly check around them for danger. Watching the video, I realize I do the same thing. I am also not usually that tense when I operate. All the moving targets kept me wound up pretty good. Thanks to Sean Brown for the gopro work and behind the scenes footage.

The calm after a summer storm. It brings peace to the soul.

I have lived and worked on the high plains and find it one of the most awe inspiring places on the planet. When you are able to quiet your mind on the open prairie, take in the rolling earth, and see the sky stretch out forever, it gives the soul a strange sense of belonging.

Music accompanies whatever environment that I am in. It does not matter whether it is in my head, performed live, or drifting from a speaker. I also like when a band connects to a time and a place so strongly that the fit is unmistakable. I remember sitting in a theater in Nashville. I had just sat through “Oh Brother Where Art Thou.” I did not move until the last note had ended. The music and story connected so well that I felt as if I had been in the story, was a part of it.

Amanda (my wife) tells a story of a windmill with a water pump on her grandparents farm. On hot summer days you could draw cold water from the earth and drink from a tin coffee can. I have hijacked the memory as my own and can taste the water and feel the can on my lips, it is a delicious experience that is real to me.

The music of Olassa creates the same effect. The songs transport me to a place of massive expanse and quiet beauty. They are grounded in the earth and in our fragile existence. The harmonies blend like the wind through long abandoned farm houses, telling stories of our brief moments in the sun. It is deeply moving and connects me to experiences I have never had, but now have memories of.

Olassa is the soundtrack of the American prarie, without being confined to stereotypes. I would guess they are also the soundtrack of any other land and culture that is tied to the earth and human struggle. In my favorite configuration, they are harmony vocals, guitar, tuba, and accordion. When they perform, they become characters from a different time yet the music is not dated or old. It is alive and full of different energies. Enough reading about music, listen and connect.

Click on this to go to Olassa.com and hear what I am writing about.

Building the jib arm in the auditorium.

The auditorium was built in the 1920′s for the use of the Masons and their various clubs. For their initiations and programs, they had elaborate costumes and backdrops made to tell the stories and history of the group. Over 90 backdrops, hand painted, and they still hang in that room.

It was a match made in Heaven as far as I was concerned. We made arrangements to get the room and off we went. The morning was spent loading in gear, which was not an easy process. We snaked through the cavernous building and made our way to the third floor with a jib arm, steadicam package, doorway dolly, and a bunch of other stuff. Next was figuring out the 90 backdrops and how each set worked. We were saved when Don Hamilton, our building contact, brought us the “backdrop bible”. It had photos and numbers for all the scene sets.

The room had old fashioned radiators for heat, and they worked very well. So well, they made Max’s feet hot.

The stage itself had these big square flood boxes in the wings with old style pin plugs. They all worked. We added a little additional front light and called it good.

We spent the next few hours calling out numbers and picking which scene sets we wanted. The next step was critical. I ordered 100 Cozy Inn hamburgers for lunch. We would need their life giving sustenance for the grueling shoot that awaited us. If you are not familiar with The Cozy Inn, it is the best slider hamburger in the world. That is not my opinion, it is fact. I also believe it is written in the old testament. “and the Lord God did create the Cozy, and it was good.”

Cain, Allison, and Tyler arrived and we packed them full of tiny hamburgers. Then it was show time. To raise and lower the backdrops, we had 4 sturdy individuals who had rehearsed all morning. Ryan would call the timing cues and Whitney, who has the strength of 10 oxen, would call out the color code for the next scene set. As the band performed, I could hear her calling out “next is blue, stand by blue, go blue!” It reminded me of basic training in Full Metal Jacket.

Our first run through almost brought tears to my eyes. I could barely keep my thoughts together and concentrait on running the jib (which is important, it is a big heavy stick that I am swinging through the air). The movement of the backdrops was breathtaking, more that I even had imagined. We ran three takes with the jib and then switched to steadicam and ran 6 more takes.

Because we had scheduled to shoot two videos that day, and I wanted the natural daylight from the windows for the next video, we called the shoot and moved on. About 6 hours later, we were at my parent’s house in Salina. I had all the footage on my laptop and decided to drop it all in a timeline and tinker with it a bit. As we began to cut, I realized that it was going to simply fall in place. The total edit, not including color correction and some tweaking was about an hour and a half. It was effortless and wonderful.

