Don't be a Squid! If you've got a question, ask it!
I ordered from Amazon.com 3 months ago, but only get e-mails saying the book has been back ordered. After many e-mails, I finally heard from someone at Amazon that said you don't send them the books. What's going on?

Get this: Many people have ordered "Killer Camera Rigs" from Amazon.com, the catch is that Amazon has never ordered those books from us. We don't get it. Really we don't. We want to sell books! We want to send books to Amazon! But if you order from Amazon, every 30 days you'll get an e-mail telling you that "Killer Camera Rigs" has been back ordered. But in reality, Amazon doesn't bother to order anything from us, so they are just plain lying. We only find this stuff out when a customer gets mad at US and writes a nasty e-mail. It's not our fault! REALLY! We've tried to clear this up, but only get form e-mails back from Amazon, and as a publisher, they don't supply a way to contacted them over the phone to talk to them. Crazy. You should also know that the Amazon listing of "Killer Camera Rigs That You Can Build" is the first edition at the first edition price. The first edition has been out of print for well over a year now. It doesn't exist. Not even on my shelf. Sold out completely. (The 2nd Edition is readily available). Again, we've tried to clear it up with the guys up north, or to take it off their site completely if they couldn't list the new edition (and I could tell you some other Amazon Nightmares), but things just don't happen at the monolith. And get this; it's their POLICY to list old editions. The reason? Because someone might have a used copy for sale. I know, it's nuts. It seems that these whacky policies would actually keep them from selling books, and in our case, it does. So, don't order from Amazon.com. You'll be sorry. Besides, we ship next day excluding weekends and holidays, so you'll get your copy faster from us anyway. Oh, one more thing: if you order through this site, you'll get updates, tips, and other stuff automatically.

If you rather not order from we slackers, misfits, and ne'er do wells at Angel Dog, you can also find Killer Camera Rigs at OpAmp Technical Books in Hollywood California. Their web site is www.OPAMP.com. You can even call them toll free. The only catch about OpAmp is that you have to live in the U.S.A. The rest of you are stuck with us.
Shouldn't the 2nd Volume be out by now?
Yeah, it should. I'm going to have to stop giving out release dates for the thing! Here's the deal: I still work in the industry when something interesting comes along. Currently I'm co-writing a script with Erika Lopez adapting her novel "Flaming Iguanas". I'm also working on a 3rd edition of Volume 1, as well as a book based on my Seminar "Finding the Right Shot". But I'm working hard on "Son of Killer Camera Rigs" and hope to have it ready as soon as possible. ALSO, people tend to mix up book EDITIONS with VOLUMES. The 2nd edition of "Killer Camera Rigs" is an UPDATE of the 1st edition. The 2nd VOLUME ("Son of Killer Camera Rigs") is a completely different book with different rigs. Hopefully I'll have it finished soon.
Can you use heavier cameras like the Canon XL2 or Panasonic DVX100A on your rigs?
Of Course! Some of the rigs are even fine for 16mm cameras!
I noticed there are a lot of photos and pages on your instructions. It seems like this might be beyond my ability.  
 

You know what? It just might be beyond your ability on some of these rigs. But given my experience with showing students how to build, for example, The Shock Corridor Stabilizer at USC, I really don't think so. We had quite a mix of abilities in that class, and everyone walked out happy with a great working Stabilizer. (And the Stabilizer is probably the most difficult rig in the book to build). Actually, it's because of the USC classes that these instructions are so detailed. I was able to see what wasn't clear and correct it. And these instructions really are step by step. That's why there are so many photos. It's practically a how-to video on paper. To put things into perspective: even though the Stabilizer plans are 70 pages plus, I can build one in about 30 minutes (minus the drying time of adhesives). In the book you'll find two rigs that ANYBODY can build: The Dark Passage Dolly and The Killer's Kiss Crane. Really, if you can open a jar of peanut butter, you should be able to build these 2 rigs. And they work GREAT. And if you buy one of my plans and get stuck, the guy that designed these rigs is right here. Just e-mail me at: Help!

I want to build your crane, but I've never drilled in to metal before. Can I build it out of wood?  
 

