New “Do” And A Great Crew…More On The NBC 8H Electra Crane
New “Do” And A Great Crew…More On The NBC 8H Electra Crane
Yesterday you met John Pinto, but without Louis Delli Paoli, Philip Pernice and Bobby Mancari, SNL could not get those great crane shots because they are the crew that drives and mans the boom arm. As you can see in this photo, the Chapman Electra # 308 has had a new paint job and make over. In case you did not know, this historic crane is owned by Chapman but leased by NBC and last year, Chapman wanted to retire #308 and did…for a while. Turns out that the new Electra could not make the tight turns and was not as maneuverable as the old one. There was only one solution…bring back #308. While Chapman had her, they did an overhaul and gave her a new paint job. I would appreciate it if someone would get me the names of all the other camera operators on SNL and if possible, some pictures of them with their Sony’s.
Bailey Stortz and Robert Farraccio on the arm, John Spagnola Sr., driver.
Sad that this subject only concerns the camera operators. Let’s see if anyone can remember the first crew members that made #308 move smoothly on SNL.
A year or so ago, I had a chance to sit in the bucket, and relive my years operating the camera on this exact Chapman during $20,000 Pyramid on 58th street.. We borrowed it from SNL and would have a flatbed tow truck pick it up after we finished taping on tuesday or sometime wed afternoon.. If I find that picture I will post it…..