Remember Barbara Walters at the peak of her game? Boris Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Margaret Thatcher, King Hussein of Jordon, and Monica Lewinsky… the list goes on and on. Notorious for her hardball questions of key personalities, Walters set the standard for memorable interviews.
Well, today, thanks to the hard work of a noble Wobbly Warrior, I had my Barbara Walters moment: an interview with Nick Phillips, the name behind Libra, and the rock-star of the anti-Wobbly crusade.
Chat History with Nick Phillips
Nick Phillips? I must say, I am thankful that Colonel XXXXXX initiated contact.
Yes, so are we. Phew, that was close! Can we talk? I have to leave soon.
I’d love a short Q&A. Can we do it through chat? I do not have a microphone for skype talk.
Go ahead with your questions.
I do not know if you have followed the anti-Wobbly campaign closely. We’re celebrating all that stabilization products can bring to the industry and showcasing individual products and the problems that they help to solve/address on set. I’m glad that we have been able to get in touch with you - you’re a rock star of the anti-Wobbly scene. The insight you can grant our readers on the Libra product will benefit the industry as a whole.
Nick Phillips:
I know about your constructive efforts but to be honest haven’t had time to follow too closely. My wife tells me about it and so do some of our agents.
Can you tell us a bit about Libra’s history? What attracted you to fighting Wobbly?
Started 20 years ago as a desperate effort to get away from bungees and the like! First show was the first ‘CastAway’ (Nick Roeg). There were 22 stabilised shots in this movie and I was proud of every one of them! As there is 20 years up to the latest model (Blue Stripe) where to I start with a full history?
Our main focus is identifying that there isn’t one Wobbly product that’s a silver bullet for all problems faced by the cinematographer. We like to believe that each product has its niche and can offer value for different situations. Do you agree in general with The General on this statement? If so, where do you see Libra positioned in the anti-Wobbly arsenal?
Absolutely agree entirely. The right tool for the job. We are quite often alongside a Steadycam and a Wescam or XR, all on the same insert vehicle.
You’ve done a great job positioning the Libra as the workhorse for solving a wide-range of Wobbly at wider focal lengths. Part of what we hear from the industry is that your value comes from being on set and experiencing first-hand what should be done. Fighting in the trenches is smart R&D, no? What is your opinion on other anti-Wobbly products that fall into the performance range of the Libra - specifically the Scorpio… where do you see the difference between your anti-Wobbly weapon and the Scorpio?
Thanks for your kind words. I love the coal-face and it is imperative to get first hand experience to see what the demands are. I have close ties with cinematographers and welcome their comments. Re the comparison, we are smaller, lighter, more adaptable for numerous applications, and we can run off a Panavision battery. Libra was originally developed for small cameras and prime lenses. The industry has demanded that we carry larger loads. This we are addressing with the Blue Stripe.
Thanks for your response. I only asked about that anti-Wobbly specifically because from LA to NYC it appears that they’re coming after the same market segment that you currently dominate.
Nick Phillips:
Yes, we are very aware that Scorpio is after the technocrane market but I can’t imagine it doing half the other stuff we are asked to do e.g shooting pipeline waves on the back of a Seadoo? Operator on the beach, of course, operating remotely with a gin and tonic at hand!
G&T’s…. A real treat given the current weather. Maybe you can tell us the difference between a Libra 4th and Libra 5th (is that the Blue Stripe?)
The Libra 4 was our first effort to get away from analog and enter the murky world of motion control. The Libra 4 is noisy and not popular on sound sets, though it holds up really well on rough and tough stuff. The Libra 5 has vast electronic improvements leading us further into a fully motion control, aviation approved, stage, road and marine product. The noise issue has been resolved along with many other nuances. The Libra 5 was a test bed for the Blue Stripe which is being released shortly. John Toll is taking the first one.
General Aud Henz:
John Toll is taking it for use? Or to distribute and rent to productions?
John is taking it on his next film project. One of our
Yes/No: The anti-Wobbly industry as a whole currently provides too much misleading marketing mumbo-jumbo in bitter infighting between the various groups and the cinematographers suffer because of this?
Agree about marketing mumbo jumbo which just confuses what the cinematographer is after. I tell our agents to be truthful and honest about our strengths and our limitations.
Speaking of limitations, we try to be fair and balanced (yet positive) about all anti-Wobbly weapons… are you brave enough to share some of the limitations of the Libra and situations where it would be best for cinematographers to get a different tool in the anti-Wobbly arsenal?
This is a very difficult one to answer. Ridley Scott made me put a 500mm on the head for GI Jane. I told him it wouldn’t work and he said ‘I’ll be the judge of that’! He got the two seconds he was after. As a general rule the Libras up to Libra 5 can handle a 4:1 and we are struggling past 80mm. However, the ‘down and dirty’ second unit stuff we do is quite often on primes. We are experimenting with the Blue Stripe with longer lenses and getting good results. The cinematographer has to rely on his experience and the type of look he is after. We have been asked many times to loosen the shot up to cut with the rest of the scenario. There are generic terms “That’s a Steadycam shot”,” That’s a Wescam shot”,” That’s a Libra shot”, even though the actual anti-Wobbly device is none of those. Interesting that the industry sees it this way………
It really is interesting, I wonder how that perspective will change and shift over time… And thank you for your candid response - it is a breath of fresh air to have an anti-Wobbly manufacturer speak honestly. I suspect that that openness is part of your success.