Well...you could, but it's going to be King Kong heavy, and may still vibrate if you make your boom too long.
Look, don't be worried about drilling in to aluminum. There is almost no difference between wood and metal when it comes to putting a hole in it. As I point out in the book, make sure your drill bit is nice and sharp (luckily, they come that way when you buy them). Pick up a little drilling oil at your local hardware store, and keep your bit "wet" with the oil when you drill. It will make things go a lot smoother and protect your bit. Drill at a little slower speed than with wood, and clamp your work down. Grab yourself a scrap piece of metal to try this out on, and you'll see that you were worrying for no reason. It's no big deal, really.
Are the parts for the rigs easy to come by?  
  Boy, good question! One of the hardest parts about writing this book was making the rigs easy to build and then building them with parts that are relatively easy to find. I would really be shocked if you couldn't find all the hardware you need. I went to very great lengths to design these things with materials that are readily available. And I think the neat part is the photo shopping list for each rig. Just take it to the hardware store and point to the picture "Do you have one of these?" If you're still having problems finding something, I'm right here:Help!
If I can build your crane for around $100, how come a commercial crane costs $1000? Is yours just as good?
  $1000? That's one of the cheaper ones. Well, why don't we do a test. You go buy that $1000 dollar crane and bring it over here to Angel Dog. You crane up and down with that one, and I'll do the same on my $100 job. We'll post both movies here on the site, and let people see if they can see a difference. A commercial movie anything costs out the whazoo for a couple of reasons: the grip rental and manufacturing industry hasn't adapted to this new era of DV filmmaking. They're used to the "good ol days" when the movie makers had a big truck load of money. Second, the market is limited. If as many people made movies as made toast, a crane would cost about as much as a good toaster.
Do you sell the rigs you make?
  Nope. We just show you how. It's easy!
What about the ones you see with the vest and holds a 15 lb camera. Can I build a glide cam type V -20 system?. What's the weight limit on the camera for The Shock Corridor Stabilizer I will build?
XL1 Ownwer
  You can compare the Shock Corridor Stabilizer to the Glidecam 4000. We've actually tested the rig with 20lbs and it held up amazingly well.
Now, would you want to haul 20 lbs around without a vest? I wouldn't! Currently, we don't have a vest design for the Shock Corridor, but we are working on that for "Killer Camera Rigs That You Can Build Volume 2", but that won't be out for at least a year. We like to really test the rigs in real situations before releasing them. Since each rig is custom made by the people that get the plans, I've been toying around with making a vest made of fiberglass that conforms exactly to the user's body. But I honestly don't know what the end vest will be. Using fiberglass may be beyond a lot of builders means.
As far as the XL 1 goes, a number of students in my USC workshop had XL 1's, and their reports have been glowing.
Does your dolly use skateboard wheels? Just curious.  
  Nope. Skate board wheels would limit the configurations you can do (like hanging it upside-down for dolly shots over head... for example).
Great site and like your stuff, but wondering if you have any plans to offer hood mounts or hostess trays in the future?  
 

Absolutely. It's called The Drive By Night Car Mount (There's a page on the site that shows the table of contents for the book "Killer Camera Rigs That You Can Build" with QuickTime Movie example shots from the rigs).

 

  
Dear Dan
Thanks for sending the disk out so fast. I am already almost finished building the stabilizer I have a few more things to do first but this thing seams like it is going to work beautifully. I think it is amazing that you are offering this to people. I searched the Internet for hours looking for steadicam plans and came up with nothing except what you are offering of course.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get your crane plans to move in all directions at the camera head. Left to Right as well as Up and Down. And any ideas on a moveable base instead of a tripod.
Also just curious as to when you book will be coming out I am very eager to receive it.
Thanks a lot
  
  I too did a search a few years ago with no luck. The rest is history! In 3 or 4 weekends you can build everything in the book for less than the price of one renting one piece of equipment for a week.
About the crane head moving left to right...I'm working on it! I'm hoping to have a electronic remote head in Volume II. If you'll look around, you can find electronic pan heads within reason, but you do get what you pay for. Just try them out first, they can move A LOT slower than what you might have in mind, and can be noisy. In the mean time, you can always mount a tripod head to the top camera mount and do it that way. Of course, things have to stay within reach. But you'd be surprised what you can do with a ladder and a couple of well coordinated people. And to move the crane, you can put it on the "Dark Passage Dolly". Just be careful! Make damn sure the entire run of the track is level and sandbag the pajeezus out of the crane. You'll also find "The Killer's Kiss" crane in the book. It was designed to go on the dolly. It's a bit smaller, so it's good for indoor work, and it still cranes to about 10 feet. Not too shabby at all. And the real beauty is, you can make it in less than and hour. Really. My sister put it together, and she can barely open a jar.
  

