Gaffer & Gear 114 - Wind Up Stands

Looking at 2 different types of Avenger / Manfrotto wind up stands I own, and giving some safety advice for new operators.
INDEX
00:00 Intro g and g wind up
00:48 Super Wind Up
06:52 Safety tip
08:41 Wind Up
10:18 Safety tip

[@showshow8804]

Hi I'm from 2024. Thank you for your years of experience logged into youtube. Theres no other channel that provides as much info and detail as yours in this field.

[@ricklord7144]

Mr. Lock... You have, without a doubt the best Grip, Lighting and Electrical tutorial vlogs on the web! No BS, just good, solid well produced tutorials that teach and share tricks, tips and do honest product reviews! Love em! Big thumbs up!

[@MaxIsBackInTown]

“It’s easier to fix a broken light then it is to fix a human” 😂😂😂😂 so good

[@KrisKhunachak]

Short but handsome gang checking in!

[@chancewithcharlie1079]

As a young Cinematography/apsiring gaffer, this channel is just pure gold, so much value each minute, especially information stopping me from having a light breaking my neck!

[@doylelacrua]

"It's a bit on the piss." That is definitely not a US slang phrase. I like it.

[@OppaiDaisukiful]

another great info from experienced gaffer, this kind of information can save lives on set sir thank you.

[@CreativePathFilms]

Awesome video from a seasoned gaffer. As small operators who don’t get to play with larger gear all that often, we thank you for your insights. Learning a heap from your channel! Thank you! Hope you and yours are fairing okay down there in Melbourne with the lockdown.

[@DavidSmith-xm9mk]

Absolute legend for making these

[@RobbScholarTube]

Bro out here saving peoples live lol Bravo!

[@AntPictures]

Very nice for one man operation. We usually only worked in pairs when dealing with the lights like these.

[@gaffergear]

I've got no HMI anymore for that reason

[@melankolikfilms]

Another solid, informative and entertaining episode. Nothing on the piss here!

[@JohannesFeltkamp]

I've learned to put the handle (which you can fold once you undo the safety-screw for the handle) between two legs. That way, whatever happens to the locks, it cant collaps because the handle sticks between the legs...Works pretty well, actually.

[@najadadavis]

Love your stuff man. Thanks for making these. You are a godsend! 🙏🏾💯

[@SoloTraceur]

Great advice, I've just bought a second hand Manfrotto wind up, that's a bit rusty but seems perfectly functional and these tips are a potential life saver. Subscribed.

[@agustinbruzz3379]

Thanks for the gold and take care of us!

[@meetthegaffer]

This was great. ...short and handsome😂 I have not used these, so cool to see them working. It’s good to see the safety mechanisms in the larger stand. I’d love to have some American Grip roadrunner stands, but just don’t have the room. Always learn something from your vids!

[@666size666]

Roadrunner every time. No payload needed to bring it down allowing it to be used as a delivery system.

[@MartijnSchoeber]

I’ve used these so many times, but still I learned something new about them. Thanks Andrew!

[@ianblackburn2645]

Wind ups are one of my favourite stands to use with hmi's when I want to get them up high

[@xx1simon1xx]

we call the super wind ups „hds“ (for heavy duty wind up) up here and ive never even seen them without air tires. makes them perfect for butterfly use, at least up to a 12x12. super easy to roll around, raise, lower, if you have to change the angle just climb the stand, they are already pretty heavy, so with a couple of shotbags they hold up in fairly heavy wind. with air tires you also dont have any problems with the ground clearance. ive pushed these around for weeks in the woods last year on a low budget feature, just thinking i would have had to use combos or high walkers makes my back hurt!

[@josephtese5037]

Like the American roadrunner?

[@brun0inacio]

One little trick with the standard wind up is, If they are in very bad shape is to put the handle in the transport position. Even if the lock off's are in bad shape, it won't kill anyone. I know we should not use old equipment but sometimes there's no choice. They turn up on set and the job has to be done. Thanks for all the tricks and tips.

[@gaffergear]

Great tip

[@brun0inacio]

@@gaffergear thanks again for all the tips, I work on the British film industry and even if there's a lot of knowledge is this area, I'm still learning. Your information is invaluable. From a low boy to a long John silver, I use them all, but never got time to understand a super won't come down even if we push the handle and let it go. I won't do it anyway, but now, I'm more confident when I use them.

[@gaffergear]

@@brun0inacio I learn more from views than I share. One of our views is looking to set up a forum for us to share on.

[@brun0inacio]

@@gaffergear sounds a great idea. By the way, any thoughts about doing one about autopoles/polecats? Something in the class: "please don't try this at home." :) Have a good day and thanks again.

[@Apatura123]

So many usefull advices. Thanks alot!

[@HARMLESSPictures]

Might lights are always on the piss! Another great video.

[@filmowaniezprofitem]

Now I will not kill myself on set. Thank You :)

[@Chalito5]

Great video.

[@RockStarTomUK]

Top video, fantastic advice!

[@footycheck]

Great video, thanks for making it

[@jon4715]

Another great video, thank you.

[@mochouinard]

I've never had to played with those, and I'm glad I watch your video before I ever do ! But I though the rule for sandbag is they have to not touch the ground, or else the weight is not really on the stand until it tilt over. These bar at the bottom are really low ! I would probably more than double the sandbag over what you did ;)

[@renanhernandessilverio6213]

very nice, thanks a lot

[@bend2847]

More good stuff from this channel. Mine (Kupo, looks like same design as second stand) have a folding handle designed to jar in the legs if the mechanism fails.

