Jeff Wexler Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 I saw my buddy Goldy at CineGear today and he was showing the PSU-3 Video Assist unit from Vantage Films. Vantage is a German company that has been supplying camera gear as well as this video assist equipment for years but I had never seen this before. The PSU-3 is one of the most impressive, well thought out piece of equipment I have ever seen. It has amazing features for anyone doing high end digital video assist work. I know this is not the work that most of us do but I know that we can all appreciate this remarkable equipment. More information is available at www.vantagefilm.com but you'll have to wade through a lot of camera stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Read your hat. does it do 3d ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilchrist Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 does it do 3d ?? Had you read Jeff's post you'd know the answer to your question. Best regards, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 On the Yahoo Video Assist Group, there is a huge controversy raging about this product and the business model that lies behind it. It will be very interesting to see where this goes next. Laurence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted June 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 On the Yahoo Video Assist Group, there is a huge controversy raging about this product and the business model that lies behind it. It will be very interesting to see where this goes next. Laurence I talked at great length with both Goldy and Alexander (from the German company that has been dealing with this item from the very beginning) and most of the "controversy" is coming from a competitor who doesn't want this product to come to our market. The essence of the controversy is a lack of understanding of the way things are done in other countries. Rental companies have a lot more power in Europe, more like what some of the rental companies have become here (like Wexler, no relation, and others, who are the first contact by the producer way before any working crews are hired). All video "assist" in many of the countries is a function of the equipment to perform this function supplied by the rental house along with total equipment (primarily camera) package. Video assist is not a union position and is usually performed by the P.A. who wants to do it. Our Video Assist position here in the U.S., at least for Union jobs, is much more well defined and we have lots of people who do just that job, usually with equipment that they have purchased and rent to the production. It follows much the same model as the sound department and the sound mixer. This was not always the case, historically, regarding the equipment, and this model of individual union member, owning equipment and renting to the production, is undergoing change as we speak. Even the very jurisdiction of who will perform the duties of Video Assist is being challenged. To damn a piece of equipment that can provide those working in video the ability to do a better job, is ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Is the "business model" comment due to this piece of equipment not being for sale (rental only) or because it is so expensive or what? A doco shooter friend of mine likes to say "anyone can do sound, when it's easy", and that also applies to video assist. A lot of video assist work I see being done requires a very well prepped package, a fair amount of practical video engineering knowledge, a pretty deep understanding of how a set (and particularly the camera dept) works and a fair amount of applied psychology (re the clients/brass who are watching their monitors). It's not really a job for amateurs. I looked at the site but never did find a page about the video assist unit.... phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 ...I looked at the site but never did find a page about the video assist unit.... The link is in a small area on the lower right of the main screen. Here's the page: http://www.vantagefilm.com/en/news/index_47.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Yes, Phil, the business model issue seems to have something to do with exactly that... high pricing with speculation that it is not really intended for sale OR rent. I'm only paraphrasing some of the discussion on the Yahoo Group... and it has gotten somewhat vitriolic over there... but the price they're batting about seems to be in the range of $65,000. That's a massive investment when you know the producer is not likely to pay anywhere near 5 times the rental in order to have it on the set.... hell, if past history tells us anything, they probably won't even pay a penny extra for it. And yes, Jeff, Goldy and the maker of one of the primary competitors of the PSU were getting into it pretty heavy on the newsgroup, with some clear differences between their 2 perspectives.... the former from the perspective of someone who has used it extensively and the latter being someone who has never used it nor even seen it in it's current configuration but who has much to gain by criticizing it for the purpose of protecting his own competing product. That said, I don't really know where this product fits in the big picture. People are claiming that it was developed by a camera rental house that gives it away free... yes, free... with camera packages rented in Europe, but maybe they have different plans in the US. Laurence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry long Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 http://www.sounddevices.com/products/pix.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Goldy had this unit out on the production that we just worked on together. An absolutely amazing piece of gear that, to me, seemed quite revolutionary when compared to any other video assist gear that I have ever seen. The business model that he spoke of at the time, with regards to obtaining ownership of one of these devices seemed to also be rather revolutionary. Although the units ARE expensive, they do replace an awful lot of gear, including the need for carrying HD mixers, etc. The way he described the path to ownership, it seemed to make financial sense with regards to making them financially obtainable. Goldy, of course, has as much experience as anyone out there, and he REALLY believes in this product. I was there when he took delivery of his first one and I can tell you that he was VERY excited about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfvid Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 I wrote a 4 page detailed review of capabilities of the PSU3 as previewed at CineGear. Since the machine is not released yet in the USA market I will send this only to individuals who write to me and ask for it privately. I sent the article to Vantage and they promised to add their comments, then I/they can post it I guess. They know there are features the USA folk want and they say they are working on them. I don't want to waste peoples time with vaporware discussions. wolf at wolfvid doot com. ( thanks again Goldy for showing it so glowingly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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