What do you always want in a grip truck?

What fixtures do you guys use with the pancake? It seems that the mogul is the best, and I already own that. But have you used anything else with it?
 
I've used it with a redhead and it works fine though adds to the overall height vs the mogul fixture. it's a temporary thing however as I have Chimera's new Triolet fixture on backorder that I'm waiting on that'll probably live with the Pancake. The triolet looks similar to the mogul fixture in design.

I also use the Pancake with an Avenger D600 lighting boom to rig.
 
It's very similar - they both take mogul based lamps and the triolet can take bi-pin lamps but Chimera makes a bi-pin to mogul adapter if you have the old fixture.
 
I've never used Basso block but like all wood products and cribbing you can use them for anything really - prop stuff, level items, hold stuff, shim things, pad stuff, stand on, etc.

Step blocks, or 2-4-6's as they're called around here, I find are a good addition when leveling dolly track. If you're working on really un-level ground, steps are sometimes quicker than stacking a bunch of wedges together (though you normally still need wedges for the fine tuning). That said people are probably using them for all types of situations.

I normally just carry apple boxes, a crate of wedges, and a crate of pads (pancakes) and I find I'm good for most situations.
 
shawneous said:
What fixtures do you guys use with the pancake? It seems that the mogul is the best, and I already own that. But have you used anything else with it?
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I use Jokers for the pancake, and I have used an Arri 1k open face before..in a pinch. Removing the Jokers reflector head and replacing it with the "Bug" speed ring, nicely places the globe /bulb inside the pancake...very even light.
 
I don't know about you all, but I always want an extra million dollars in my budget in my grip truck.
 
A great resource for the East Coast:

http://www.locationlighting.com/site/index.htm

Rule of thumb - Always order more apple box families and sandbags than you need. The last movie I worked on we ordered 150 sandbags and 18 families of apple boxes. Neither number was sufficient.

Also, no matter what you think during your initial order, you'll never order enough expendables. You'll have some lucky PA making Home Depot runs almost weekly.
 
So I went and printed out the manifests of all the 1 ton and 3 ton grip trucks in the Portland area and cross referenced them with each other. Interesting stuff. Certain elements of grip truck inventories and expendables confuse me.

-Chain Vice grip with spud. I see what it looks like. When would you actually use this?

-Putty knife with spud. Again, looks interesting. When would you use this?

-24x36 or 18x24 open frame. What is this for? I first thought it was attaching gels, but that's what a "blade" or gel frame is for. The open frames are much cheaper.

-Furniture clamps with spud. Again, can someone give me a scenario?

Expendables:
-"Streaks and Tips". What is that?

-"Can of Pledge". Why?
 
shawneous said:
So I went and printed out the manifests of all the 1 ton and 3 ton grip trucks in the Portland area and cross referenced them with each other. Interesting stuff. Certain elements of grip truck inventories and expendables confuse me.

-Chain Vice grip with spud. I see what it looks like. When would you actually use this?

-Putty knife with spud. Again, looks interesting. When would you use this?

-24x36 or 18x24 open frame. What is this for? I first thought it was attaching gels, but that's what a "blade" or gel frame is for. The open frames are much cheaper.

-Furniture clamps with spud. Again, can someone give me a scenario?

Expendables:
-"Streaks and Tips". What is that?

-"Can of Pledge". Why?
Click to expand...

Chain Vice with Spud: For attaching one thing to another when you need a rock solid grip. I've used this to attach speed rail to other pieces of metal. It actually has lots of uses. I used it once to attach speedrail to a traffic light.

Putty Knife with Spud: For attaching lightweight fixtures to windows or other small areas. You hardly ever use this actually.

Open Frames: Extremely versatile though mostly used for gels. When you start a movie you'll set up all your standards diffusion in open frames and then leave a few open frames standing by for mixed gels, custom cookies, and diffusion. Blades and gel frames are used as well but like you said, open frames are cheaper and do the same job essentially. Any grip worth his salt can lace an open frame with just about any gel or diffusion.

Furniture Clamps with Spud: If you need to hang a light in a spot where a cardellini or mafer is too small. Think ceiling rafters.

Streaks and Tips: Basically it is a kind of hair coloring. Grips use it to diffuse lights on the bulb (practicals). It can also be used to darken windows or dull areas with hotspots.

Can of Pledge: to grease the dolly track of course!

Hope that helps.
 
Gauranga said:
Chain Vice with Spud: For attaching one thing to another when you need a rock solid grip. I've used this to attach speed rail to other pieces of metal. It actually has lots of uses. I used it once to attach speedrail to a traffic light.

Putty Knife with Spud: For attaching lightweight fixtures to windows or other small areas. You hardly ever use this actually.

Open Frames: Extremely versatile though mostly used for gels. When you start a movie you'll set up all your standards diffusion in open frames and then leave a few open frames standing by for mixed gels, custom cookies, and diffusion. Blades and gel frames are used as well but like you said, open frames are cheaper and do the same job essentially. Any grip worth his salt can lace an open frame with just about any gel or diffusion.

Furniture Clamps with Spud: If you need to hang a light in a spot where a cardellini or mafer is too small. Think ceiling rafters.

Streaks and Tips: Basically it is a kind of hair coloring. Grips use it to diffuse lights on the bulb (practicals). It can also be used to darken windows or dull areas with hotspots.

Can of Pledge: to grease the dolly track of course!

Hope that helps.
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Thank you!!

Where can I buy streaks and tips?
 
Where can you buy open frames cheaply? I'm seeing prices like $90 for a 4'x4', and this seems kind of high for thin strips of metal. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing.
 
Drew Ott said:
Where can you buy open frames cheaply? I'm seeing prices like $90 for a 4'x4', and this seems kind of high for thin strips of metal. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing.
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Modern Studio Equipment has 48"x48" frames for $ 60 bucks. Plus you then get 25% off of that. Shipping might be expensive though...
www.modernstudio.com Then download their price list.. It's near the bottom 3rd of the page. They carry them is a few sizes...
Good luck.
 
Pole-Cats get me hot.

:)

Please don't waste good money on buying 48" by 48" diffusion/gel frames. They are easy to make and you can modify them any way you like.
 
saintnicks said:
Pole-Cats get me hot.

:)

Please don't waste good money on buying 48" by 48" diffusion/gel frames. They are easy to make and you can modify them any way you like.
Click to expand...

Really? How can I easily make lightweight aluminum 48x48 frames that have flat edges that can easily attach gels too? I would like to know.
 
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