Whew!

  Once again I find myself in a hotel room somewhere midway across the country. My Dad and I are driving my two cars to Atlanta where we will meet my family and all our crap. Then, I start a show the following Monday (B camera again, but it pays and this move is cleaning me out). I turned down a ginormous show because I just couldn't swing it with the move so I'm taking whatever comes and grateful to have it. In other news, a tornado has once again struck my hometown and they are once again digging out. See my thoughts on that here.
   Our friend Sanjay is in LA at Chapman this week and once again I missed him by a day. Every time he shows up I leave. Sorry Sanjay, tell Shafi hi for me. The way Sanjay works, I'm sure he'll end up taking a Hydrascope back to India with him.
   I did some fun TV second unit and fill -in work over the last two weeks on three different shows, including a Hydrascope on a Titan. I truly believe I could make a decent living working four days a week doing second units for television. I just wouldn'y enjoy it much and my heart wouldn't be in it.  That's all I have for this disjointed excuse for a post. I drove for ten hours today and I'm wiped.

dollygrippery.???? and the SOC Awards

  As most of you know, my procrastination caused me to lose my precious domain name to some woman who writes fairly unintelligible articles. I plan to re- register under a .net or maybe a .tv. As it is now, I'm in the middle of a logistical nightmare with moving etc. Until then, please direct anyone you know to be a reader to this address. Posts may be slim for a while unless Azurgrip finds time under his own busy schedule to put up something. I am taking any guest posts you may send me to keep the thing interesting. If you are an experienced dolly grip, or a newcomer with a fresh perspective, please don't be shy about emailing me something. I may punch it up a bit but the credit will be all yours if you wish.  We're not going anywhere, and have big plans for the future. We're just on a little hiatus after almost five years of continuous activity. I've met some great people and colleagues in the creation of our community and I'm grateful to all of you for your support. I can't tell you how great it has been to meet all of you and share our common experiences.

I would like to congratulate a couple of good friends. Two camera operators I work with are up for the SOC Operator of the Year Awards. Will Arnot, whom I worked with a couple of years ago is up for The Help. Will is a fantastic operator and a truly great person. I look forward to working with him again. Will makes it look easy. Andy Crawford was his Dolly Grip on the picture and Will would be the first one to give him credit where it's due. Also, Simon Jayes, my good friend and co-worker is nominated for his work on True Blood. Simon is a truly gifted camera operator and it has been my pleasure to be his Dolly Grip for many years now on three tv series and more shots than I can count (both kinds). With Simon, it's more fun than work. Congratulations gentlemen. It has been an honor to work with both of you and call you both friend. Good luck to both of you!

Until next time, stay safe and keep it on the track.
D

This and That

  I'm actually low on ideas for technical posts right now. Over the last four years we've covered just about every imaginable topic you could think of in the field of dollygrippery. The well is dry. Please email me or comment with any ideas you may have or topics you would like to see covered.
   One thing about this business that I've always appreciated is the universality of it. By this I mean that yuou bring a crew of hundreds of people together, many of whom have never met, and because of the traditions, training, and work ethic among most of them the whole thing can function like a machine with very few hiccups. Making a movie is an unbelievable logistical nightmare. That a group of strangers can meet, pull it off, and part as mostly friends amazes me every time it happens. This is true now more than ever as the film business finds itself breaking out of the traditional "shot in LA or New York" mold and is cranking  up in places like Shreveport and Detroit.  As I was loading out dollies for the last show in Atlanta, I attempted to strike up a conversation with an out of town dolly grip who was checking in a dolly behind mine. I could tell immediately that he thought of me as "just another local with a Southern accent who thinks he's a dolly grip."  He shrugged me off and went his way and I'm sure did a great job, but the attitude gave me the idea to just say this: there are good techs everywhere, as well as subpar ones. It's a new business and if you're fortunate enough to be a guest in someone else's town, at least be gracious. That's all I'm going to say about that. Jackass.
   I've got a new blogsite up at infrequentwriting.blogspot.com. It's  mainly just a place to practice and polish up my writing a little. It was inspired by a blog called 365 Jobs, as well as Michael Taylor's blog. Both are so well thought out and beautifully written that they made me want to have a place to work on my skills a little and see what else I could write about. Check it out.
   Like I said before, give me some ideas. I haven't been behind an A camera dolly in five months, so I need a little shove to know which way to go. Maybe I'll get in touch with Larry the Boom Guy. He's always got great ideas for posts. I got nothing but time so help me out.
D

New Hybrid Configuration + End of Year What Did We Learn Post

    I learned something interesting on the last show. The A Camera Dolly Grip pushes a Hybrid regularly. He showed me a new way to configure the head that Chapman offers and some of you die hard Hybrid enthusiasts may appreciate if you don't already know about it. It's simply a plate that bolts down in the same place that the regular four-way levelling head does, using the same bolt. The new style Hustler 4 rotating levelling head then attaches to the plate. Rather than an RO on top of the levelling head, giving you five extra inches of height you rarely need, you now can get a little lower than with the old style head. Having not pushed a Hybrid in a while, I hadn't seen it, but it really works great. I will be sure to ask for it next time I use one. I can file this one in my usual end-of- year what did we learn post, which is as follows:

