Group photo from Steadicam Lunch held on May 30th
May closed out with a lively Steadicam Lunch at Burbank. The roundtable featured a host of working Steadicam operators including instructor/operator/inventor Jerry Hollway, SOC's Operator of the Year Dave Chameides, Tiffen Company CEO Andrew Tiffen, and the father of Steadicam, Garrett Brown. Tiffen's Nic Somera, led the even-handed chat as everyone joined in and chatted about gigs, gear and on-set goings-on.
Andrew Tiffen with Steven Tiffen at CineGear
June proved that folks want to connect--and due to great weather, and the industry strike— the month was packed with action, including plenty of in-person events. June kicked off with CineGear Expo where attendees filled the aisles, booths, and theatres at Paramount for a rollicking return to Hollywood. Tiffen's booth showed off the new Blue Streak and an all new filters series to go with the ARRI Signature lenses. Steadicam demos were in full swing with folks suiting up to try out the latest rigs. Just in time for action, in walked Jerry Hollway and Steve Wagner with 2 new prototype Steadicams in tow—Aero Volt™ and Zephyr Volt™. Look for more on these and other new authentic Steadicams in the coming months.
Steadicam Operators posing for a photo during Tiffen Tech Day
The next day activities powered on at Tiffen Tech Day in Burbank where filmmaker panels focused on lenses and filters with panels featuring Jay Holben, Chris Probst ASC, Francis Kenny ASC, Jendra Jarnagin, Steven Poster ASC & Xavier Dolléans, AFC and Richard Crudo ASC. Rob Vuona SOC, Brian Sergott SOC, and Colin Hudson SOC explained how they use the Steadicam Volt step up their game. Later Jendra Jarnagin hosted operators Matthew Pearce, Alex Jarnagin SOC, and Colin Hudson SOC who showed clips and ran through their favorite Steadicam shots.
Those who wandered into the New York set got to test out the newest Tiffen Filters on a choice of three camera packages. Outside the sun shone as guests chowed down on hand-tossed pizza. Others took turns flying Steadicam rigs and got tips from the experts on the ins and outs of Steadicam and how to set up the Volt lickity split. Tiffen is grateful for all the great filmmakers who generously shared their talents.