Advice on hiring a DP/Cinematographer

Edalgo_Alvarez

Edalgo_Alvarez

Well-known member
I'm starting pre-production on a movie my bro and I are planning to shoot sometime next summer. I have never opted to use a cinematographer but since this will be our first attempt at filming a movie with a considerable budget (hopefully we'll be able to raise 2-4 hundred thousand), we decided it would be in our best interests to hire someone on to do the camera work/lighting so we can focus on everything else (script/casting/location scouting/directing/editing/sound/etc).

Any tips on:

1. Where would be a good place to look for one.

2. How much to pay him.

3. Anything else I am forgetting?

Thanks.

-Edalgo
 
heh now wouldnt that be something eh Thisiswells, imagine having both of them on the project! :)

Edit: Come on guys, its been a whole day now, someone's gotta know how to get a cinematographer... on the CINEMATOGRAPHY board of all places :)

-Edalgo
 
Try some of these films schools in your area. I'm sure there are some leads there. Luckily I live in LA so AFI and USC has decent programs but in Canada you should be able find some. Also Film festivals maybe a source as well as cinematography forums.
 
The think that sucks about where I am is that there really is no film school here. As Clint Eastwood would put it, there's the Toronto Film School on one side, the Vancouver Film School on the other, and me right in the middle. Though I guess I could look into flying someone out here for a couple weeks.

-Edalgo
 
Well I'm sure there's got to be someone near you that went to Vancouver or Toronto for school but does have the experience near you. You going to have to google around to find out other sources.
 
Decent pay for a film of that budget would be around $1500 a 5 day week.

In that budget level a good cinematographer is key. He should be able to find quick and cheap solutions to many of the problems that will arise, as well as be a great collaborator.

There are several options for finding a cinematographer, but it sounds like you guys could use help organizing the project. You may consider bringing in a separate producer to help you. He would also probably know cinematographers whom he was worked with in the past.

You could also post a add on something like Mandy or Craigslist, but just be careful about who you will find.

If you do encounter a cinematographer you admire, show him the script/ talk to him about the project . . . even if this person works on higher end shows, he still may be interested.


Kevin Zanit
 
Thanks Kevin, $1500 a week sounds good. With pay like that I could definitely afford to fly someone out here and feed him with money to spare.

I plan on getting a demo reel from the cinematographer to help raise funds for the movie by renting a movie theatre for an hour or so and bringing investors in and showing them the demo reel/script so they can get a sense for how the project will look.

Now to start the search. If there's anyone on here who has no plans for summer 2006 send me a PM and we can start talkin details.

-Edalgo
 
You're probably going to have to fly someone in. Contact the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. They will have some great DP's in their program there that need to build up their reels, so you might be able to get someone for that 1500 bucks. Also, make sure you get someone that lights your movie the way you want it lit. More often than it should be, DP's will have several projects on their reel and need a different example of lighting to bolster up their reel. So you end up with a dp lighting for their reel and not for your movie---especially when they are not being paid very much. Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
Good idea Danslak. In a way I think it would be more exciting going with someone who is fresh out of film school and just dying to prove themselves to the world. Of course a professional is also good :)

-Edalgo
 
The AFI program is a few steps above traditional film school! The reason I recommend it over USC or UCLA for example, is that most are experienced DPs before they enter the program, and are looking to really hone their craft. (It used to be, maybe still is, that most students at AFI cinematography department already had degrees in film from the top schools along with professional experience).

I wish you the very best on your movie. It's nice to see some real planning!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
How bad of an idea is it to research some films that you like, or ones that have the look you want in your own project, (similar budgets/equipment) and then find out who DP'd THOSE...and go from there? Since this is my feeble brainstorm of an idea, its prob the very long way around, steeped in potholes.
 
danslak said:
I wish you the very best on your movie. It's nice to see some real planning![/url]
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouraging words Dan. I've done a lot of shorts where I just went out and shot a movie with no planning at all and this time I've decided it would be nice to make something professional enough for distribution :).

thartley said:
How bad of an idea is it to research some films that you like, or ones that have the look you want in your own project, (similar budgets/equipment) and then find out who DP'd THOSE...and go from there? Since this is my feeble brainstorm of an idea, its prob the very long way around, steeped in potholes.
Click to expand...

heh, don't worry Thartley, I always find your opinions to be valuable to every thread :). I think this is a good idea and I have been considering it myself. I guess the only thing holding me back was the thought that these guys are big shots and here I am, completely off their radar :). Then again, the worst they can do is say no, in which case I can keep on trying. Who knows, the script could be so good that they just can't refuse :)

-Edalgo
 
$1500 per 5 day week is a real low-ball estimate. Around here on the East Coast US, the traditional rate is $500 per day. I lately have been giving prices of around $200-300 per day, just because I'm still a student, and I'm more doing this for just having stuff to work on. :)
 
It is not low-ball for a $200,000 feature. Lets say you take the average shooting schedule for a film of that budget, about 5 to 6 weeks - that’s $7,500 to $9,000 - or $300 a day - or $30 an hour (on a 10 hour day). This is decent pay. It certainly is not the union rate, but it is a fairly large percentage of the films total budget.

You would be lucky to make this on a low budget feature.

The going rates vary hugely - I have worked with certain ASC DPs who were paid $300,000 for a commercial and then earned $10,000 on some low budget feature.


Kevin Zanit
 
I wanna make sure I pay the Cinematographer well, without being ripped off (my bro said on another message board he frequents a guy said he wont do a job for less then $1000 a day, or $1500 a day with his equipment, talk about ripoff). Hopefully whoever I find will have a good time shooting the project and will offer suggestions because I encourage everyone to give ideas. From my experience when everyone has a say, the project turns out better.

-Edalgo
 
Amazing how a commercial can pay more than a feature. It almost makes me want to get into commercial cinematography. Imagine being a DP on a Super Bowl commercial. $$$$$

-Edalgo
 
Edalgo_Alvarez said:
Amazing how a commercial can pay more than a feature. It almost makes me want to get into commercial cinematography. Imagine being a DP on a Super Bowl commercial. $$$$$

-Edalgo
Click to expand...

My old cinematography instructor, Kris Malkiewicz, often remarked on how often feature DPs would steal looks from Commercial DPs. That was back in the early '80's, but I'm sure it's still true.

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com
 
Commercials almost always pay more than features... and commercials almost always have higher budgets than features. The national average budget for a car commercial a couple of years ago was $330,000.
 
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