1:You can get by on way less than you think you can.
2: Soft compound tires aren't as bad as I always thought.
3: Take it down a notch.
4: Don't overthink it. (I knew this already. It's actually one of my regular mantras. It bears repeating).
5: You know the front lifting handles built into the Peewee 4? There's a little slice cut out of the inside edge of each side. I know what that's for. (Think old-school low mode).
6: B Camera isn't so bad after all. I got a lot more stuff done.
7:  The replacement value of a short post seat riser is $845.00.
8: THE REPLACEMENT VALUE OF A SHORT POST SEAT RISER IS $845.00! IT'S A POST WITH A HOLE IN IT!
9: You don't really appreciate roundy-round until you don't have it.
10: Let the young guys take the front up the stairs.
11: That thing I said earlier about the new Hybrid config.
12: Being shushed by a  twenty-two year old PA  irritates me a lot more than it used to.

Here's to a great and prosperous New Year! Wishing you all the best. Take care of each other.
D

Tony

We lost one of our own a couple of weeks ago. Tony Bendt, a Dolly Grip I had known only a few years passed away in his bed in New Orleans while on location. I don't know the details of his passing, and at this point it doesn't really matter. The world's supply of good men is down by one. Much of what I would say has already been said, coincidentally, by Michael Taylor in a post he did a few days ago about a fellow worker dying unexpectedly. I had heard about Tony just the day before reading Michael's post and had to read it twice to be sure he wasn't talking about him. I didn't know him as well as I would have liked, so I'll speak my peace with the few facts I did know and be done with it.
  The one thing I know for sure about Tony Bendt was that he had a talent for making friends. Whenever anyone passes on, it's amazing how many people say that everyone loved him and he brought joy into the world etc. etc.  I always wince a little and wonder how this could possibly be true of everyone who meets an untimely end. Well, if I were interviewed tonight about what Tony Bendt was like, I would say that everyone who met him loved him and he certainly brought a lot of joy to those who knew him. And Tony knew everybody. His ability to make friends struck me the first time I met him, at a gathering of dolly grips a few years ago. I met him, liked him, and a few weeks later received a text from him asking how I was. He would always send me pictures out of the blue. A  few of them are to the right in the picture section of this page. I don't think I ever went more than a couple of weeks after that without receiving a text or a picture or a phone call. He honestly was that way. I don't know how he found the time because, as I said, he knew everybody, and I have to assume that they were all getting texts and calls from him as well. He has a Facebook page and on it I have found the first Best Boy I ever worked with, a DP I've worked with, several Dolly Grips, and a whole network of  people I've heard of, but never met. He also loved this business. When you've been at it as long as most of us have, we tend to find ourselves jaded and disillusioned by the whole process. I never knew him to be that way. He honestly enjoyed his job, and the people around him. He was a good man in a business which sometimes seems short of them. He leaves behind a wife and two children. I pray for them. A blog has been set up for him at tonybendt.blogspot.com. If you knew him, go pay your respects. If you didn't, go and let it inspire you to leave as much of a mark on the people who know you as he did.
Safe travels, Tony. The world is a poorer place without you in it. See you on the other side.......


  Now, life, and business must go on. As most of you know, I let my domain registry expire due to a mixture of laziness, stupidity, and forgetfulness. In my defense, I've had a lot on my plate in the last few months and just let it slip through the cracks. Some company immediately bought it and is now holding it for ransom. It will be back. In the meantime, you can find me here at the Blogspot address.

  The show's over, we bought a new house, and I'm in the process of moving. Not a fun task in the best of times. Oh, I also don't have a job for next year yet. It's very exciting. You didn't come here for news on my personal life, you came here for some tasty Dollygrippery, so here's a rundown of the last job:

Steadicam, Steadicam and more Steadicam. I sit on the truck, help the A camera Dolly Grip lay track, sit on truck some more, surf the internet, move carts, get bored and help grips build 12 x's, sit on truck, do establishing shot. That's pretty much how it went for nine weeks. In the meantime, I made some new friends, worked with a great DP, and reconnected with some old friends. That's really all you can ask for. Til next time, stay safe out there.

Update

  Well, it's been a while. I apologize for not checking in for a few weeks, but I've been dealing with real estate stuff, one year old's birthdays, and work. The show is going well and I'm really enjoying B camera and not having to be there every second. I think of myself as Eddie Van Halen's guitar tech. I make sure the rock star has everything set up to put on a show. I can play, but I prefer to remain in the background. I'll have a topical post soon, but right now I can't really think of anything to post on. Ideas anyone?

PS -Because I've been slack lately, my domain name registration may have expired. If the site goes dark, nothing's wrong, I'll be back.

Day 2

 I haven't done really much of anything for two days. I've been going about this all wrong!

Day 1: A camera- Steadicam, B camera- One shot on hi hat. Shoot the breeze with A camera dolly grip. Get wedges for hi hat.

Day 2: A camera- Steadicam most of day. Two dolly shots. Help A camera dolly grip get and lay track. Shoot breeze with A camera dolly grip. B camera- Set up shot on sticks. Don't shoot it.

More to come. That is all.