Tiffen International Celebrates Delivery of First Steadicam M-1 Rig

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Fri, 05/29/2015 - 11:14 -- Nick Dager

Tiffen International in the UK is celebrating the delivery of the first Steadicam M-1 rig, which has been ordered by German Steadicam operator Max Zaher.

Steadicam inventor and Academy Award recipient Garrett Brown, ASC, is in the UK to celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Shining and took the opportunity to inspect the first  M-1 prior to delivery.  Garrett is in the UK after teaching in a week long Steadicam training course on board the iconic Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

Zaher is currently shooting a film on location and unfortunately won’t be able to get to the UK to receive the rig personally.  He is a rising figure in the German film and television industries as a Steadicam operator/cameraman.

“I’ve worked for two years with the Steadicam rig of my mentor, Klemens Becker, and also rental rigs, but I’ve now decided to buy my own rig,” Zaher said. “Having worked with many different sleds, arms and vests, I knew what I was looking for. Light, easy to build and quick to configure or change mode. It should be modular so I could exchange parts myself on the road if it became necessary. I wanted it to be tool free and have many types of connectors for add-ons. At CINEC I had a good opportunity to compare many different rigs. The M-1 felt very good right away and was by far the best combination of the things I needed. The M-1 does have everything you look for in a modern Steadicam rig. It is well balanced and very quick to configure. It is well thought through in every detail which helps a lot in today’s film making. It is fun to work with and I love it already”

Brown said, “I’m intensely proud of the M-1 and all our people who have contributed to it. I have to say, having operated Steadicam myself for thirty something years – I stopped in 2004 – I look a little wistfully at this new rig and wish I could be out there using it.”

The Steadicam distributor for Germany is Betz-Tools in Munich.

Berz-Tools www.betz-tools.com