Digital Video - December 2008 - (Page 20)

BY STEFAN SARGENT hat are some of the movie shots that really impressed you? Not whole sequences, just single “geewhiz” shots. Chances are that those you remember best are high-angle, moving shots. Maybe the opening shot of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, the neverending tracking crane shot to end all crane shots. One of my favorites is from a Russian film, The Cranes Are Flying. It’s a handheld shot that starts inside a bus, goes outside into the crowd, then flies sky-high, looking down on a convoy of tanks (the cameraman went from walking to riding a crane). In the world of documentaries, Thomas Riedelsheimer’s Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time makes good use of a lightweight crane. I can’t remember seeing a documentary with such great up-and-over crane shots. I leave the cinema saying, “Got to have a crane, got to have a crane.” I see the “making-of” and lo there’s some footage of his crane. It’s a German-built unit from ABC Products. Made out of titanium aluminum alloy with a maximum lift of 14', weight 13 lb., breaks down to 5.4' lengths. No one sells them in the U.S. I e-mail ABC. They don’t answer. So, what’s available locally? W Receivers and batteries mounted on the frame. Left balancing weights on left arm. Video out to transmitter. COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CRANES I search the ads for off-the-shelf cranes. The Losmandy Porta-Jib? Nope — weighs 45 lb. The Kessler Crane is cheaper and lighter. For $964.95 you get a 12' reach. Want to pan and tilt with joysticks? Add $1,000. Weight is 30 lb., more than twice the weight of the 2'-longer German model. I can hardly take out the garbage cans on Sunday night. How could I manage a 30 lb. crane? I e-mail Germany again. Zilch. A little lighter is the Dutch-made Cambo V40, available from U.S. agent Calumet. With motorized pan and tilt, it’s $15,000. HiTek joysticks and DELV 7XL monitor. My 20' of carbon fiber tubes in a 3' KATA bag. Ron’s connector. Tube connection with Velcro. WHAT’S ON THE WEB? I turn to Google. Type in “homemade cranes.” Yikes, there are pages and pages of home-built rigs. Everyone’s doing it. Almost every DIY crane is made from long lengths of chunky aluminum. Fine for tossing into the back of the pickup, but imagine the scene at the Oakland International Airport. For me, it’s got to be under 5 lb. and no longer than 3' collapsed. 20 dv december 2008 www.dv.com http://www.dv.com

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Digital Video - December 2008 Contents DV Expo Gallery First Look: Ultimate 35MM Lens Adapter Vidock GFX Pro Videostudio Pro X2 Instant Expert The Making of Roman Close-up: Dave Ruddick Crypto Camerawork Click To Play DV101 Production Diary

Digital Video - December 2008

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