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Jim Gilchrist

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Everything posted by Jim Gilchrist

  1. The military uses them extensively and they have US distribution based in North Carolina. Their US site is https://www.zargescases.com Best regards, Jim
  2. The producers of In Search of Liberty, Norm Novitsky and Chip Lane, are both Tea Party activists. They threatened the crew, withheld wages, broke a ton of labor laws (first and foremost, treating the show's crew as independent contractors) and showed a complete misunderstanding of Georgia's right-to-work law. IA international rep Scott Harbinson and ICG rep Darla McGlamery among others did an outstanding job organizing the show. Interestingly enough, Jim Walters, a labor law attorney with the firm Fisher Phillips, was hired by the producers to thwart the crew's organizing efforts. Walters also represents SCAD, the art school most of the crew were from. Here's a quote from Scott Harbinson, a guy who doesn't mince words: "The irony and hypocrisy of a Tea Party activist like Norm Novitsky misclassifying employees as independent contractors in order to push payroll tax burdens from themselves on to employees—all the while seeking a $300,000 incentive from the taxpayers of the state of Georgia—is lost on no one." If you're on Facebook, Scott's account of the whole series of events is available as a series of public posts on his profile. I've known Scott since the late 1980's when he was the business agent of NABET Local 15's Mid-Atlantic region and I was a member of Local 15's Executive Board. He's been an effective voice for all of us who do the work of making films all that time.
  3. Brian Wilson is on my radio today, in honor of his 74th birthday.
  4. Maybe start here: http://www.lectrosonics.com/Support/Microphone-Wiring/uhf-transmitter-5-pin-input-jack-wiring.html
  5. Filmmaker Glen Pearcy succumbed to cancer after a long struggle on May 31, 2016. Glen was a treasured friend and colleague to many of us in the Mid-Atlantic film and television production community. He was a talented cinematographer and storyteller but more than that he was an excellent person. I've known and worked with Glen since shortly after I went out on my own in 1983 and shortly thereafter joined NABET Local 15. We worked together a fair amount and every day we worked together I learned something. Sometimes it was about the film business or the filmmaking process but more often it was about doing the right thing, treating others better or being a more complete person. I'm sorry now that I wasn't always the most attentive student to the lessons he was best able to teach. Glen made an Academy Award nominated film about UFW's fight to organize farm labor, Fighting For Our Lives Glen's work with UFW is just part of his legacy. He was there for key moments in the struggle for racial equality in America, a true witness to history. Take some time and have a look at Glen's photographs of the voting rights march in Montgomery, AL in March of 1965: https://www.loc.gov/folklife/civilrights/events/Montgomery65-gallery1.html https://www.loc.gov/folklife/civilrights/events/Montgomery65-gallery2.html Glen documented his illness and treatment as well.
  6. I'll have the Rolling Stones on my radio today, in honor of Charlie Watts' 75th birthday
  7. No problems here. Sounds like it could be a dead dongle. Maybe try using the dongle to connect the keyboard to a computer to eliminate the possibility that's the case. Also reset and rebuilt your 633 settings, or alternately to create another settings profile and see if corrupt settings could be the problem. Best regards, Jim
  8. Here's a link to an essay about Clark which appeared in Texas Monthly in 2014: http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/he-aint-going-nowhere/
  9. in commemoration of Guy Clark's passing.
  10. Texas singer, songwriter and luthier Guy Clark has died at 74. He wrote L.A. Freeway, Desperados Waiting For a Train, Heartbroke and a slew of other songs that became hits for Jerry Jeff Walker, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Ricky Scaggs, Rodney Crowell and Bobby Bare among others. His guitars were prized by those fortunate enough to own one and he mentored many of Americana music's brightest stars and championed the music of Townes Van Zandt. Clark won the Grammy for best folk music release in 2014 with his final album My Favorite Picture of You. Clark was married to artist and songwriter Susanna Clark for 40 years, from 1972 to her death in 2012. Here's the title track from that final album of his, about Susanna.
