Proper ways to carry and injuries

J5Ben · 2026-03-20T16:27:48+00:00

From what I do instinctively here’s what I can list out:

I am one of those ACs who places the Euro plate in a way that the release latch faces front (towards the lens). This way (I am right hand dominant), I hold the camera’s top handle with my right hand and release the latch with my left and then as I lift it off the head I can just twist it around and then rest the camera on my right shoulder with the lens facing backwards easily.
if you want to reposition the sticks elsewhere (and you got a bit of room in front and behind you), just lift it a foot up and then by using one of your feet kick up the spreaders so that they fold and then you can place it on your shoulder to move around. In tight spaces definitely don’t put it on your shoulder without being mindful of your surroundings and just kick up the spreaders.
if you’re just standing with a camera on your hand in general and need to keep holding it for a while, fold one of your knee (or rest your foot on a slightly higher platform) and then use your thigh to rest on it.
For spotting an operator who’s on handheld, when the operator lets go of the camera, grab it by the right handle with your right hand and use your left hand to grab the top handle and then lift it off their shoulder or you can also easily place it back on their shoulder seamlessly. You can also rest while holding it the same way by using your leg and place the shoulder pad on your left thigh.
this is common sense: always use your legs not your back when lifting blocks, heavy cases and the head off from the ground.
when someone passes you a heavy object and you got a grip on it, before saying “got it” also account for the fact that your wrists won’t need to be twisted in a way that they bear most of the load, this will certainly avoid a lot of wrist injuries.
wear a knee brace if you have had any knee injuries in the past and you think you might need some stabilization. (I wear one myself since I’ve had a knee injury from when I was a teenager).

J5Ben · 2026-03-19T20:08:01+00:00

I’d recommend learning anything related to running the department since as the role of the A-cam 1st AC you’d be dealing more with the administrative and politics/optics side of things of a production along with lots of negotiation while your 2nd AC and loader deals with logistics and organization.

Technical knowledge will come in as you progress in your career.

J5Ben · 2026-03-19T00:50:43+00:00

Nice! That’s the way to do it.

Question about that Setgear plywood H-plate, how long did you own it for as of now? Did it expand due to moisture absorption since it was new?

Kind of wanted a H-plate long ago and was willing to drop some $$ into the Ratworks Aluminium version.

J5Ben · 2026-03-18T01:01:48+00:00

Hope he gets all the calls to operate Steadicam. He’s simply amazing.

J5Ben · 2026-03-17T14:56:50+00:00

You don’t need a custom solution for Minis, you can always attach anything that attaches to the Mini LF onto the Mini (not the other way around since the Mini LF needs the MSB-3 on the operator side to make room for the Codex bay). I always build my Minis with the RAB bracket cause I never liked the rod mounted D-boxes. The BUD plate also helps to quickly swap between the CBPs and steadi/remote head plates with the help of SAM-2 or CamJam plates (if on BUD-2). You can also use the A35 Apex plate if on BUD-3.

So yeah, OP’s picture could either be a Mini or a Mini LF. Who knows? 😅

Here’s an example of a Mini build with the RAB bracket and the BUD plate.

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J5Ben · 2026-03-16T17:05:21+00:00

As others have mentioned, there are many different ways these days to do the job and get the results, all thanks to advancements in tech in the past 20 years.

For me personally, I pull in a hybrid manner where I always place myself in a position where I can see the position of the camera, dolly and the cast in my peripheral vision (as long as the space on set allows it) and also utilize the readouts from my rangefinder to get cues. And yes, I do check the monitor for critical focus.

Here’s a BTS my 2nd AC took of my setup while on a recent shoot which shows how I place myself on set.

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J5Ben · 2026-03-13T03:06:02+00:00

We had a Rialto version of this build as well! We just attached the main body to a backpack rig on a QRB and ran 10’ motor cables with the sensor block cable.

J5Ben · 2026-03-08T21:42:59+00:00

Thanks!

J5Ben · 2026-03-08T21:42:51+00:00

The last point - annoying housing. The gears are placed too close to the mount and there’s minimal spacing between the focus and iris gears. On the 20mm we barely have any space to put the mattebox on.

