Hi Charles, I have the beta serene and have been using it with success along with my M10 extended on F55 / Alexa M Etc for the past six months on films. Sadly I don't have any vision of it in action to show you because of the nature of my work plus I'm also waiting for the new upgrade to the serene which will be even better and my M15 to arrive. When I have it all in my hot little hands I will post a video of the vertical isolation. Cheers, Pete
I have bought a Serene Arm here with my M15, however I am not getting results which are equal to my test on stedicam and good olde arms. Just wondering if it's due to way I am using it.
Hey Charles, Do you have the latest version of the Serene? Did you install it correctly? Do you have the correct spring for your desired weight range although I think the new version is adjustable? The old one you have to change out the springs. Also what weight are you carrying? Is the arm where the string loops onto horizontal? Is it very springy or stiff? I used a bungee along with the serene sometimes dependant on weight and movement speed. What Easyrig arm are you using 500N? long or short? Hopefully I can help Pete
This is what I got , [ERIG-500-3-A5] EasyRig 3 - 500N - Extended Arm - 5". The Serene Arm is a production version, not a prototype. image by makanmachine, on Flickr
Hey Charles, Looks like you have it setup correctly. Are you walking like holding a glass of water? similar to steadicam? What don't you like about the stability? is it too bouncy etc? or stiff? I find the serene is best for faster pace shots not slow ones then you have to control your walking. I know what you mean about using a steadicam arm but that also is not perfect, I find it's only good for vehicle tracking shots. Try using a bungee, experiment and adjust the spring to either extreme see what results you get? Pete
Hey Charles, The Bungee is for even more vertical isolation during slow moves so maybe try that. I used two 25mm bore clamps attached to either end of the main bar with eyelets to carabiners and some various strength bungee's from the grip department. Worked well. Pete
The prototype had prototype springs therefore the new Serene which you have should act differently I'm interested to see the difference? Best, Pete
Hi Charles, I've only just received the production model & have to get it fitted first but I'm currently on a feature so no time to test. How's your's going?
Was forced to use it when the steadicam operator fell seasick a week ago, yesterday was the 2nd time we used it with the m15 in production. Haven't checked the footage yet. One thing I noticed is that because it's 1 line connected to the centre top of the M15, it tends to promote swinging. I wonder there is way to counter and control this.
Hello Charles Lim. Sorry for the delay, didnt get a warning on my mail that they were messages on FF forum. First thing you should do is make sure the Serene arm is tuned correctly. You need to load all of your gimbal and camera, hang it from the hook, and let it float with NO HANDS. Then look at the front arm of the Serene, if its looking UP then the spring is too strong and you need to UNSCREW slowly until the arm gets in horizontal position. If the arm is looking down then you need to screw slowly until the arm is in horizontal position. So the arm has to be tuned floating in horizontal position to perform as it should, just like steadicam arms for the best results. Now operating , you need to lean how NOT to grip hard your M15 handles, and learn how to operate lightly. The reason is that when you grip hard , while walking or running, your hands forcing the arm in the upper ened or lower end position of the arm , and then at those positions the arm doesnt work. So the trick is to let it float on its own more or less and you just directing it to target lightly. The Serene will remove all your walking steps faster or slower , if its tuned correctly and operated with light control. Last, for the small vibrations you are getting on the hook point, this is due to the high mounting point of the top handle of the gimbal which is very far awat from the Center of Gravity of the M15 and camera, and that we have solved with the Puppeteer bracket whch is an inexpensive bracket, and that resolves this , as well as it enables you to tilt Freely and with out effort, in single follow mode operation. I will be updating very soon, but we are targeting around end of october for shipping those.. Let me know if you have any questions or need any help at constantine@flowcine.com.
Additionally, the reason for the lack of footage so far , is because the first 150 units were delivered no such a long time ago, and most users are busy, Iam sure that footage will start coming up now, as we have moved into the second production and most all users have their units by now. we are also very busy with the production of the Puppeteers and the new production so we didnt hae time to do footage so far but we are hopping doing that very soon. Kind regards