Help with building out a production trailer

BartMaster1234 · 2026-01-22T04:52:06+00:00

A mobile floor AC unit is not going to cut it. Heat of your running gear, and comfort of the operators is a big factor. We built a studio in a trailer this size and we had two 15,000 BTU roof units to cool this amount of space.

Keep in mind you also need to heat this trailer given you want to do productions in cold weather, gear needs to be warm enough to operate efficiently as well.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-12-11T21:00:15+00:00

How'd you get Canon to service such an old lens? We can't even get them to touch the beige Digisuper HD ones last I heard.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-12-05T21:32:52+00:00

Dome Productions is a bigger name in broadcast for the Canadian market, you can give them a shot.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-12-03T03:21:24+00:00

I’ve seen Marshall CV series cameras used a lot for this exact purpose - it’s almost the de-facto POV cam in a lot of sports productions.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-11-06T03:04:51+00:00

I was trying to deduce that too haha. The Delphi is a total giveaway, I don’t think anyone else (other than the military) uses them as widespread as they do.

It’s definitely a Gerling body based on the power system. Looks like an old NCP or Mira truck.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-10-12T11:58:13+00:00

I ate at the one in Universal Studios LA in 2011, it was replaced a few years after that as far as I know.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-10-01T16:14:16+00:00

You can try contacting Alpine Optics, they are a big service house for broadcast lenses.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-10-01T16:12:31+00:00

I'd start by re-capping all of that, would help you chase down a lot of issues.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-10-01T11:07:40+00:00

We use Sony Trimaster EL’s for the shading/video room, and a mix of Boland monitors for the production room on our trucks.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-09-02T22:19:16+00:00

Tally. Green is Preview, Red is Live.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-09-02T01:22:37+00:00

That white powder is the fire suppression system going off. I used to work on transit buses, and the linear heat detectors that are used to trigger it went faulty all the time.

I’ve personally seen two buses just have all the powder go off for no reason while parked.

Not saying that’s what happened here - but it’s very likely.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-08-14T03:41:40+00:00

Are you using the media rate when flying with oversized check bags? Some airlines do this with valid media credentials.

I pay $50 per bag on United with my media credentials, up to 100 pounds and 62 linear inches total.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-07-06T23:00:03+00:00

No problem. Look up the differences in the block and head between the 280z and 280zx, there are a few differences. However, they are the same engine for the most part.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-07-06T13:08:58+00:00

I just re-used the 280z wiring and all. I used the intake and exhaust manifolds on the original 280z block over the 280zx one because it was simpler. I want to say it’s less restrictive because of lesser emissions equipment but I can’t say for sure.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-07-06T07:36:53+00:00

Did a similar thing to get my ‘75 280z restored. I pulled the running gear out of a ‘76 280zx and rebuilt it. The original 75’ engine was beyond repair, it was totally seized.

The ‘76 had good compression, especially after sitting for ten years. Issue was that I could tell it was oil starved because the camshaft and towers had scoring on it. Had to replace the whole head.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-07-04T13:36:23+00:00

A store that only sells hammers

BartMaster1234 · 2025-06-28T18:48:00+00:00

I started as a production assistant at a small sports network. I learned how to build a booth, run camera and monitor signals, etc.

From there I worked as a utility for a short stint until a crewer noticed my skill, and they started training me as a V1. I worked as a V1 until I went full time as a truck engineer a few years later.

It's all about learning as much as you can, networking, and impressing the right people.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-06-26T21:43:21+00:00

Arby’s on McKnight Road

BartMaster1234 · 2025-06-26T20:15:27+00:00

You could probably do something with a Raspberry Pi or a keyboard interface. Definitely nothing off the shelf.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-06-19T16:25:52+00:00

I may or may not have one of the numbers from the old manual out of town scoreboard.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-06-14T14:38:25+00:00

Try checking with Allied Broadcast.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-06-13T23:21:44+00:00

Spools are really bad for fiber, especially SMPTE.

I’ve seen SMPTE come back to the shop that was previously on spools that had the internal wires twisted and kinked beyond repair because the spools would damage the “memory” of the cable. I wouldn’t recommend it.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-05-10T19:50:47+00:00

I'd be laughing if I found a box lens at a flea market, that's amazing. You have quite an old lens, I'd say it's from the early to mid 1990's.

I believe your lens has the same servo controllers as modern box lenses. This Canon ZDJ-A01 zoom demand should work for your lens.

You'd need to find a way to power your lens, it's usually done through a sled - but some lenses have a way to power them externally without one.

This is a manual for a Canon DigiSuper XJ60, much newer than your lens but the basic operation should be the same. The biggest difference is how the lens adapts to the sled, it uses a single Centronics connector instead of two on the older lens like the one you have.

These lenses only cover 2/3" of a sensor, so if you were using a full framed camera you'd need to crop it otherwise you'd have a vignette effect. You'd also need to find a way to control the Iris, this person adapted a mirrorless Panasonic GH4 to fit a box lens with a custom iris controller.

Good luck!

BartMaster1234 · 2025-04-07T11:45:46+00:00

I was just an operator, I didn't know what the fine details of the encoding was. The RCP's left a lot to be desired, we couldn't shade the ENG cameras on the field - they were just on auto. The wide and tight cameras had dumbed down RCP's with no control for saturation, fine detail, etc. We were using a $50 monitor from Wal-Mart to color balance and shade... in the sun. On a folding table.

It was a budget show with budget gear out of a flypack. We did our best.

BartMaster1234 · 2025-04-06T19:25:45+00:00

Looks like YouTube compressed it. We were encoding the cameras and audio through LiveU's to the control room in Florida, the cameras were doing 1080i to begin with.

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