I think it would be great if you made a "How-to" video for building your rigs. What do you think?

 
  At first glance, that does seem like a great idea, and it's something I certainly considered. It would be much easier, faster, and cheaper to produce than this book, but it wouldn't be easier on the builders. First you'd have to have a TV and VCR in your workshop. Then there is all that pesky rewinding, pausing, etc. While I think these rigs are easy to build, there are a lot of details to follow. Something that is much easier in book form. Also, you may be comparing my book to other technical books, where visuals are sorely lacking. "Killer Camera Rigs" has well over 1300 step-by-step photos, as well as a "Make it Groovy" section on some of the rigs to really make it great. Which on a video would mean winding ahead to the "make it groovy" section at some point. A video or DVD would really make it much harder on you guys. Having said all of that, we have plans for a video on how to USE the rigs once they're built. But we won't start working on that until "Killer Rigs Volume 2" is finished.  
Is there any welding involved on the "Shock Corridor Stabilizer"?  
  Good Lord, no! There is no welding involved on any rig in the book. (But it is something I'd like to learn some day).   
I'm looking into purchasing your complete book,
but I'd like to know what certain rigs are going to cost me.
Could  you give me the estimated cost to build each 
of the following?

         Dark Passage Dolly
         Big Combo Crane
         Killer's Kiss Crane

         Thanks,
         D. G.
  
 

It just so happens I made the Dolly and killer's kiss in a USC workshop yesterday so I can tell you what I spent down to the penny.


Dark Passage Dolly: $34.46
Killer's kiss Crane: $58.93


The cost of the Big Combo crane can vary greatly. If you're using a 12 pound camera you're going to need a thicker aluminum than you would on a 2 pound camera. A 15 foot boom will need heavier aluminum that a 12 foot boom. (there's a simple test in the book so you can figure what thickness you need). And are you getting the aluminum from the supplier's remnants pile? Much cheaper. Also a factor is if you're going to add a tilt head, which adds about 25 bucks to the cost. That said, and having made a few of these using aluminum remnants, I'd put the average cost at $100 without the tilt head. With the tilt head, I think if you allot $150 you'll be good.

  
Hi Dan,
I was in your seminar at USC summer film workshop about a year ago and am currently building your camera stabilizer (steady cam). I was hoping you could tell me where to find the aluminum tubing you use.
Thank You,
-M B		  
  I go to this place on San Fernando blvd. in the valley called Industrial Metal Supply. On that part of San Fernando are a ton of metal shops, but IMS is the only one I ever stopped at. Check your yellow pages under "metal supply" if you haven't already. Also take a look at "commercial window supply". Those big picture windows in department stores are framed with aluminum. They won't have tubing, but you might be able to find who their supplier is, and they might have the bigger stuff for the crane.

See if these guys have a store near you:

http://www.metalsupermarkets.com

I've heard a lot of good things about them.

On-line metal supply places are really price gouging, but here's one of the cheaper places (but still not cheap):

http://www.metalsdepot.com/index.phtml

But the easiest thing you might try taking the bearings that go into the handle and head for the hardware store (to make things easy, you might slip them on a bolt and tighten them down with a nut). There are tons of things made out of tube aluminum. You just need to find something the bearing fits into exactly. I've had builders use an aluminum flag pole, a squeegee handle, a paint roller extension, an expandable shower curtain rod...you get the idea. Start pulling the handles off things and slipping the bearings in to see if the fit (if an employee bugs you for doing this, tell them I said it was OK). Don't worry so much about the 1 1/4" O.D. tube for the top of the rig. Size isn't that important for that part. So if you find, say, a paint roller extension and the inside tube is perfect for the bearing size, you can use the outer tube (even if it is fiberglass) for the top tube that the camera plate attaches to. (If you do use fiberglass, the best thing to cut it with is a hacksaw).