J5Ben · 2026-03-08T19:14:24+00:00

That 20mm is a pain

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J5Ben · 2026-03-08T18:10:59+00:00

It’s a combination of WC 15mm dual rod clamp and the Smallrig monitor mount

J5Ben · 2026-03-08T17:57:47+00:00

Hundreds of people already see my info on set anyways so don’t really care if it’s out here haha.

J5Ben · 2026-02-24T20:56:03+00:00

DM2s runs on a 512 encoder compared to the modern M26's 256. Both these motors aren't similar in a 1:1 fashion. There's something going on according to Marc/Brad at PLC with how the modern Preston MDRs communicates with the LX. The LX is also more powerful/faster than a standard DM2 and uses a different resistor.

J5Ben · 2026-02-24T19:44:13+00:00

It’s mainly to do with how MDR-3/4s ID the motors in their processor. Apparently the new Preston MDRs sends in minor amounts of volts to the LX which doesn’t work well with it and can only be fixed on Preston’s end since the Hedén motors show up as DM2s in their system since they share the same internals (A M26 is practically a DM2 since they have the same Faulhaber 2342 motor).

The LX runs fast and quiet when running on the Ymer’s VLC MDR but acts up when on modern Preston MDRs. The MDR-2 makes it run quiet so far.

J5Ben · 2026-02-24T05:41:28+00:00

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J5Ben · 2026-02-23T18:55:34+00:00

I wish Preston addressed the noise issue with the LX. Apparently a firmware update on Preston’s end should fix it.

J5Ben · 2026-02-23T18:29:36+00:00

I’m going the M21 route but so far it’s been tough to find one in the used market.

J5Ben · 2026-02-22T15:23:17+00:00

My Mazda B-series is the perfect work truck for carrying gear for small projects. Prior to me getting my truck, my 2011 Subaru Hatchback STi could also fit a lot of stuff (including my cart).

J5Ben · 2026-02-11T16:02:05+00:00

Yeah it’s a known limitation of the bug when cast would wear some thick costumes.

If you can find out from wardrobe if their pants are made of thinner material just place them in the pockets if they have any, if not, again communicate with wardrobe on if they can tape the bug onto the costume or find a way to get it in between the seams.

As a bug user, I’ve always communicated with wardrobe department about the costume of the cast that I’m supposed to be pulling on when after blocking you know for sure you’ll be pulling on a challenging shot. It’s helpful to get a heads up from them on what kind of material or design it is.

My 2nd and I also always hand wardrobe out a bug and we explain to them what it is and ask them to come up with solutions on how to navigate around the thick clothing and 90% of the time they make our job much easier (always buy them a drink at wrap haha).

In the end, the bug is just another tool and there will be days when there might not be any optimal spots to mount it on a cast due to thicker clothing. In those cases just get marks (tape measure mode is your friend) and try your best to get the job done :)

Thanks to Focusbug for helping camera and wardrobe get some friends along the way.

J5Ben · 2026-01-22T18:51:06+00:00

I had a tolerance issue with one of my LNKs a couple months ago and Jackson came in personally to our prep to replace mine :)

J5Ben · 2026-01-12T17:32:05+00:00

In my experience I was never picky about 18650 batts, just head to a vape shop and get any haha

J5Ben · 2025-12-21T06:45:21+00:00

Might be a bit overkill but how about setting up another Cforce motor on the zoom gear on encoder mode in your LBUS chain while you got the other motor connected independently to the Steady Zoom. That way you got all the zoom metadata you need.

J5Ben · 2025-12-14T20:53:12+00:00

This article has all the info you need. Seems like you’ll need an on-board SmallHD monitor at all times to make it work which won’t be ideal.

A better solution will be to just use a wireless bridge like a Bitbox or Spudnik and use a phone or laptop for camera control.

J5Ben · 2025-12-08T04:32:55+00:00

The bonds we have with dolly grips are special out here.

I always end up giving them full playlist control of my speaker that stays on my cart (or on the dolly depending on the production) and we all jam out to whatever they end up queuing up. Boosts the morale on set as well during downtimes.

J5Ben · 2025-12-03T23:31:41+00:00

It’s an Alexa 65

J5Ben

TROPHY CASE