PILOT POST - SALE QUESTIONS by Dave Gish

[Charles King]

PILOT POST-SALE QUESTIONS:

Q) What do I do while I’m waiting for the Pilot to arrive?

A) Watch the Pilot How-To video: http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/pilotVideoCode.htm
Read the Quick-Start guide: http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/PILOT%20Manual_112607.pdf
Read the Merlin Arm & Vest Quick Start Guide to get more info on adjusting the vest.
http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/Steadicam_MerlinArmVest_QS-E.pdf
Make sure you have at least 10 charged AA batteries on hand.
Make sure the stand arrives at the same time or before the Pilot arrives.

Q) What do I do when the Steadicam Pilot arrives?

A)
1) Set up the stand so the feet are wide with the legs fully extended. Tighten the legs and the leg yoke.
2) Level the stand using the small bubble level and adjusting the length of the feet.
3) Extend the stand’s vertical post so the top is about chest height. Tighten post.
4) Remove the Vest and foam layer from the Pilot backpack.
5) Place the Pilot Dock plate on the top of the stand with the gimbal mount pin directly over the stand leg that has the Steadicam logo.
6) Tighten the dock plate with the black plastic wing-nut.
7) Place the yellow-handled hex-nut driver down through one of the holes in the top of the Dock plate.
Place the Pilot Sled gimbal over the gimbal pin on the Dock plate. Turn the gimbal so that the sled is the furthest from the stand’s vertical pole.
9) Remove the camera mounting plate from the stage by unscrewing the 4 thumbscrews on the corners, then pulling out on the thumbscrews, then pulling up on the camera mounting plate
10) Mount the camera onto the camera mounting plate using the screws provided in the small plastic Ziploc bag.
11) Mount the camera on the stage using the 4 thumbscrews.
12) For the Pilot-AA, remove the plastic 10-AA battery holder from the mount by loosening the battery mount’s right plastic wing nut, then pull on the bottom of the battery holder just under the Steadicam logo.
13) Insert 10 AA batteries with proper polarity (springs = negative), then reattach the holder to the mount
14) Add screw-on weights as desired. Screw-on weights on the ends of the bottom cross-bar increase inertia on the pas axis, which helps create smooth pans. Adding weight to the bottom of the sled also increases tilt and roll inertia. Adding Screw-on weights to the stage lowers the camera height. Adding weight to the sled in general makes the rig more stable (helps isolate the sled from your body movements).
15) Adjust the length of the sled vertical post as desired. Increasing the length of the post increases inertia in the tilt axis and roll axis, but also raises the camera height.
16) Attach the composite video output from the camera to the RCA connector on the back of the stage.

Q) How do I balance the sled?

A)
1) Position CG of the camera about 1/2" behind the center of the top post
2) Position battery pack pretty far back, not all the way but close
3) Position gimbal for 2-3 seconds drop time (requires yellow handle wrench)
4) Position bottom crossbar to get pretty close to static balance (requires yellow handle wrench)
5) Fine tune static balance in both axes using the stage knobs
6) Spin it (check for dynamic balance)
7) Adjust battery pack position & camera stage knob
Go back to step 6, repeat until it spins well
Note: compare the vertical post of the stand to the vertical post of the sled to accurately gauge static balance.

Q) How do I get into the rig?

A)
1) Put on the Vest. The Merlin Arm & Vest Quick Start Guide is good for this.
2) Attach the arm to the vest using the Pilot Quick Start Guide as a reference.
3) Place the gimbal of the sled over the gimbal pin at the end of the arm.

Q) How do I use it for the first time?

A)
1) Turn on the camera and set it to record-standby mode.
2) Turn on the monitor at the bottom of the sled.
3) If the arm attaches to the right side of the vest, keep the sled on your left side, fairly well back, so that the battery pack is near your left leg. Opposite for lefties.
4) Adjust the 2 blue knobs on the top of the arm so that both sections are approximately level. Watch that you don’t pinch your fingers here.
5) Right hand on the gimbal handle. Left hand on the sled post just under the gimbal. Light touch on both hands.
6) Bend your legs slightly, and start walking.

INCREASING STABILITY:

Q) How do I get good at using the Pilot?

A)
1) Sign up for a 2-day workshop: http://www.thesteadicamworkshops.com/schedule.shtml
2) Order the EFP Training DVD (details further down).
3) Practice the exercises in the Flyer manual starting on page 27: http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/Flyer_Manual_Lo.pdf
4) You might try walking around with your hands not touching anything at all, and just let the balance of your body control the position of the sled. This improves balance so that your right hand touch can get lighter.
5) Practice a lot.
6) It’s also good to practice with moving subjects. Kids are particularly challenging.

Q) Does the weight of the camera affect the performance of the Pilot?

A) Yes. The more weight, the more stable. You can use a small (e.g. 1 pound) camera for practice, but then you’ll need to add all of the supplied screw-on weights on the stage. In this case, the sled will act very differently, and won’t be as stable. Actually, I think it’s best to get the stage weight up to at least 6 pounds for any camera. So if your camera, batteries and other camera accessories total significantly less than 6 pounds, you may want to consider adding weight to the stage. This can be done by ordering more screw-on weights, buying or building a custom stage weight plate that goes underneath the camera, or a combination of both. I made a custom stage weight by sandwiching parallel strips of 1/4"x 1.5" metal stock between 2 sheets of thin birch plywood. Alternatively, you can Google Steadicam "Practice Cage".
In the end, the closer you get to the 10 pound limit without exceeding it, the more stable the rig will be. I’m aiming for 9.5 pounds, and using a combination of a stage weight plate underneath the camera plus additional screw-on weights (currently on order).

Q) How much do the screw-on weights weigh?

A) The small rounded end weights are 2 oz. The larger middle weights are 4 oz.

PILOT ACCESSORIES:

Q) What accessories are useful for the Pilot?

A)
- Additional 10 AA plastic battery holders, Tiffen part# MSC-300852, $20 each
- Additional screw-on middle weights, Tiffen part# 801-7920-05, $6.25 each
- EFP Training DVD , Tiffen part# DVD-200504, $18
- Steadicam Mini Low-Mode F-Bracket for Steadicam Flyer/Pilot: http://www.avalive.com/Steadicam-SteadyCam/300-7901/24045/productDetail.php
- Steadicam Mini Low-Mode Kit w/ F-Bracket and Handle Clamp
http://www.avalive.com/Steadicam-SteadyCam/078-7393-01/24040/productDetail.php
- More accessories described here:
http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/Steadicam_pilot_listpl_92607.pdf

Q) How do I order accessories?

A) Contact Harry Hoffman, 1-800-645-2522 x1405 or hhofmann@tiffen.com. The low mode bracket or kit may be ordered retail. Note that Tiffen currently needs all the plastic battery holders they have to build Pilot-AA models, so these won’t be available through Tiffen for a month at least. However, I was able to find the identical part on eBay for only $4: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120222255603.