Merlin: how much practice time?
- Thread starter powerdog
- Start date
drivinhard
Active member
probably about right
I'm using it now on a 2 min promo I'm working on, and I don't have a ton of time with it, but I'm good enough with it that I'm pleased with the footage. It really does a great job.
I'm using it now on a 2 min promo I'm working on, and I don't have a ton of time with it, but I'm good enough with it that I'm pleased with the footage. It really does a great job.
Agreed its good, but I would say you need it two weeks before hand. DO about 30 mins practice a day. You cant practice with a Merlin for 5 straight hours.
30mins x 14 = 7 hours.:engel017:
SantaCruzMichael
Well-known member
Merlin practice
Merlin practice
I was able to pull off some good shots after spending one night practicing with the Merlin. I would spend a half hour, then rest my arm for a half hour and pick it up again.
I got the Merlin on a Friday and shot out the back of a moving van on Saturday with a 1964 Pontiac convertible following us on winding roads. (I was strapped in with a windsurfing harness). We got the shots.
Shooting from inside a van was key because the Merlin hates wind. Forget about shooting from, say, the back of a moving pickup truck.
The next day, we did stairway shots down the front of a 1920's hotel that were very smooth. The setup included a handful of 1960's automobiles at a location we would only be at once. Our producer was really happy with some of the shots, and the risk of using the Merlin with so little practice paid off.
My only complaint is that it is so fragile. The plastic tailpiece was loose right out of the box and quickly fell off revealing molded construction that didn't even have a post for the mounting screws, they just screw into a vertical slot in the plastic. Then the plastic tailpiece is pushed up and down slightly when folding the Merlin and comes loose.
This was a very shoddy design which I hope they will remedy.
Otherwise the MERLIN is a WHOLE NEW REALITY for portable shooting.
For the first day, I was so excited about it, I had to remind myself to get the camera back on the tripod and not overuse the steadicam effect.
Wish I had this last year in Nepal.
-Michael
Monark Pictures
Santa Cruz, CA
Merlin practice
I was able to pull off some good shots after spending one night practicing with the Merlin. I would spend a half hour, then rest my arm for a half hour and pick it up again.
I got the Merlin on a Friday and shot out the back of a moving van on Saturday with a 1964 Pontiac convertible following us on winding roads. (I was strapped in with a windsurfing harness). We got the shots.
Shooting from inside a van was key because the Merlin hates wind. Forget about shooting from, say, the back of a moving pickup truck.
The next day, we did stairway shots down the front of a 1920's hotel that were very smooth. The setup included a handful of 1960's automobiles at a location we would only be at once. Our producer was really happy with some of the shots, and the risk of using the Merlin with so little practice paid off.
My only complaint is that it is so fragile. The plastic tailpiece was loose right out of the box and quickly fell off revealing molded construction that didn't even have a post for the mounting screws, they just screw into a vertical slot in the plastic. Then the plastic tailpiece is pushed up and down slightly when folding the Merlin and comes loose.
This was a very shoddy design which I hope they will remedy.
Otherwise the MERLIN is a WHOLE NEW REALITY for portable shooting.
For the first day, I was so excited about it, I had to remind myself to get the camera back on the tripod and not overuse the steadicam effect.
Wish I had this last year in Nepal.
-Michael
Monark Pictures
Santa Cruz, CA
SantaCruzMichael
Well-known member
Also we left the DOLLY behind on the first shoot with the Merlin.
The dolly is a very heavy and time comsuming set up with 20 foot steel pipe and a two-piece platform.
We didn't miss it, but there are still times when it will take precendence.
-Michael
The dolly is a very heavy and time comsuming set up with 20 foot steel pipe and a two-piece platform.
We didn't miss it, but there are still times when it will take precendence.
-Michael