Becoming a cinematographer

Owen Rennie

Owen Rennie

Member
Hi everyone. Sorry if wrong section, wrong question blah blah....

My question, thoughts and introduction.

I am 32 years old from Sydney. I am very passionate about all things film and camera related. From the moment i wake up and go to sleep i'm thinking about shooting. I run and work full time in a non film related business so filmmaking is a hobby for me, a very bloody expensive one :)

For the last few years i have been building myself and my gear up. I have spent thousands and thousands of hours and dollars on this hobby. One day i would like to sell my business and work in the film industry, preferably living in Bali shooting surfing..... What i find hard is actually getting into it. I shoot and produce my own stuff but getting involved in the industry seems very hard, next to impossible actually....

So what i'm curious about is how do people do it? I don't expect people to give away all their secrets but i thought this thread could help people starting out or people hoping to further their career. I'm not posting this really looking for work as i don't have much time anyway but i have tried to get my name out there a little with the hope to gain more experience and meet as many like minded people as possible.

I've made showreels, i've spent hours of various forums, i've emailed production companies, i've built a large network of friends through social media, i've built website, i've offered gear rental, i've done a few freebie jobs, i've shot weddings and stock footage and i've done a heap of things but very few things come from it.

I feel like this must be one of the hardest industries to get into? I'm kinda glad i don't rely on getting work to pay the bills as i would be bankrupt :) But i can't justify spending more and more money on camera gear if i cant get the odd weekend job or something... Even if i'm fetching coffee for everyone :)

Is the film industry quite? Am i just a hack and know one wants to use me :)? Any fedback?

Would love to hear how some of you made it your living.

Thanks
Owen Rennie
 
The answers will probably be location sensitive. I'm sure it's a bit different getting into the game in the U.S. Japan Australia, Nigeria etc., so I can't offer any advice wrt. Australia. But it's probably not too different as far as a few things: volunteer on no-budget or short films, for no real pay, just so you gain some experience of working on other people's projects, interacting etc.; generally volunteer as assistant camera op etc. on productions - just to get your foot in; show your reel around to people in the field etc.. At some point you should start getting referrals. This is usually a business of networking. You gotta meet people in the industry so they know who you are. Even hang out in locations where film folks gather (easier done in places like LA, don't know about Australia), start talking. Network. Volunteer. Shoot shorts and post them, write you are the DP etc..
 
**** you have been spending money on gear haven't you! - you'll have to stop that (it's an addiction)

If you're running your own business you have bugger all spare time and that's the biggest hurdle, what time you do have needs to be spent wisely so you need to do some strategic planning. If your goal is to get work in the industry as a camera op you need to aim specifically for that. Weddings will get you more weddings and stock footage might make some income down the track but you really need to keep pumping out quality stuff (like on your showreel) over a number of years before you start getting much from stock footage.

I'd look on places like Starnow for crew jobs, yes there's a lot of crap but you can pick up some paid stuff and if you find a project you like and you think has potential, you can do a freebie in the hope of some festival exposure. Get your name on IMDB and look for work that will build your profile. there's not a lot of work locally (unless you've got experience and connections) but there are companies out there producing on a regular basis - Beyond Productions come to mind, always busy doing cable crime shows etc - you might one get in as a camera assistant but it's work and it gives you something extra for the CV. There are always people looking for a DOP for short films (no pay) but it gives you experience, a credit and if you pick the right projects, festival exposure and an IMDB listing.

If you really like shooting surfing then shoot that - if you'd do that for free, how about doing it for $100 or so - maybe you could find a talented young surfer who would pay you to make a surfing showreel for him. Once you get a few you can start upping the price to something reasonable.

just a few ideas - hope it helps
 
Amazing answers from both of you. Some things I haven't thought about and will look into. Thanks very much, I really appreciate it.

Owen
 
From what you posted regarding your outreach, you do a lot of online interaction. Personally, I always hire the people I know, face to face. I've spend the last 2 years building up my personal contacts, meeting these people, having beer or coffee. We have a local monthly potluck that has people completely new to filmmaking to professionals show up, and this has been invaluable. Maybe you should find some of the local filmmakers in your area and do the same thing?

Other comments:
1) Read books, read scripts. I personally don't watch a lot of movies, and I've never used another film as a visual reference. Create something new, imagine new things. Read a scene in a script, draw a couple storyboards. Then, do the exact same scene and force yourself to imagine new shots, new lighting.
2) I've spent money on equipment, but not a whole tonne. I have a camera, and a Macbook. I build my own slider, and I've built alot of the items in my lighting kit myself. Don't get caught in the "I could do this shot if I had this..." syndrome. When I work on projects with no money, they sometimes think they can't do certain shots or effects; but half the magic in filmmaking is making the impossible possible, so approach a technical issue creatively. There is some amazing DIY solutions, and filmmakers will remember you for them.
3) Nobody will hire a nobody. I'm not saying your a nobody, but until your name becomes the one that people think of, it will be tough to get projects. But when it does, you'll have no trouble lining up projects.

Remember, a director isn't looking for a camera, they are looking for a cinematographer: a collaborating artist who can visualize their imagination. Give them something to be excited about.
 
I would have suggested that you put together a good web page and update this regularly but you have already done this.

One good way to get a following is to run a blog where you talk about experiences on projects, your views on the equipment you have, how you use it, information on new gear such as the Movi Steadicam etc. Post links from Facebook and Twitter to your blog.