  
 
   
Hi,
I live in the U.K. and would really love your book. I've viewed all your quicktime demos and they look awesome, (I have DSL thank god!) Will the book be available for delivery outside the U.S. and if so do you have an idea of shipping costs?
Thanks for your help.		  
  Of course we'll ship anywhere! As a matter of fact we've recieved quite a large number of orders from the UK. The book is a monster, so it will be fairly pricey for first class overseas shipping.
Thanks for the kind words about the demos. I haven't had a chance to get them all up yet. You're going to love the "Touch of Evil Cam"!		  
Do you have any plans to include a traditional dolly on tracks in this or the second book? If so, what sort of length would be achievable?
Also, I have a Panasonic NV-MX500 DVCAM(DV5000 in the U.S.), do you know if this cam is OK for your rigs sizewise? i.e. Is it not too small?
Thanks again for your quick response! Looking forward to your book.		  
  The Dark Passage Dolly uses track, and you can lay it out until you run out of room or money. In the second book there will be very large and imposing dolly that uses tires.
As for the panasonic: no such thing as too small. In fact, on the Stabilizer I encourage "smallness". The stabilizer works just fine with the heavier cameras, but the extra weight really wears you down, I don't care how big your guns are. And I wish we had a small camera when shooting the demo for the Dark Passage Dolly. It took a lot of extra time to figure out how to fit the camera through the car window.		  
I am looking at your site to build a crane. The site does not say how high it will go. I need something that can go from the ground to about 20-30 feet in the air. Do you think your plans would guide me in that direction?  
  Crane height is not really a static thing. For example, we've used one of my cranes on top of an Old Toyota Land cruiser that had a cargo rack on top (I want to emphasize that the car was NOT moving). So in that situation, we had the pivot point of the tripod at 10 feet, so the 18 foot boom easily would reach almost 30 feet high. And my designs go as low as they do high, so it wasn't a problem starting the shot on the ground from on top of the Toyota. I've never actually measured it, but I can tell you that same boom with the tripod on the ground could reach an actor's face on a second story fire escape.
The great thing about building your own stuff, is that you can make it as long or as short as you want, the concepts are still the same, but you'd need to add more heft to your materials. The most important thing about making something really huge is the base, or tripod, that has to support it. If your support is massive enough, you can get away with just about anything. In my tripod design, I've never put on more than an 18' boom, so I honestly don't know if it will hold up well beyond that (and I'm talking day in and day out use).		  
I was FINALLY able to find a metal shop that would sell me rectangular tubing (for crane) for a reasonable price ($68 for 24 feet). But now I have many more feet than I need for the crane. I was wondering if any of the other plans in your book call for 1" x 1.5" x 1/8" rect. aluminum? Also, since the pieces were cut into 11' and 13' increments, I am tempted to make my crane bigger. Is there anyway to beef up the crane to add a few more feet to it, or would this be unmanageable?  
  The Big Carnival Crane addresses exactly those issues--plus it breaks down into 4' sections. Better have some sand bags handy! (I'm finding that Aluminum prices vary GREATLY across the U.S.!)  
 
   
Does your book have plans for a camera mount that can be clamped different places? I just saw a Hollywood movie where it looks like they clamped a camera to the top of a ladder. I guess I could think one up: a metal plate with a camera screw may be all that is needed.  
  That would work, but it would be good if the plate could tilt every-which-way. The ball and socket design on the Drive By Night car mount could be easily incorporated into a rig like this.  
I was tossing around the idea of a forearm harness that would attach to the stabilizer, thus relieving my muscles (esp finger muscles) from having to grip/hold the stabilier. A few aluminum plates, velcro-ed to your forearm, and bolted to the stabilizer was what I had in my mind (sort of similar to how you hold a slingshot). The 5-inch tube for the handle could be lengthened and a bolt put through it to attach it to the harness while still using the bearings...  
  I have a simpler soultion that I've recommended a few times now: head for the Drug Store and pick up a wrist support (one of those nylon and velcro things people with a sprained wrist might wear). Some of them have a plastic splint sewn in. This will keep your wrist from falling off after 20 minutes of hauling that baby around. But go for the wrist rocket design--there's nothing like custom making your own stuff. I'll have an arm and vest in Volume II.  
Would one be in need of any expensive specialized tools in order to construct some of these gadgets?  
  Boy, it's kind of hard to know what people consider "specialized". There's this thing called a "prick punch" that puts a dimple into metal to keep your drill bit from "walking". It runs about $4 US. A vise isn't absolutely necessary, but almost. I found mine on sale for $10, usually you can find one for around $25, and well worth every penny. Highly recommended. A drill guide is a huge help, but I've made stuff without one. And for cutting metal, a hacksaw. Again, pretty minimal as far as cost goes.  
Will the rigs work with my XL1s? What modifications may be needed?  
  No serious modifications are needed, really. The only thing you'll need to do on the Stabilizer is to mount an LCD monitor to one of the weight holes in the front of the base--obvioulsy BEFORE you balance the thing. On the static mount on the Big Combo crane you MIGHT have to add a plate to the top of the mount to extend it out a bit.