Ergocine

thanks for reposting J. For anyone who used to shoot Aaton LTR/XTR this rig makes your small form factor camera just as sexy!
 
I really love this rig, and wish I could justify the cost right now... Honestly, though - it gets me thinking about about making my own version. Could be a fun wood-working project.

Or I could screw it up royally and spend hours cursing the idea. Tough call.
 
I did two shoots all handheld with the C300 just by itself and they didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Then I discovered this rig and used the Beta version on several jobs and they went 100% better. For all handheld shoots where you pull your own focus this is the only viable rig for the C300 IMO.

From what I've heard it takes a lot of wood and patience to design and put a rig like this together :)
 
After years of rigging, searching and spending too much I finally found on old Arri solution that works best for me. Its an old late 60s style shoulder mount with hip support from Arri for the SR series:arrishoulderm.jpg

its small and travels ok. The best is that both hands can be free. IMO somebody should think about rebuilding these. The wooden monster shown here gives the C300 the size of an ENG type 3 CCD camera but with flying cables and hopefully less weight. Looking at the distorted holding position from front, I wouldnt want to have to shoot a 30 min. standing interview in this position......
 
Tim: every operator is going to have his/her own preference and the Arri SR rig a legit option. I've seen several support companies like Varizoom and Zacuto put out rigs with similar concepts.

I'm not familiar if you have ever operated a 35mm camera handheld (Arri 435, Studio Lite, etc.) or even a 2/3" Broadcast Camera (Varicam, CineAlta, etc.) but please let me explain some basics before you assume that "the distorted holding position" is in any way uncomfortable.

There are basically two styles of handheld/shoulder shooting:
- Two-hands on handgrips/mattebox (1st AC pulling focus)
- Right-Hand on Grip and Left Hand pulling focus.

The Arri 435 is a perfect examples of the first style. Almost all of the Red Epic rigs are designed this way and work perfectly in a cinema shooting enviornment.
The Arri 235, Aaton XTR, Sony HDCAM (2/3") are designed in the second style and are more suited to news and doc shooting.

However, many professional operators are wanting to shoot in the RightHandGrip/LeftHandFocus style. Arri knows this and they designed the Arri Alexa to be abel to cater to either style.

handheld.jpg
*notice the similar shooting posture

In my experience there aren't any viable rigs for small form factor cameras (HDSLR, Epic, C300, etc.) that keeps the COG in front of your shoulder. So that usually involves extending the effective camera length. The Ergocine does this in an elegant way and almost every professional camera operator and DP I've shown the rig to has agreed. Many have already pre-purchased theirs. I can start giving names if you want to check our credentials. :beer:

Depending on the shoot, going handheld for 30 minutes straight etc. the EZ-Rig starts to be the only option. I've done this many times with an Alexa/Epic/RedMX and Optimos or Heavy Prime lenses. But for more flexible shooting the Ergocine makes it easy to shoot from the hip and then quickly go back to your shoulder. The added length is standard cinema camera size and I've shot inside cars, on boats, etc. with it and I've had no issue.

I'm happy to continue the discussion, not shutting anyone down but I wanted to shed some light on where historically this rig is coming from. If one's first experiences are with HDSLR rigs then one may not understand all of the other options that have existed.

Personally, I find the hip rigs to be very out of date. They were initially invented for film cameras like the Arri 2C, Arri 3, Arri S cameras that were more like the Red Epic in size. Since the 1970s the newer standard has become the shoulder camera. The hip rigs were limiting in changing heights dynamically and if you have a discerning director, when you walk/run handheld with that type of rig the motion is not ideal.

Cheers,

Matt
 
Also, I forgot that the ErgoCine in that article was the beta version. Dave has further developed it and works with the Canon LCD monitor now and has inner channels for running audio break away cables and video assist.

I have some newer photos from a two day commercial I shot with the ERGO+C300 all handheld. This version was still beta as well, the production models are coming out very soon.

20120609-mtv2-04.jpg

http://mattworkman.com/v7/2012/06/09/mtv2-guy-code-canon-c300-ergocine/

I also operated on a commercial for Disney and the ACAM operator has since bought an ERGOCINE. Also, a head of production at MTV who passed by expressed a big interest in purchasing several for their 6x Canon C300s. I know several TV and commercial production companies that are starting to embrace the C300 will be excited about the Ergocine as well. New York used to be a big Aaton town, so a lot of the DP/Operators are excited about this rig.