I am passionate about the progress of cinematography and embrace new ideas and concepts, even though they may be competition to us.
General Aud Henz:
Yes/No: The wonderful performance produced by the Libra is thanks to the ingenious design of having roll in pan?
Nick Phillips:
Yes, that’s one of them! Makes it extremely difficult to stabilise, though.
General Aud Henz:
……Yes/No: The Libra is the strongest anti-Wobbly brand? As in more people know and respect the Libra brand than any other anti-Wobbly brand?
I hope and believe so. I guess it’s been around longer than most. Sir Ron and I started out about the same time. I think it was Flash Gordon! Am I right Ron?
We’ll see if Ron appreciates that obscure reference when we share this with the fellow Knights.
Tell him from me, in my opinion he has the best aerial system for the film industry in the world. No one can touch him.
Ron has done some wonderful things with his technology - he deserves to be very proud.
Okay Nick, I don’t want to take any more of your time - you’ve been very kind to give me this much already. You truly are the rock-star of the anti-Wobbly world, if not a bit Keyser Soze-ish (adds to the image, no?), and I appreciate you reaching out to us like this. I’m honored to have you at the Knights of the Wobbly Table table. A real treat. If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks, General. It’s been a pleasure and hope it contributes to your good cause. You now have my e-mail so contact me anytime you wish. Unfortunately, don’t have time to get to Cinegear. Will take you up on the Fosters another time! Good luck and keep up the good work. It’s an honour to be one of your Knights!
‘Till next time……………
Indeed.
3 Responses to “An Interview With Nick Phillips of Libra: My Barbara Walters Moment”
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It is interesting to hear from Nick Phillips. Great job introducing electronic stability to the world. Problem I hear from Libra techs, both in NYC and LA is that he wants to tech every job. Great. However, if you are making more than one of a product it’s hard to be in 3 places at once. The Libra has a reputation but also is known for failure. I hear from everyone who has used it that it has gone down on the job. The worst thing I hear is that he is reticent to help out other Libra Techs. Too bad. Not exactly what I call open hmm?? As far as the Scorpio goes, I’ve seen it come in to replace the L on jobs. More and more. I also know of Servicevision from their other heads, and their remote focus. All work as well as or better than their competition. The grips don’t seem to think it’s that much heavier than the Libra either. As far as Motion Control, I appreciate their efforts to interface with various software and know it was instrumental for making the virtual movie, “Polar Express”. However I also know that motion control and stabilization are polar opposites of the equation. You can’t tell the head to go from point A to point B at this rate and at the same time say “hey do your own thing when you need to stabilize.” Some footage we shot with it played back THE BUMPY ROAD!! when using it as a Mo Con head. And why put the tilt axis inside of the roll??? Other heads can compensate for the dutch. I hope that they have continued success and don’t rest on their Laurels too much anymore.
Who is NYCAC? I always find it more creditable to know who is speaking.
As a Libra Tech myself, I would love to know who said that Nick likes to tech all of the jobs himself and does not like to help the techs.
In addition, as far as “being known for failure”? The Libra has existed for a much longer period of time than most of its direct competitors, the head tends to find itself in the most demanding positions all of the time, it books more than most heads as well. With all of that ‘extra’ workload, odds are that you will see one glitch sooner or later. A glitch is far from a failure, a lost take is exactly that, the term failure is pure overkill for 99.9% of what NYCAC is speaking of.
I have personally seen a Libra, that I was teching, struck by an out of control stunt car (causing a 300k damage to the camera that was attached) and then continue to shoot for another 8 hours, with a different camera ofcourse.
Until a stabilized head has become ‘battle tested’ for a few years of actual work, I think a comparision of durability is unfair.
I agree with the General that silver bullets are meant for story lines in the movies, not for the rental equipment making the movies.
Best,
Lee Kazista
How can someone be creditable when there story has so many inconsistencies? In keeping with the noble theme of this site. I am one of the many soldiers in the war against wobblies. I have always been true to the cause of helping a DP or Key Grip in choosing there weapon or weapons in there battle against this enemy. I have been to battle with other soldiers who use other weapons other than mine and we have fought this adversary side by side. So why is NYCAC, who obviously works with a scorpio, slinging dagger into our back and saying the libra is a failure? What is to stop this person from doing the same, if he hasn’t already, to other weapons in this battle? We work with electronic equipment that is being pushed to it limits so a flaw might show up out of a 100 days 1% to 2% of the time but that is why we fight the fight. That is why when we show of for battle we know the layout of the battleground before we advance. Since NYCAC is slinging daggers let me tell you a story about Spiderman 3 2nd unit. Phoenix crane 435 400ft mag 4:1 primo lens. Had to be nodal on the tilt axis. Since the two other Libra Heads were being used on another rooftop the production brought in a scorpio head from NY to get the shot. Unfortunately the NY Scorpio tech did not properly prepare for this battle. He claimed that service vision told him he never has to counter weight the head. Well how can you do a nodal shot on the tilt axis if it is out of balance? I noticed from a far that a soldier was in trouble so I ask another Libra Head Tech on the job if the scorpio could borrow his counter weights to get the shot. The short of the story is that even with counter weights the scorpio could not handle the mass sticking out from the fulcrum of the head and unfortunatley had a system failure. The scorpio was replaced with a Libra in 30 minutes and the production got the shot. We have made great strides in this cause so I would choose my words more wiselymthan to say something is a failure. Not one of our weapons are perfect. Keep up your noble cause General!
Regards
Lance Mayer