Operator Profile: James Hammond
James Hammond is a camera operator and DP in Los Angeles. He was an early adopter of the Inertia Wheels and has integrated them into his Movi Pro and Ronin 2 gimbal setups. We caught up with James recently to talk about the Inertia Wheels and how investing in the right gear can open up doors in the industry.
NODO: Tell us a bit of your background. What sparked your interest in investing in gear like the Inertia Wheels?
James Hammond: The first camera I really invested in was a Sony EX1. It got me a job shooting behind the scenes for a band touring the country, and then later, a DP I had worked with got it on some shows. I was like, “This thing is making me money, and I’m not even on set!” I caught the bug.
NODO: How has owning and having access to gear furthered your career and helped you improve as an operator?
JH: I love owning gear. It’s been great to have a nice kit for my own jobs and a nice side hustle. I’ve learned with gear that if you build it, they will come. You don’t want to be hired just because you have the Alexa Mini, but let’s face it—for a certain market of jobs, it can’t hurt.
At this point, I want to focus more on specialty items rather than cameras and lenses. I think when it comes to gimbal packages, you really need to own the stuff you’re using on set. There is no way, in my opinion, to do it and rent it from a rental house. There are just too many moving parts and things that can go wrong.
By owning my own kit, I take pride in dialing it in and refining it over time. The ability to prep my gimbal package the day before a shoot in my home is super important. Once the AD yells, “We’re in! We’re in!” You need to focus on the sides and shot list and can’t be worried about if your kit is ready to roll.
NODO: Talking about the Ronin 2 and gimbals in general, they have evolved from handheld stabilizers to remote heads. How have the Inertia Wheels helped you leverage your gimbal package on set?
JH: TV shows are realizing the value of a gimbal. I think the Ronin 2 as a B Cam compliments A camera Steadicam because you can get stabilized shots that look good enough and make moves that a Steadicam might struggle with. And the remote head ability in conjunction with the Inertia Wheels is icing on the cake.
The wheels are so fast and easy to set up once you have them in your kit. You can mount the Ronin on sticks, a dolly, anything really, and have the wheels ready to go. It saves your back from carrying the rig handheld or can stabilize the shot with a vibration isolator, black arm, or vehicle mount. The options are endless, and I think that gimbals used as remote heads will become much more common on a lot of sets moving forward.
Without the wheels, I would be very apprehensive about using a gimbal as a remote head. I mean, let’s be honest, the wheels separate the professionals from the amateurs. Not only do you look legit using them, but the grace and fluid operation of the head… there’s nothing like it. The Ronin joystick might have some application, but the wheels are far superior in my mind for everyday use.
NODO: When you bought Inertia Wheels, did you already feel confident in operating wheels?
JH: I had used the gear head on jobs, but it wasn’t until I owned the wheels that I really had the opportunity to practice and feel confident.
I can tell you with experience that every camera I’ve operated—whether it was wedding videography while I was in college or a Red One on an ultra low budget feature early in my career—you need hours of practice to get good. The Inertia Wheels Training App gives you the ability to practice and take those skills to the next level—and all you need is your laptop and the wheels!
NODO: Do you have an example of a time when the Inertia Wheels helped you achieve a specific creative goal on set?
I was operating on the set of a TV show for FX, and the DP wanted me to do “swinging singles” for a scene of two characters engaged in dramatic dialogue. It needed to be very slow, graceful, and fluid. Most of the show consists of pretty fast, stabilized whip pans and camera movement, but in this instance, he wanted to slow everything down.
At that moment, I simply dialed up my Mass and Drag on the Inertia wheels, and it really helped achieve the look. The feeling of it was just right, just like adjusting the tension on an O’Conner fluid head for the same effect. The wheels offer an affordable solution to creative problems like that, with functionality that, to my knowledge, even the most expensive wheels on the market don’t offer right now.
