Camera Operator/ 1st AC Day Rates

B

BPatterson

Member
hey guys
so i'm close to graduating school and about to head off into the real world. I've worked on a few projects as an operator and 1st AC but all of them were done for free. Now my question here is what would i charge for my services as a camera operator or 1st AC. I know at first i'm not going to get great pay but i'm not at all about to sell myself short for what i can do. So if anybody has any suggestions on what a good day rate for a Camera Operator and 1st AC. Im thankful for any input on this subject. Thanks for your help

Brad Patterson
 
250$ a day is good for a 1st.

samefor a cam op. though on corporate shoots a cam op can get alot more.

so can an AC.
 
Starting out 250.00 day is good. Be invaluable, gain a good reputation and make what you're really worth: 500+

Camera Op should definitely be 500/day or more once you've got a decent repertoire. Although most indies or small budget stuff you won't get that. Gotta get in with the real productions!

So 200 - 250 day 1st AC (that's a really tough job, man)
and 250 - 350 day Camera Op.
 
Beyond Hell. That's why you should fight for maximum dollar as first, man.

I seriously do NOT want to first anymore, but I can see myself doing that for the next few years regardless.
 
SilverWolf said:
What's so bad about it ? I don't really 1st AC a bunch so I'm not sure of the pitfalls
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i've only worked on student shoots but all of them i've been the 1st AC, i've worked with film and digital and there not lying when they say its hell. I believe it to be the most stressful job on set. If something goes wrong with the camera its on you. Now i still have a lot to learn and I'm sure there are many more people here who know more on this the i do but its a demanding job.
 
Kholi said:
Beyond Hell. That's why you should fight for maximum dollar as first, man.

I seriously do NOT want to first anymore, but I can see myself doing that for the next few years regardless.
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Kholi, i'm just curios but what makes you NOT want to first anymore.
 
BPatterson said:
Kholi, i'm just curios but what makes you NOT want to first anymore.
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You actually answered it in the post above. It's too much stress, man. And right now it's not worth the money. First time I got a proper day rate for First AC was about two weeks ago, and even then it was too much of a headache.

Camera Op? BEST job on set. Gots to have mad skillz but it's worth it.

I've been in Camera Department, I'd say if it were a choice between ACing or not being in Camera Department though.... I'd AC.
 
I haven't ACed before but I have had a bunch of them. Is it the DP thats stressing you out cause I think it goes really smooth and non-stressful for the AC in my experience.
 
no the problems i've had as an AC doesn't come from just one person. The DP sometimes is a problem but i usually always work with the same DP so i know what he likes so that works out well. But actors are a pain sometime, directors, alittle bit of everything makes the job stressful. But i'm not trying to bash the job, i love it and plan on doing it for a few years
 
if it helps, I began charging 250 a day as 1st AC.
I began at 500 a day for DP.
Times have changed and so has gear. Milage may vary.
 
Regarding stress as an AC, pick up the AC handbook by Doug Hart. I lays down the law. I find many new AC's unnecessarily stressed not because they don't know their jobs technically but clueless in terms of priorities and protocol. On a film shoot, camera placement, lens, marks and focus are your 1st on set priorities. With HD; camera placement, lens, monitor, marks and focus. When I see an AC labelling tape when the director is staging the action - they need to work as a camera PA a little longer.

In fact, I'd go one step further. Don't bill yourself as a 1st AC until you've worked as a camera PA and a 2nd under good 1st on several professional gigs. If you never seen a good pro at work (and most don't show their stress) or worked for one, then how can you start charging like one. I think that's where the problem lies with AC's coming straight out of school or a rental house. Many never apprenticed under a good 1st.

I had a first the other day who never really apprenticed under anyone. At one point alot needed to be done at once (moving cameras and monitors) and the AC begins to freak about getting power - in front of the director. I had to tell him to chill and find an electric (we had four of them). Yet he still had a brain seizure - and I had to get the electric myself. In short, his inexperience lead to the stress. In hindsight I feel I may have premature in hiring him as a 1st and that the AC needs to work as a 2nd for a while.