  11. Had a look at the credits, one of the two sound recordists local to DC who's listed for a while would put up a pair of mics to offer choices. Not sure if he still does this. Living through the brief BBC M-S stereo origination era took the desire to fly a pair of mics for a single subject sit-down right out of me. A mic on a stand when placed correctly can be adjusted quietly to account for the subject moving and generally if the mic is weaving around at the edge of the subject's field of view as it would be if the pole is handheld it can distract the subject. In a quiet room a properly placed Schoeps cardioid (CMC44, 54 or 64 or a CCM4) will prevent problems being off-axis as a subject moves a little other than variations in level. I try to sit out of the eyeline next to my stand and behind any fill or fill reducing gripage if any's used so I can adjust the mic position if required. Best regards, Jim
  12. "Nose plate stiffener" isn't a euphemism, so get your minds out of the gutter. It's a great idea and addresses one of the Kartmaster's main shortcomings. Good work, Jim.
  13. You do. For both the RF protection and build quality. Any of the non-big box pro production sound sales houses could also build you one as well.
  14. Another great place for all things hardware like knobs is McMaster-Carr. Also good for the rubber edging used on cart shelves, drawer handles, locking hasps, etc. Best regards, Jim
  15. It's about 5X the price of the gun I've used for years for cable making but a friend who repairs appliances uses one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Appliance-PH-1200-130-1000-Degree-Temperature/dp/B000E2401O/ref=sr_1_82?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1460660636&sr=1-82&keywords=heat+gun
  16. I've been in a situation where using the other lav worked best. No gear failure involved, just (really loud) yelling at close range in a pretty wide frame. Never say something will never work. Best regards, Jim
  17. I don't know. Looks pretty windy in there. #sadfaceemoticon
  18. Such sad news, Haggard died on his 79th birthday.
  19. For folks in the Baltimore-Washington area: I've spoken with a colleague who works at a local lighting supplier and if there's sufficient interest, we can try to arrange a production equipment swap meet/yard sale in late May or early June. He needs to run it by his corporate overlords first but doesn't foresee any issues. If the first goes off and is well received, there's no reason it couldn't become a quarterly or semiannual event. The space is inside with off-street parking. If you are interested in the idea and would participate I will have details later in the month. PM me if you want to help organize, set up or clean up.
  20. I did several episodes of Unsolved (maybe 8-ish) once it went to series, all shot on 16MM. All in the mid-Atlantic region, so all Aaton all the time. I did some promos and bumpers for Unsolved with Robert Stack in the monumental core of Washington, DC which were done on 35 if memory serves. I also did a fair amount for America's Most Wanted in their pre all-video era. Reenactments were shot on 16 generally and interviews on video. I think it probably saved some money doing effx and on the size of the grip and electric packages since we shot a ton of effx shots and big night exteriors. The show was based in DC and I traveled some especially in the south. There were a group of folks that worked together regularly and we had fun blowing stuff up and the like. After the show went all video, not so much. I had enough trouble with slipping and loosening hinge billets on Nagras that I made realigning and retightening them a regular maintenance item, including resecurring the screws with silicone sealant especially after flying with the recorders. Best regards, Jim
  21. Group member Al McGuire posted this to the JWS Facebook page, Mark Walpole is a close friend and lives in the Washington DC area. Mark was threatened with a $75,000 fine by the FAA (not the TSA) because they decided to start enforcing a long-standing regulation. Read about his experience and learn: Here is what I put on CML last month about it.......The rule is you cannot check any Lithium Ion batteries into the belly of the plane. Chances are its my horror story you have heard. In October I was flying BWI to DFW. I had (6) Anton Bauer HCX batteries in a Pelican that I checked. When I got to Texas my battery case was empty. In the 2 years leading up to this event I estimate I had checked that battery case 300 times with those batteries in it with no issue. As it turns out… I have always been in the wrong and didn’t know it, its just the enforcement is amping up now. In Baltimore when my checked bags were X-Rayed it was reported to the FAA I was attempting to put Lithium Ion batteries in the checked baggage compartment of the plane. The FAA seized my batteries, locked them away, photographed them for evidence, and opened a full investigation where I was facing a $75,000 fine. Very scary. Not to mention I had no batteries to shoot with. As you can imagine I was super cooperative, extremely nice, very sorry, and thankfully the judgement was No Enforcement… and a promise from the FAA that if I ever had an issue