All of this happened because of a group of friends who love what we do. I can not think of a more enjoyable way to spend a day. Input came from all directions, it was as joyful an experience as I have ever had. Thank you to Olassa, The Masonic Center of Salina, Kansas, and to The Flying Circus crew. I am in constant awe of the film making community in Kansas City and am thrilled to be a part of it.

And now, please enjoy Pretty Flowers by Olassa.


Director/Scott Jolley

Director of Photography/ Scott Jolley

Olassa, The Band/ Cain Robberson, Tyler Bachert,  Allison Olassa

1st AC/Chad Chamberlain

Grip/Dan Lacy

Backdrop Riggers/ Max Jolley,  Johnny Stump, Whitney Spangler, Ryan Chamberlain

Location Manager/Donald F. Hamilton

Executive Producer/Doug Jolley

Assistant to the Executive Producer/Marne Jolley

As a friend of mine calls it “Useless Scareways.” I like the “Star Alliance” myself. Very evil empire…

On my most recent trip to Canada, I made the foolish mistake of booking with U.S. Airways. I figured they would sneak in the baggage fees like they always do and I was careful to pack and make sure each of by bags was under 50 lbs. The heaviest was actually at 45. Somehow, during the trip to the airport, it gained 8 lbs. The agent informed me it would now cost another $150. I move a couple of batteries around and got it to 49.5.

During the flight, we were given a special treat. For us only, and only during the flight, we could apply for a US Airways credit card, and get some free miles. We could also get “free” miles if we would buy crap out of Skymall. They reminded us of that several times. Towards the end of the flight, they announced as an extra special deal, we could take the credit card apps with us and get our family and friends to apply. I felt bad for the flight attendants.

This part I can deal with. It turns out the little blower nozzle will blow on the reclining persons head. I found that moving it around created different hair effects.

The return trip was truly a masterpiece in clusterfuckery. For a company that specializes in moving people around, I was amazed at the level of incompetence, it was majestic in scope. The pinnacle of the folly was after I had cleared customs. I got to the gate 20 minutes before the flight was to leave. The flight was being delayed because the crew was lost or delayed. Finally, they began the pre board announcement and told us not to approach the gate until our boarding group was called. They also made an announcement they had sold more seats than they actually had, and who would like to stay behind and get a coupon for a flight the next day. Hooray!

Scott of the tundra. I just wanted to go home. Please let me on the plane…

Anyway, I waited patiently for my boarding group to be called. They never went beyond group 1. I approached the gate and asked what was going on. The agent shut the door to the gate and told me the flight was closed and I had missed it. I asked why she did not announce any more boarding groups, and she would only respond that the flight was closed. She would not make eye contact. A few people were gathering behind me asking the same question and she turned her back and was whispering in a phone. After a few minutes the flight was re-opened and we where allowed to board.

Not the actual agent, but very similar…

While boarding, the agent hissed at me that I would not be able to take my camera bag, that it was too large and it was too late to check. I reminded her that about an hour ago I had specifically asked that very question and she had told me it was fine. I could go on and on about all that happened next and how the attendants treat the customers like stupid cattle. I understand they are under stress as well. I am guessing it is a management problem that is causing the culture of contempt toward their clients.

“We shall sell more than we have, and then strand them on the moon, they will have no choice!”  This is how I picture the corporate office at “The Star Alliance.”

Anyway, I got home with all my stuff. Our next trip to Canada, we are driving. It will be easier.

TFC is an organization designed to promote tools that move cameras.
TFC assists film makers how to effectivly move cameras to enhance and tell stories.
TFC is a support organization for Midwest production companies.
TFC also is designed to build community and support for film makers in the Midwest.

Part of the promotional/educational aspect is to produce videos that show various tools at work. Soon, our website will be up with links to various vendors and operators and demos of gear at work. This includes jibs arms, steadicams, cablecams, helmet rigs, camera cars, rc devices, dollys, sliders and helicopters. Here is one of my favorites, featuring HiDef Helli. Let us know what you think.

Several months back, some friends of mine mentioned that we should do a film and I naturally agreed. I wanted to work on something that would showcase how a steadicam and other camera movement could enhance and even become a character in a story. Kinda like how the Overlook Hotel becomes a character in “The Shinning”. Yes I realize this is not a perfect comparison, but go with me…  I wanted the camera movement to become a character, and if that didn’t work, at least carried the narrative in a way that enhanced the story.
I am pretty happy with how it has turned out. An added bonus is the amazing score that is being put together by John Stump and being mastered by Trevor LaChapel. They are blowing me away.
Here is the trailer to the movie, I hope to see you on Saturday for the premier.