Even at 250 a day (which is low), I expect an AC to have a decent amount of on set professional experience. I expect them to know the basics in protocol, have all the essential tools and know all the procedural steps of their job. I shouldn't have to constantly instruct a good AC where and when to mark focus. The good ones watch the blocking and have the second set or change marks as the director stages - never once having to stop the action or be noticed. They know when the blocking is final. All too often I find more and more AC's who haven't come up through the ranks and bill themselves as an AC too early. It does a few things. It screws up their reputations and the shoot suffers. When an AC is under qualified everyone notices - not like a 5th electric who may have folks who can cover for them.

I find it's like any job. If you really understand, know and respect your craft it shouldn't be overly stressful. If it is, then you don't know the job well or agreed to work under untenable conditions (see: don't know job well). For example an AC who agrees to do a film shoot without a 2nd or a real high footage shoot without a Loader sets themselves up for a fall. Or an AC who hasn't tested each an every nut and bolt because they didn't demand a check out day stands a good chance looking like a fool when gear goes down. Often times in the anxiousnous to work a job, any job, newbies will agree to terms that harm them and the shoot in the long run. AC'ing is like bartending in many ways, it's technical and if you don't know your job you get sniffed out fast. Also, anyone who came straight out of bartending school like film school is not qualified to bartend at a busy restaurant. You need to barback first (the 2nd AC of the restaurant world).

With cards, tape, and small chip cameras the parameters of the job have changed somewhat but the priorities haven't.


My ten cents

Tim Naylor - Former AC
 
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has anyone ACed on any doc projects? i'm ACing next month on a doc, and although i have worked a fair bit as a DP on docs, i'm a bit nervous to work under another DP. I took the job because it is for a bigger network then what i usually shoot for so i figured it would be a good learning experience and networking opportunity.
 
I am sure a 1st A.C. is really tough on big professional shoots, no doubt about that, but on the shoots I've done I don't think it has been an overly stressful job from my position as a director, observing. At least it didn't seem like they were ever freaking out, haha.

The pay rates some people cite aren't realistic for most of the work I know going on. If you're talking about big-level productions, sure, but how many people honestly get hired for that type of work out of school? I know a lot of recent graduates, from many schools, nobody is making $200/day that I know, not consistently anyway. I've paid a 1st A.C. anywhere from $100/day for 20 hours (suckage) to $525 for two days, but that's about it. I've paid camera ops $175 to $250. On the productions and budgets I've had to work with the money just wasn't there for anyone to be paid too highly. I'm not sure what it means for a 1st A.C. to be "worth" $500 a day, I mean people are worth what they can consistently get paid. If you can get that pay, and you work only on big projects, clearly you ARE worth that. But if you always get paid $200/day, and feel you're worth $500, I'm sorry but you're not. You are replaceable at $200, clearly, or you'd negotiate for higher pay.

It's like when someone tells me they don't want to work with the money I'm offering on a project, which has rarely happened, I just tell them I'll find someone else who will. I've had very qualified people so far on my shoots, too. The most unprofessional person I've had was the guy I paid the highest, ironically, a DP I paid $500 to and all of his footage was grainy, totally unusable, he hadn't used the camera before yet claimed he understood it, and when I offered to loan him the camera 4 days before the shoot and the manual, he never showed up to get it, he said he'd be fine, etc. Besides that, I've worked with three DPs now, all three did great work, but only two had attitudes I enjoyed and want to continue working with in the future, both are excellent. Every 1st A.C. I've worked with has done a good job, the grips have for the most part been excellent, I mean I can't think of anyone on my professional crews who hasn't been good enough for the work, paying $100-250 per day on average.

Of course it's my preference to be able to pay everyone well, because I like making people happy and it's a cool feeling having the budget where everyone gets paid well and is happy, but as a producer I have to make things happen on the budgets I'm given sometimes and that entails pay that isn't so great. I made it work on the last shoot because we were efficient enough to finish in 2 days instead of 3, actually what amounted to 1.5 days (13 hours first day, 5 hours second), and so since everyone was being paid a project rate, everyone's day rate went from not-so-good to pretty nice! I think that made everyone happy.
 
watson said:
has anyone ACed on any doc projects? i'm ACing next month on a doc, and although i have worked a fair bit as a DP on docs, i'm a bit nervous to work under another DP. I took the job because it is for a bigger network then what i usually shoot for so i figured it would be a good learning experience and networking opportunity.
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as long as you work well with others and you are comfy loading mags, you will be golden. These are the projects that find you with a different title than when you started. The key is to enjoy. High-spirited people are cricial on every set.
 
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