best cam op related job ? commercial ? film ? Live ? less than 12 hours a day?

S

Shawnvfx

Well-known member
hey guys Im a wedding guy and been doing this for 3 years already

but I want to move forward due to financial reasons.

recently Ive been on a film set and its been killing me for the ridiculous amount of hours you have to work on set.

16-17 per day is a norm and you get no chance for 10-1 10-2 shower, sleep, seeing your family, and make a life.

that really drives me down for this kind of business.

I just wanted to ask you folks is there any cam-op related work that only take you 8 hours a day or less than 10, and 5 day a week? but at the same time still make a reasonable amount of income ?
 
My experience is that movies/tv/high end commercials are the worst for hours. Corporate video or staff job at production company more in line with what youre looking for.
 
The best job on set for someone who wants to be there to learn how it all works?

Hands down, no question . . . stand-in for an actor.

Pay is usually about as much as a PA, sometimes more. No grunt work. Long breaks. Working directly with the cast, director, DoP, and department heads. Heck, you'll spend a lot of the time standing next to the director watching the monitor.

Not the easiest thing to get, because you have to look like something like one of the actors (usually), but if you can, considering what you get paid for what you do -- no comparison.

Make friends with the people in casting companies in your area, because they're the ones who will probably be finding the stand-ins.
 
David Jimerson said:
The best job on set for someone who wants to be there to learn how it all works?

Hands down, no question . . . stand-in for an actor.

Pay is usually about as much as a PA, sometimes more. No grunt work. Long breaks. Working directly with the cast, director, DoP, and department heads. Heck, you'll spend a lot of the time standing next to the director watching the monitor.

Not the easiest thing to get, because you have to look like something like one of the actors (usually), but if you can, considering what you get paid for what you do -- no comparison.

Make friends with the people in casting companies in your area, because they're the ones who will probably be finding the stand-ins.
Click to expand...

no , my question is, if film is not working, what about live TV shows or other fields that requires cam ops ?

Film isn't really the only way out for cam ops.
 
Like i said, the corporate video shoots ive been on tend to be under 10 hours per day, and as a staffer at a production company youd have regular hours. The caveat there is that i dont know any company that has a full time guy just shooting...youd be editing, doing graphics, maybe producing too. Also, even though youd officially have regular hours, in reality sometimes deadlines will come up requiring you to stay late. Thatll be a part of that job you cant avoid.

Regarding income levels top guys at those companies may make out okay, but lower positions these days seem to be very demanding (have to know shooting, lighting, editing, graphics, and photoshop all so you can make $30k a year).

In the freelance world skys the limit on income but you have to be able to work consistently.
 
sports broadcasting is probably the easiest to get in to but it is a case of who you know not what you know.
producers will have a file of A list and B list of operators and work through them, and eventually get to the C list.
some producers will only hire people recommended by other operators. (this is where who you know not what you know comes in)

most corp, tvc and tv shows will have operators recommended by the cinematographer or they have used before.
the producers may also go through a crewing agent.

as to the conditions on film sets it is up to you as a freelancer to set and enforce your own conditions. especially on
non union and low budget productions.

as a gaffer i have a working conditions contract that i send to producers when i am about to be booked.
this sets out the conditions under which i will work on the production.
if the producers are not willing to agree to them i do not take the booking.
the conditions cover working hours and safety and are not negotiable.

cheers
 
Josh Bass said:
Like i said, the corporate video shoots ive been on tend to be under 10 hours per day, and as a staffer at a production company youd have regular hours. The caveat there is that i dont know any company that has a full time guy just shooting...youd be editing, doing graphics, maybe producing too. Also, even though youd officially have regular hours, in reality sometimes deadlines will come up requiring you to stay late. Thatll be a part of that job you cant avoid.

Regarding income levels top guys at those companies may make out okay, but lower positions these days seem to be very demanding (have to know shooting, lighting, editing, graphics, and photoshop all so you can make $30k a year).

In the freelance world skys the limit on income but you have to be able to work consistently.
Click to expand...


I will echo all josh' thoughts, as I work almost exclusively in corporate.
As for family life, this is about as good as it gets in this industry for camera work cuz these are corporate folks you'll be filming and they usually want to go home @ 5. Editing the footage? That's another story, but you are talking about camera. Upside to corporate, you'll get occasional chances to flex your creativity but every scenario is different.

Josh, you nailed it, you'll probably have to wear many hats for little pay. The higher paying positions are there, but they ain't exactly handing them out.

Hope this helps. as usual, I'm just typing this up on my crappy phone.
 
David W. Jones said:
Have you thought about getting a nice paying job in a different field and just shooting with your camera in your off time?
Click to expand...


Well my university major was film & communication studies. All my exp afterwards ( almost 4 years ) are exclusively cam-op and editing. Since computer works got me migraine ( so yeah , no more editing unless I want to die ) , cam-op seems to me the only way out .

Or should I go back to college and study plumbing ? : (
 
My niece finished nursing school and got a job offer right away, and is now a surgical nurse at a hospital. She is now making great money and works normal hours.

Not to poo poo your choice of study, but I see many kids taking film in college wanting to be the next Spielberg, without researching the fact that there are not that many jobs available, as the industry is changing so rapidly. For example, Multiple TV stations being bought up by larger entities, and then running all the stations from a single location. Laying off the in studio camera personal and using robotic cameras. Laying off the news photogs and replacing them with MMJ's who will shoot and edit their own stories. These are just a few of the modern trends.
 
Last edited:
Shawnvfx said:
Since computer works got me migraine ( so yeah , no more editing unless I want to die ) , cam-op seems to me the only way out .
Click to expand...

That's a bummer. I'm not trying to be too much of a wise ass....but on the flipside, I'd often get headaches from shooting weddings due to all the running around and lack of food & water. (those brides & grooms are friggin' slavedrivers...)

Now I'm happy as a clam to sit in the edit chair all day stuffing my face with junk food & soda. Your milage will obviously vary.

To David's point, I've seen TV station staff get trimmed by robotic cameras, Parkervision or whatever it's called.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top