As others have suggested, it seems there is no option but to take on a few jobs for free - I started by doing archives of stage/music events. I am now doing my 1st documentary.

After a time, start charging and then slowly raise your rates to some reasonable level.

It helps to get involved in concept, script writing, blocking. And, you might be able to build up a business reviewing equipment.

I have a blog with over 150 posts over 3 years - my focus is on management consulting, which is my day job. This effort has been very rewarding for me but I am confident a blog with a central theme around filmmaking would work. I happen to tune into HD Warrior on a regular basis and find this very interesting.

It does take time to research blog material and very important not to publish anything that might come back to haunt you.

The best way to start up a multi-faceted initiative is to use a mind map. You can get free software and I would be pleased to do a GoToMeetiing session with you to show you how to get started.

Look up FreePlane at http://freeplane.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

I am using FreePlane to map out my documentary. We have about 9 monhts of filming to do at about 10 venues and will then have to trim everything down to 7-8 minutes.
 
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Thanks mate, great advice on the Blog, I will start doing that for my new series I'm shooting.

Funny enough in the last few days my phone is ringing. Seems like my 12ft motorised slider is quite popular in Sydney.

Thanks again guys, few of those things above I never knew of. Starnow for example, never heard of it. Been looking through and heaps of possibilities.

Thanks
owen
 
Another tip is to focus on shooting other peoples projects. When you hire a DP you want a DP, not say a guy who's been a director, DP, producer, FAD and editor all at once. I'd say that shooting 12 of your own projects rep wise is about the equivalent of shooting 3 projects for somebody else.
 
Hey Owen,

I'm currently in the same boat as yourself. Having started as a 1st AC and working my way up the chain, I've begun to push into DPing a lot more recently. Of course I am still happy to AC and make a decent wage doing so, but my final goal in the industry is to be a DP like most. It has so far been a hard slog trying to find work, and even harder to get any money out of it. What I have found that has helped me is the amount of networking I have already done as a camera assistant. Those lessons and connections have being invaluable to me starting out as a DP. A lot of the time people whom I have worked with who want to produce a short or feature end up turning to the below the line crew when they don't have the funds to pay the normal guys DPing in that area.

That is primarily how I got my first feature shoot. The Director had $30k and a great idea to shoot entirely on a farm about 20 minutes out from Canberra (his childhood house). He knew that no DP he had worked with before would agree to the three week shoot at deferred payment. So he approached myself and a buddy of mine. I had operated and AC'd for him on shoots before and my buddy had gaffed. He proposed that we come on board as Camera Op and Gaffer, when we asked who the DP was he said there wasn't one. We looked at him a little weird and then realised that it wouldn't be that type of shoot where a DP would be able to design shots and lighting before hand. It was more documentary styled then thought out feature film.

With out any real prep, other then discussing what sort of style we wanted where we talked movies that the Director liked and all that. We got on a plane and flew down to Canberra. Lucky for us the location was absolutely brilliant and the Director gave us both so much creative freedom to shoot anything and everything. It wasn't unusual for in our down time for me to grab the camera, the lead actor and the gaffer and walk off into the hills surrounding the farm and find interesting things to shoot. I guess the story really added to that, being about a painter searching for inspiration. We were able to run wild and get artsy.

And when it became to much for one of us the other would take over. We would jump back and forth, with me doing lighting for a scene while my buddy came up with the framing and operated the camera. By the end of shooting it was apparent that while we didn't have a DP in the beginning we had two Co-DP's at the end. It became sort of a Triumvirate between the director my buddy and I over the visuals of the film. A true collaborative effort if I've ever seen one.

I guess the point I was making is that had I established myself as a DP in the eyes of that Director I probably would never have been approached for the role. And I wouldn't of had the doors begin to open. So it can all boil down to the one opportunity to prove yourself and you have to be open to it, now matter what the horse it rides in on looks like.

That goes without saying that jobs have been few and far between since, but now that the film has progressed through post production and things are moving my work has picked up. People liked what we achieved and sometimes its not even about the quality of work being leaps better then everyone else, it can come down to how well you work within the team. Being a great person to work with can be more important to an Indie Director than being the best DP in your area. I have worked for and met some of the biggest arseholes who can light and composite a scene like Roger Deakins or Haskell Wexler, but at the end of the day their attitude means they don't get hired as much. Being a pleasure to work with is paramount in my experience and doing favours for people out of the kindness of your heart may open doors or connections you never even thought it could.

One last thing. I gained most of my first work through StarNow, and found that working for nothing can be a great way to build a solid network of professionals and open the door to future work. It makes it easier to tell who is going places and who only does it as a hobby. The way they communicated back to you or sometimes don't respond can tell me heaps about whether their project is going to be successful or not. The ones that are in my experience are the ones whom are genuinely enthusiastic about their film and show it by communicating well and taking the time to respond. I've also met my fair share of no hopers who think that everything is just going to get handed to them. And trust me, they don't last long or get very far and I use those sets to my fullest as a training ground for crazy ideas that you wouldn't even think to try on a good set.

So in conclusion, it pays to stick with it as there is no easy way to break in and every bodies path to success is different. Some are instantly taken to the top, while others work for years and years without hope in sight. There is no magic bullet to becoming the most sought after DP in your area, but the least you can do is make it known that you have the skills, passion and enthusiasm needed to crawl your way to the top. I hope my rant has been helpful.
 
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