Check, check, check one...sibalence, sibalence.

Well, the microphone has been ordered. I expect it will arrive sometime next week. Actually, I know it will. 'Bout the 23rd, UPS said.

I need to get a good set of headphones and figure out how to make a boom pole. They want $100 some places for a fuckin' boom pole. Necessity is the mother of invention.

And speaking of inventions, my wife, Tonya, found me a very interesting contraption.

I own a Steadicam JR. My folk bought it as a birthday gift for me just before I started my ill-fated feature, 'Caught In The Rain.' It was a fucking dream. I mean, it was wonderful. Fluid shots, running or walking. Just fantastic. While trying to adjust it in the middle of a shoot, I overextended a joint and SNAPPED the thing in two. I was devastated.

Well, Tonya found a website where a guy offers his take on camera stabilization.

Little Great Ideas' Steadycam

The inventor has test footage on the site, so you can see what you're getting if you build it yourself or buy his kit. I'm not sure if I'm hip on it, especially since I've seen how fluid the motion is with the real deal. He does say that the footage was shot before he had a real handle on the rig. Practice does make a difference. Even when my rig was solid, it did take me a while to get the hang of it.

B&H Photo & Video, Steadicam JR

I spoke to the Tiffen guys, the official repair shop for Steadicam products, and they said it was about $165 to fix the rig, plus the $20 for a whole new package of accessories (I somehow lost most of the counterweights and cables).

Not sure yet what I'm gonna do about all that. I want the video to be smooth, not Hill Street Blues style.

I'm just glad I have the mic on the way.

What's on tap next? Finishing the final 9 pages of the script. That's the most important. Location scouting comes next. I have a couple of places in mind. Then casting. I'll do revisions and corrections on the script along the way too.

Momentum continues.

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