with batteries again, I would be in a world of pain. During the 40 days the case was under investigation, I learned a lot about the rules, and how a guy who travels with 2 Amiras on airplanes every day can still reliably travel with batteries. I have some FAA white paper on all of this stuff if anyone wants to look at it https://www.dropbox.com/.../AACe8MV1eyP44xggpoqtpBdNa... it is very hard to read lawyer speak. After millions of questions to the FAA investigators I have come up with this workflow. Marks Pro Tips for hassle free flying 100% of the time: -Only Travel with batteries under 100 watt hours -Carry on all batteries into the passenger compartment -Tape the battery terminals This is what I have been doing the last few months and its flawless. I travel with a backpack with (8) Anton Bauer Cine 90’s. The only slow down is when you go through TSA at the airport, 100% of the time they rub the wand with the cloth on the end of it on the backpack full of batteries. Its a 1 minute slow down. The real bummer is schlepping 8 batteries to the airport bar, but it is now the only way to do it. I got this tiny backpack that perfectly fits (8) Anton Bauer Cine 90’s in it https://www.thenorthface.com/.../equipment.../microbyte... The key for this backpack is if need be, it can fit under the seat if the overheads are full. If you used a small Pelican to carry the batteries it wouldn’t fit under the seat. If your on those small Embraer regionals with tiny overheads, or if the overheads were full you wouldn’t have anywhere to put the Pelican. The FAA rule is if you turn over the batteries to be gate checked you are in violation just the same. As of today: -you can hand carry into the cabin as many under 100 watt hour batteries you want, no limit -each ticked passenger can hand carry (2) under 160 watt hour batteries with explicit airline approval at check in. They have the right to say no arbitrarily when you ask, so it is not a solid plan to ever count on working. But you have to ask permission first. -You can check a under 160 watt hour battery 1 per case IF it is installed in a piece of equipment (not charger), the case bears the FAA approved Haz Mat labeling on the outside with contact information, and explicit Airline approval upon check in, again the airline has the right to arbitrary deny it so it is not solid plan to count on ever working. If you were going to try this I would also have the UN testing doc for your model battery from the manufacture if you were really going to try this, the FAA regulation references batteries passing this testing. Anton Bauer provided me with theirs for the HDX’s when I asked. -You must take protective measures (like taping) so the terminals can not come into contact with anything and short out. The FAA explained to me that the danger of Lithium Ion is if they catch fire they are really nasty, and are susceptible to problems if the cargo hold gets depressurized. If the batteries are in the cabin, and the cabin losses pressure, the plane immediately gets to a lower altitude for the passengers. Also if a battery starts on fire in the cabin it will be quickly noticed and is a lot more emergency manageable than an unattended fire in the cargo hold that may be past the point of suppression once it is detected. The FAA said that they have had lots of problems (prob why we are seeing the new enforcement) with the Hoverboard scooter things. They have large Li-Ion batteries in them and the batteries are mass produced terrible build quality, and safety. They are designed to be cheap, and you can see in the news they catch fire a lot. Russel Crowe over christmas had trouble trying to bring a Hoverboard thing on a flight http://www.cnn.com/.../russell-crowe-virgin-australia.../ I encouraged the FAA to get a booth at NAB to help everyone navigate this, so there would be someone to talk with about the rules. It sounded like they were going to do it, I sent them all the info. If you are at NAB and the FAA really does get a booth stop by and say hello to them. My issue was the FAA doesn’t have any outreach or a way for people to easily get real world clarification. The published regulations are hard to read, and our situations as filmmakers is unique. I def benefited from being able to converse with a human on my situation. A few closing notes. Don’t try to skirt the rules. If nothing else, this is the plane you are flying on after all. Don’t count on getting let off if you are caught. The regulations are changing a lot. My contact at the FAA is Special Agent Louis Fernandez, Louis.Fernandez@faa.gov. If you have questions you should contact him, he is the definitive answer. Please note I only travel domestically in the US. I have a friend who just flew a crew to Asia and the airline would not allow them to carry on, or check any batteries when departing from the US. The times are def getting worse for traveling with batteries. Get locally when you can, but unfortunately sweet places to film often times have no rental houses. Happy shooting! Mark Walpole Washington DC Based Cinematographer Local 600
  22. Ernie K-Doe was born 80 years ago today. You'll know the songs that made him famous. They had legs.
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