[@jon4715]

The Kupo has safety holes along the shaft every few inches. Seems a bit different.

[@bend2847]

jon Ah yes, different version. They also make one without this safety feature.

[@jon4715]

@@bend2847 Oh you're right, I see that. Thank you. They have a bunch of different models.

[@joshgultom7770]

Thank you so so much!

[@MrMasterVideos1]

i love this video. great

[@visualtrigger2469]

Fantastic!

[@matthewlang7364]

"it's a bit on the piss" lol

[@Gambitheart]

Wow Thank you for the info.

[@user-ig5qi4fl5l]

wow, great!

[@artobzor]

Thanks so much. All these basics in detail are the best part of your vlog. It could be interesting to watch any tips to fix the angle of the beam and so on without getting light down? or it is the wrongest idea you ever heard? What about correct cable management and all extra safety small details - short wire safety parts and so on

[@KolotovGleb]

Thank u sir!

[@cire30a]

haha "if God made you short but handsome." your such a fun guy, if u ever get out to australia, ill push hiring you just to hangout and knowing ill have a safe set

[@sityak2000]

Brilliant! Thank you so much for making these videos. I came across your channel looking for a boom stand that is large enough so i can do an overhead lighting for dance photos. Looking for something that can keep a softbox 2,5-3 meter height about a meter away from its center column. can you recommend anything?

[@dmitry_svotin]

👍👍👍

[@adrianloo2894]

Can we have an episode where we have a look inside your van and what you usually bring on a combo van job?

[@gaffergear]

This is the most common request, i will get around to it one day soon

[@Emma_Kiwi]

Could you do a video on ways to tie own and secure wind ups and diffusion outside ? Such as when filming in a field and having to three point secure your stands and frames ? Thanks !

[@jesuislorennas]

Hi Andrew ! Please make a video about how to use a LONG JOHN SILVER stand please !!! Greetings from France Lorena

[@rufaiajala]

Thanks for this. Would you also do an episode on menace arms? The menace arm set up that you had was in episode: NOVA P300C FOLLOW UP @7:30 mark with the yellow (ratchet & safety?) straps looked cool and not like something that we do in the UK. Unless I haven't come across it.

[@gaffergear]

Have a look at "grips tips" and Luke over at "meet the gaffer" has I think 3 episodes on menace arms.

[@jamesburton1050]

Just discovered the Avenger brand, and surprised how cheap they are used!

[@Zeidify]

Great channel! I don’t work in such high end work but I am looking for a cheap (~$350 USD) wind up stand on wheels, any recommendations? I am also curious about a swivel arm that can attach to it, holding a fair amount of weight for a light or boom mic?

[@danielgreene89]

Andrew: as far as you know, is the Matthews Minivator II similar to the last stand you demonstrated: it doesn't have a brake system and requires the handles to be locked? and the user must have a hand on the handle when unlocked?

[@gaffergear]

I've never used the stand

[@matthewlivingston3168]

Nice. I want to be a gaffer in the union here in the states. Have you done tutorials on leveling stands in a rocky situation with apple boxes like you mentioned in the video?

[@gaffergear]

Not yet

[@108u9]

Hey Andrew, knowing what you know and having seen what you’ve seen...what do you reckon should be added to the second windup stand for safer operation? Seems crazy to me that design wise, so many things can go horribly wrong on a bad day or lesser experienced operator. My gut feeling watching this was, “gosh there’s got to be a better way”. I can’t imagine someone falling back with the stand then being smashed on and pinned down by the stand and lights. More so when we might deploy the stand in an area with other things around because of its smaller footprint

[@gaffergear]

To be quite honest they are safer than a push up combo stand. I have seen more people injured (and a lot of close calls) with combo stands. People forgetting to hold the column when they unlock, and their fingers get jammed in-between the sections. A push up combo stand comes down way faster than a wind-up, so I've seen a few people get impressive head smacks. About 9 months ago when I was exhausted after a long night shoot. I lowered a combo almost all the way down and then dropped it the last inch onto my thumb (You may have noticed my black thump nail about a 6 months back). It was a nice little reminder to pay attention to what I am doing. Some of the wind-up stands come with a spring loaded latch that jams the stand from coming down unless you unlock it. I have one on one of my stands, but its already been damaged on rentals because people think is some sort of auto locking device and they don't need to bother locking the stand anymore.

[@EclipseSound]

11:08 this is not happening with mine, why? (i think its the same model: Manfrotto 087NW Wind Up) I even try to pull the head with some of my body weight (with 4 kg light on it) and it wont go down (you can only lower the stand by handle) They improved construction?

[@gaffergear]

Weight I suspect, I've got 25kg on it. Also age, my mechanism would be 15+ years old now

[@AlpenGlowLighting]

Would it be safe to put a 20x20 solid on the small stand? How about the big on? Thanks so much!

[@gaffergear]

I would be reluctant on the small one, I feel the footprint would be too small. But I'm a bit of a chicken and don't carry anything bigger than a 12x12 so I'm not the best for any advise on a 20x20.

[@satra6505]

Usually. What do you use to care for and clean your Wind-up Stands?

[@gaffergear]

I clean with a cloth and WD-40.

[@randylarcombe5430]

A bit on the piss??? 😂We say the P1 55.

[@TapTwice]

Are there things you bought but never were rented ?

[@gaffergear]

No, but their are things I'm reluctant to rent out to people who are not gaffers. Such as big HMI's, Menace arms, 12x12's

[@josephtese5037]

I'm more tall and ugly, but great tips!