Everyone makes mistakes, this we know, but there are some unforgivable mishaps which plague the nightmares of filmmakers regardless of the scale and budget of the production. Some of these would include forgetting to pack an essential piece of gear, forgetting to hit record before a great take, or losing footage, but none of these can compare to dropping an Arri Alexa.
The $70,000 Arri Alexa (which can cost more depending the number of additional features) is the benchmark camera for digital filmmaking, and most people would be thrilled to see one, let alone use one (or even drive a car worth that much). This makes it all the more heartbreaking to watch this steadicam fail during a demonstration. It is unclear as to whether the camera sustained any considerable damage, and there is also debate between the camera operator in the video and other industry professionals over whether the malfunction was due to hardware failure or operating negligence, but let’s spare a thought for the operator who will be losing sleep regardless of who is at fault. The only good takeaway from watching this disastrous video is knowing that there are very few things that you can do on a set that can compare to this.
[via PetaPixel]
ouch...
Here's how the guy prepared for this demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P6MMVjfapA
When you guys post these click bate headlines saying stupid things- (YES, go to the source and read the updates, which were posted yesterday), you will see that the rubber band wannabe Stedicam actually failed at the heim joint. By cutting corners on a very expensive 9$10,000+) rig they found out what happens when you substitute inferior parts. Heim joints are used on race cars for suspension, far greater loads are sustained than what any Stedicam would ever deal with. The guy in the video that was "testing" it's capabilities is a well known and knowledgeable operator. This purely cheap equipment.
Lighten up bud, notice how this is posted under "humor" section?
i"m not excited, just want viewers to know the real story. If it was "breaking news" then I would let it slide, but they had 2 days to follow up on this.
he's definitely well known....a well known tool now who just committed career suicide. No real Stedi-op would "walk away" from the rig with no hands on it when the package is that heavy. "well known" or not he made an amateur move.
Yes it was not too smart to let a stedicam rig extend that far when it wasn';t his, but if you see music video and action sequences, that is exactly what it needs to be able to do. I've seen camera operators actually throw the camera out away from them, but usually another assistant is there to catch or slow the motion down.
That's not a heim joint, in fact there are no heim joints on that entire setup. That WAS, however, the socket block that failed.
yes it is a heim joint, the "socket Block" is the large chuck of aluminum that the upper and lower joints thread into.
(images taken from Petapixel post on this .)
I'll be damned, I would have sworn up and down that there weren't any heim joints on that entire rig, and there aren't on any legitimate steadicam setup I've ever seen. Using them like this is far beyond their designed abilities and starts to make this failure make MUCH more sense (though the dancing was pretty dumb).
Additionally, when I watched the video, it appeared that the entire socket block had separated from the vest rather than this part failing.
What I am concerned about is the brand of heim joint this compnay used (probably a very cheap knock-off) is not strong enough to do what they need it to support. A quality heim joint is waaaay stronger than it would ever need to be in this type of equipment. As I stated before, I engineer racecar suspensions, and top quality joints (which are not that expensive) can handle thousands of pounds of sheer and torsional loads far greater than mounting 15-20 lbs of camera gear at the far end of a stedicam. I'm just calling out the company that makes a product so expensive ($10k+) but skimps big time on a simple joint.
Hecho en Mexico, LMAO
Makes me want to cry :( But so glad there's much lighter alternatives then rigging a steadicam with something as big as an Alexa. Alexa Mini and Red Weapon FTW!
"...forgetting to hit record before a great take, or losing footage, but none of these can compare to dropping an Arri Alexa."
Those are far more precious losses than a camera.
I agree.
Almost everyone would have made those mistakes at some point, but dropping the camera? Sure, if Wally Pfister forgot to roll on that complex underground chase scene in the Dark Knight, that would have been the worst thing to happen, but generally errors and malfunctions do happen, as do reshoots and pickups. I was, however, told of a story of an operator who didn't properly attach the base plate to the tripod and the first tilt shot saw the Alexa slide off down a hill. That was his last day on set.