About Michael Ferris
Hey, Dan, why would you get someone nobody’s ever heard of to write your foreword? Who the heck is Michael Ferris, anyway?
Yes, I was asked that. Fact is, Mike is a quite famous cinematographer in certain circles. Besides, even the most removed from the film industry have seen his work. Maybe you’ve seen these little, lesser known films: Die Hard, Water World, End of Days, Point of No Return, Internal Affairs, Back To the Future part II, Colors, Never Say Never Again…I could go on and on. His credit list is as long as my arm. Yep, he knows his stuff. There isn’t a piece of film making equipment he hasn’t had is hands on. A pretty good person to write a forward on film equipment, don’t you think?
But the main reason for asking him to write the foreword is his long collaboration with John Cassavetes. Cassavetes is arguably the father of American Independent film. (I saw Shadows 15 years after its release, and it still haunts me as a film to aspire to in my own work, but I know I’ll never be that good). It’s the independent filmmaker I wrote this book for. Now we don’t have to compromise a shot because we couldn’t afford to rent that crane--or dolly or car mount or stabilizer—now we can own these things and have them handy whenever the filmmaking mood strikes us. I can’t know this for sure, but I’d like to think John would have loved a book like this. Instead of spending $500 dollars on dolly rental, he could have bought more film. And after hearing some of Mike’s marvelous stories about his work with Cassavetes, there was almost a perpetual lack of the stuff.
I met Mike Ferris through a mutual friend, Bo Harwood (another long time Cassavetes collaborator). I have to tell you about that first meeting: it was at a convention here in Los Angeles where film manufacturers and suppliers show their wares. Bo and I met Mike at the front entrance, and before we made it 100 feet into the place, Mike had three job offers on three major motion pictures from friends and co-workers that happened to be at the convention (it seems that Mike knows everyone!) I’m not kidding: three offers of work inside of 10 minutes! Well, I was floored. Quite the first impression.
So that’s why I asked Mike. Any more stupid questions?

Foreword To Killer Camera Rigs That You Can Build

by Michael Ferris

When Dan Selakovich asked me to write the introduction to a book about equipment and the technology of filmmaking, I asked him, “Why me?”

We had met but a few times and I was able to think readily of many who had more aptitude regarding the subject other than myself.

It is true that I have spent many years using the technological marvels available to the modern filmmaker. During this time it has been my job to relate the desires and instincts of many to the where, how, and when to use this sophisticated machinery. Still, I thought, am I justified in writing a forward to a book dedicated solely to the technology of filmmaking?

Then Dan answered my question. And with his answer he made me understand instantly the yes of my own qualifications. He said, “Mike, you’ve worked with John Cassavetes. The man that started true independent film, the man that opened the door for the rest of us. And that’s what this book is truly about, not just building camera rigs, but being free to create without a studio budget.”

I worked with John Cassavetes through the seventies and knew him until his death in February of 1989. I worked with him as cameraman on, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Mikey and Nicky, and Opening Night. I also worked on a film written by John and directed by his son Nick; She’s So Lovely, (original title: She’s De Lovely).
The man who authored this meticulous book was clearly inspired by John Cassavetes. It is a work of determined imagination, requiring perseverance and sacrifice, both common ingredients in any film John ever attempted.

As John’s work continues to inspire people everywhere Dan Selakovich has used his experience to reduce the disparity between affordable and high cost filmmaking. This is something I think John would have deeply appreciated.

The difference between John and others was the difference between personal and professional lives. The clearly defined demarcation between work behavior and our private selves didn’t exist for John. Where most of us leave our homes, arrive at work, and assume a public attitude, John shot his movies in his home. He used family and friends to play out the parts he wrote and cajoled everyone in his life to help him render his ideas onto film. He was able to do this so successfully because he possessed the rarest combination of original talent and extraordinary personal humanity.

How does all this apply to to the equipment used to make films?
In John’s early days of picture making his camera platform and dolly moves were essentially limited to what his shoulders, legs and back could withstand. His budgets limited the equipment he used. There is no question he would have enthusiastically incorporated into his projects the simple, useful techniques found in these pages. I can imagine him talking to Dan for hours (as he did with many of us) about the building and use of gear in this book for scripts he had written.

The singular beauty of this book is that Mr. Selakovich has successfully dedicated himself to producing clarity with every page. All aspects of creating the equipment it describes has been worked out in detail. The difficulties associated with visualizing specific construction and the agonies of realizing mistakes, then re-measuring and rebuilding are gone. Anyone who desires can quickly render easily obtained, inexpensive hardware into practical, reliable, innovative filmmaking equipment. This in turn will allow greater creativity for stories less restricted by physical limitations or time constraints.

I commend Dan for his pioneering solutions to the technical dilemmas facing filmmakers. I further salute you, the reader, for caring to search for ways to overcome the many obstacles to communication that bedevil those who would entertain, illuminate, inform or connect with the human heart.

Like John Cassavetes, who seemed to reinvent the camera to interpret his own values, who recognized no technical boundaries and generated a visual language borne out of pure stubborn necessity, declare war on anything that says the filmmaker can’t.

This book not only says you can…it shows you how.

Michael Ferris
Malibu, California