stedicam operaters (how much)

All we are trying to say is, its not going to work. Buy the rig, but be sure to tell us of your progress. Cant wait to see your shots in the next batman movie.
 
and all he's trying to do is get a handle on what to charge. I stated the natl average in the first response to his question. He didn't ask how hard it would be or how long your learning curve was. I assume he's a big boy and would not sabotage his own career by tanking on a gig.
Fear is not a friend.
 
reem12 said:
harp001, I'm a very quick learner. shot a feature the first 2 months of owning a dvx and alot of people thought it was shot by a skilled cinemotographer. I purchased a book for dumies read it a week then shot a feature with no money.

I firmly beleive if your hungry enough, and exibit the same skill in 3 months that someone else who's been doing it for 5 or more years you can get your asking price.

Just take a look at still motion. what this guy has done in two years of shooting is far more advanced then say some people who has had there stedicam for 10 years or more. no schooling for this guy, just determination.
Click to expand...

Reem seems to think he can beome a steadicam master in three months, which is just not possible.
 
I was billing for Atlantic Records about 2 weeks after strapping on my first SteadiCam in Nashville in '96. My partner and I were renting out jimmy jibs and were about to purchase another. We opted to drop 10k on a steadicam instead. Paying that much, we simply did not have time to not bill it out.
My buddy is now in LA billing 6 days a week for 60 minutes on the very same rig.

We were both running with it and ducking under obsticles the first night we opened it. He's a scrawny lil bean pole but has built enough endurence to hang with an 18 hour shoot.

It's really not hard. It's a matter of getting use to it and that time varies from person to person.
at least it would seem.
 
Johan Sandklef, who is the steadicam operator in the clips Peter linked to, has been operating for 14 years, and you guys think it is possible to pull off shots like that in three months? Oh god...
 
we could go round and round. Obvioulsy art is honed through practice, time and the will to grow.
I'm just saying ya may as well do that stuff on the clock.
 
grinner said:
It's really not hard. It's a matter of getting use to it and that time varies from person to person.
at least it would seem.
Click to expand...


I can't be arsed to argue. Your wrong, but im not going to carry on talking about it, you clearly think your right.
 
hoarp001 said:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1TQcwyc8xfE

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=azukgBxl3bE&feature=related
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LOL. You linked to Johan's footage as a comparison for a new op? :grin: That's kinda an unfair comparison. You meanine.

That's like comparing me to Michael Schumacher because I bought my first car.



Steadicam takes time.

Steadicam is expensive to do.

Steadicam isn't easy.

Steadicam takes practice.

Steadicam isn't for everyone.

Steadicam can be incredibly rewarding.


You'd be pressed to find an experienced operator who would disagree with those statements.



Your market, your skill level, your investment, the budget of the production - amongst many other things - will dictate what you can charge for your services. After those factors have been considered, then you can start to tweak it yourself in the direction of what you would like to be making.


After you learn to balance the rig, you can start to learn to move with it, Then comes operating. Once you can actually operate the rig fluently, have the basics down (I'd hazard to say that it sounds like Hoarp is at about this stage) can you actually start to concentrate on the art of operating. After you learn to play the violin, then you can start to learn to make music.

And you never stop learning.

There are those considered "Steadicam Masters" (like Johan) who are referred to simply by their first name.. Ted, Jerry, Garrett, Peter, Mike, etc... (The list goes on.) But ask any one of them if they consider themselves to have fully mastered Steadicam, and they will probably shrug as tell you that it can't ever be fully mastered.

But if you can pull it off in 3 months, there's a lot of money to be made and glory to be earned; go for it.

- Mikko
 
I think we all have to accept there are level of operating and the level certain instititutions will accept from the operator. Your performance on a show like 60 minutes, Nightline, 20/20...etc might be hailed as excellent work by the producers but might get you fired before lunch in a feature film enverimont.

We all live and work by our own standards, grinners friend who bills 6 days a week as an steadicam op is a lot more successful then a Op sitting home waiting for the feature film industry to call while the bills pile up.

My personel story of development would be my current op. He is an incredibly talented and dedicated individual. He attended the workshops, and then we practiced together for months. He learned and developed faster then I did. I hired him for a lot of "not so demanding jobs" to get him more experience and slowly prep him for harder shoots.

A almost a year had passed and I hired him for a ball buster shoot that required, stamina, stability and incredibly precise operating. He succeeded in the shoot but went through hell trying to get the shots needed. At the end of a 3 day shoot he had bruised feet as well as bruised ego. He thought he would pass with flying colors and noted he needed a lot more practice.

I would hire him any day because he has realized what it takes to do this job and was able to be confident but not cocky.

He learns from my mistakes as an op as I learned from my peers and that's the cycle. There is no need to re-invent the wheel.

I would recommend anybody who want to take on a steadicam to speak with a seasoned
op and establish a operating level you wish to achieve. It's only the first 20 years thats hard, the rest is all downhill from there.

In any case, a successful operator is a paid one.......

PS: I believed myself to be a very experienced, seasoned operator until I spent a few hours with Garret Brown. He pointed out all my mistakes as well as a few quick tips that changed my operating completely.
 
haha, so true. It can be tough getting paid without enough experience, but by all means if you can do so, you usually should. As long as you know you can do at least a fairly good job and aren't misrepresenting yourself (which would be very bad for your long-term reputation).
 
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