Scheduling Conflicts
Michael writes in: I freelance camera op at two digital production companies that each have plenty of work but also have plenty of freelancers at their disposal. Each week it’s hard to coordinate my schedules between the two, as they can ask me to come in a day before and, at many times, their schedules […]
Am I Too Small?
Indy (a college student) writes in: I’m currently in college, and I’m interested in working behind the scenes for film and television. I would love to someday become a cinematographer, but one question that I’ve always wondered is if I’m too small to hold and operate a camera for long periods of time. I’m very […]
Perfection
Following yesterday’s post, I had a few more thoughts on mistakes. I used to be a personal assistant to a producer. He asked me if I ever wanted to be a director, and I said I did. He told me I could never do that job until I could do this job perfectly. This statement […]
No Jerks
Yesterday, Desiree said: His outburst was cocky and out of the map. But when you say “astonishingly, this outburst did not get the operator fired” I get a little scared. Everybody must also be allowed to have an own opinion, a freedom of speech and by all means a bad day. Maybe I didn’t properly […]
The Most Important Person on Set
I’ve complained about the camera department before, but just last week, an operator managed to reach below my already low expectations of civil behavior. My set counterpart was passing out prelim call sheets to department heads. Since we were rolling at the time, the PA went around to the “soft crew” first– hair, make-up, costume. […]
The Most Hated Department
The camera department are jerks. They’re rude, arrogant, self-centered, and self-important. Now, realize that I used to be a loader and a 2nd AC, and I was no exception. I’m speaking from the inside, here. In the camera department, we always sit by ourselves at lunch; we don’t mingle with the rest of the crew. […]