Cheers,

Matt
 
Last edited:
Matt - do you know if they're shipping now or what the lead time is on them? I suppose these are questions I need to ask the manufacturer, but the newer version with inner cable channels sounds great for a lot of my shooting...
 
Hey,

I still only have my pre-production mode, Dave is working hard to get them ready. I have a travel commercial coming up that I really want to use it on!

Here is the blog for Ergocine. Eventually he'll have an official sales site, but he is concentrating on manufacturing them first.

http://ergocine.blogspot.com/

Cheers,

Matt

PS: The channels are genius! If your sound guys have the right stuff, you can put the BNC and Breakaway cable all coming right out of the back neatly. Or if they have a 1/4 20" wireless holder, you can go wireless.
 
escozooz said:
Hey,

I still only have my pre-production mode, Dave is working hard to get them ready. I have a travel commercial coming up that I really want to use it on!

Here is the blog for Ergocine. Eventually he'll have an official sales site, but he is concentrating on manufacturing them first.

http://ergocine.blogspot.com/

Cheers,

Matt

PS: The channels are genius! If your sound guys have the right stuff, you can put the BNC and Breakaway cable all coming right out of the back neatly. Or if they have a 1/4 20" wireless holder, you can go wireless.
Click to expand...

Cool - thanks for your info! I'm gonna have to have one, I think - it just looks too damn good. I've never been this enamored with a shoulder mount before, and it looks like everything I've ever wanted out of one. Just emailed Dave and hopefully he'll have them out and running soon.
 
And honestly - when you compare prices with other quality shoulder mounts on the market, the Ergocine is very competitive and seems far more comfortable and controllable.
 
Hi Matt, I agree the ENG form factor is my favorite as well and I regularly work with a PMW 500 and the heavier PDW 700. Weight does matter here...
I would really like to try this wooden thang :-) Do you know if anybody in Berlin Germany has one? And whats the price?
I also agree that walking with my old Arri >SR mount can be unpleasant but then I simply loosen the hip part...
To me its just a bit strange to stick a 5D into this wooden rig but I am always open for new experiences, hopefully soon I can try it out and chime in if it convinces me.
Thanks for the collection of pix, really appreciated!
 
Ok, met David Ford while I was in NY this week, and got an Ergocine Lion. All I can say about is that there is no way to give justice to how well this thing works. I've tried a lot of shoulder rigs and configurations for the C300, and none have really fully met my needs and expectations. Except, of course, for this cat. Elegantly simple, comfortable, and best of all - it really works for creating beautiful, stabilized footage. A complete joy to use.

Axhl9iqCEAACaL7.jpg

David is very passionate and knowledgable, and I really wish him the best of luck with the Ergocine line of shoulder mounts.
 
cowpunk52: that's great you got one, I use it several time a month at this point with my C300 and I just got a great Kata bag that fits the whole rig built out.
 
Yeah, I'm pretty happy about it! Used it today to great effect:

391267_10150984590013612_1084309597_n.jpg

Taking it with me to Miami tomorrow for another shoot, so I'm definitely getting plenty of use out of it!
 
I have to say, too - I've never used a piece of gear that received so much attention! Even non-camera & non-tech people come up and ask about it and take pictures of it. It's definitely a head-turner!
 
glad its working out for you guys. Its a bit ugly to me :)...and I duno if i like the wood look. but hey if it gets the job done!
 
Hey!

20120721-usa01.jpg


Just got back from Portland, ME shooting a promo for USA Networks. We used the C300 and the Ergocine with a 5DMKIII as BCAM. Like Brian mentioned, everyone was very curious and wanted to take photos of the rig to show their friends.

Here is my blog post:
USA Promo / Portland, ME - http://mattworkman.com/v7/2012/07/21/usa-zyrtec-bodega-studios-canon-c300/

Cheers,

Matt
 

Attachments

  • 20120721-usa01.jpg
    20120721-usa01.jpg
    66.7 KB · Views: 0
Very interested in this rig. How is it not front heavy with the camera still resting on your front shoulder? I've been looking at the Letus Master Cinema Series rigs but might be reconsidering.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top