I'm a camera operator who has won a few awards. Struggling with bills and I don't even have many. Living in Reno, NV but would be willing to move for good work.
I'm tired of being broke all the time. I want to either travel for work or do something that just makes money.
First thing I want to ask about, I was told is camera guys shooting porn can make 12-15k a month. Is this true? How do I go about finding open positions? How do I find their business location to walk in and apply in person? How do I get involved? No, I'm not interested in putting my dick on camera. I've thought about making a site, but not sure how to start that or what the legalities are.
Second, how do I go about finding work for youtube channels, nat geo, etc. that requires tons of travel and pay in exchange for my camera talents? I've hit almost every resume posting site there is, some even specifically related to cinematography, and I never get called. My resume and cover letter was sent to a job finder site and they said both were excellent. WTF am I doing wrong?
I enjoy writing, and am not that bad. Not Hollywood level yet, but I heard I can sell a script with a good, finished concept, even if it needs polishing. How do I submit them? IMDB has almost completely useless information or just wrong addresses for producer contacts. How, how how?
If I leave the "industry" and choose a different career, what would you recommend? I want to be wealthy, kids in private school and after-school activities, bi-monthly vacations to far away lands, couple different cars in the garage, large property, don't need a huge house though, etc.
I know this probably sounds whiney, but I'm genuinely exhausted from working nearly 22 straight days and I'm just very tired and don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm 30 btw.
bonus: im supposed to be in reno in a week or two, scouting out real estate
Josiah Taylor
OP, not what you're looking for, but how do I git gud with camera and audio work? I'm in a TV production class right now but it's shit, we just fuck around and produce bullshit. I'm hoping to do what you do and maybe even star in some films, then I can (hopefully) break into Hollywood. Starting off in South Florida btw, if anyone knows of any particularly good opportunities there.
Jackson Clark
Here are two ideas that I'd try
1 make a documentary about ufo shit and sell it to either tourists or online. You're in the desert with an air force base, so just make things up. Call it 'Nevada's UFO secrets.'
2 Get good at some tech stuff and apply to Zappos as a junior qa person. They're in las Vegas
Dylan Ramirez
My brother is a camera man and director in Georgia. He made about $120k last year.
You need to go where the money is, and right now that money is in Atlanta.
> exhausted Unless you start your own specialty camera service, or production company, then that's the name of the game. I hate the long hours and multiday shoots but that's just how it works. That's why everyone in the business takes December, January, and February off. You gotta recover.
Kevin Lewis
How's the casting scene in Georgia? Can someone like get a good job there as an actor? I was thinking of moving to Hollywood, but if there's less competition in Atlanta then I might consider there instead. Only real problem is that there are probably less projects in Atlanta than Hollywood.
Josiah Parker
All classes I've taken on camera and audio are shit. If you are in college, get the degree (avoid for-profit schools). People care, but don't care. Hard to explain.
I would check out peoples' blogs. I don't have one because I never have time to make one. But someone who does is Philip Bloom. philipbloom.net/
He comes off as a bit self-absorbed and won't answer any question you ask him unless it is something about technical specs and hardware (maybe his passion?) but I used to browse his site when I was younger. I still go to it from time to time to see what software he tries out.
If you want to get good at editing, get Davinci Resolve. It's free and is the best tool for anyone learning in my opinion. You can edit in it, do audio, effects, live stream, and so much more I don't use it for. And it is a full color grading program. Note the differences between color correcting and color GRADING. GRADING is where the money is at, so I've heard. I just can't seem to make any, lol.
Buy a camera or rent one. I recommend a DSLR to start. Probably Canon or Nikon if you can afford it. Glass is expensive, but so is anything worth buying. Learn composition, contrast, and lighting. Don't do shit in black and white. It's fucking dumb and nobody is being artistic just because they remove the saturation.
Read the users manual. Figure out what you want to do first, and go do it. You may make mistakes but that's experience in the bag far more valuable than any class I've attended. If you want to do Time Lapses, get yourself involved with some websites that do it. If you want to shoot automotive, learn how to protect your shit and shoot on a budget. And for the love of George Carlin, don't go to /p/. They are fucking pretentious pricks all trying to prove they are better than you instead of just having a fun conversation about similar interests.
cont.
Charles Lewis
I would suggest you figure out what you want to film and capture. Just like actors, videographers and cinematographers get type-casted. If you spend the first five years in commercials, but you want to do reality TV, you will have to start from scratch when you switch.
If you want to act, prepare to work for free until you have at least five projects under your belt. Then you will be able to ask for $100 here and there. The big paying gigs probably won't come to you unless you know someone big, well connected, or both. Either way, get yourself an agent who works on commission and take lessons in acting. Just because it is your passion doesn't mean you are good. I would pick which side of the camera you want to be on, though. Unless you have an established youtube channel, you probably won't succeed at both.
Audio, to me, was easy to figure out. Different mics for different jobs, figure that out. Studio mics require different patterns than if you were trying to record an interview at CES or on set of an auditorium. RECORD FOR CLEANLINESS. Add distortion and effects later. Only camera men can get away with filming for effects. It doesn't work with audio unless you are doing foley. Pro Tools is good, I get away with Adobe Audition. I don't make SFX though. That's above my knowledge. I clean up my audio, add some reverb or balance/distort the EQ, and level shit out. That's all I've ever needed to do. If you want to make SFX, you will need to learn the in's and out's of that software, but I highly recommend Pro Tools, since my friends in audio all use that.
Last but not least, RED cameras are a buzzword. They are good cameras, but I feel there are better ones. They just hit the market hard to establish themselves like GoPro. GoPros are genuine shit, but they sell like hot cakes. Make it your goal to work with RED to learn it, but know when not to use it.
Asher Baker
Oh, also, watch a film you like the style of and see if there are any making of footage. They don't always go into detail, but occasionally you can get tip-of-the-iceberg information that will lead you to greater knowledge.
Lighting > Lenses > Camera > Grading > Editing I'd say this is probably the order of importance with Lenses and Lighting possibly switching places pending on the project.
Know your project and figure out the set up. No lens, no camera, no light does every job.
Alexander Martinez
Wow, actually, I can't believe I didn't think of that. That's actually a pretty good idea.
I'll check out Zappos, too.
I'll hit up Atlanta, thanks.
Sebastian Clark
Thank you so much, user. Speaking of YouTube, would you say it's a good idea to try and use it for exposure? Or at least include the channel in your resume to show what you are capable of?
Cameron Jones
>I'm a camera operator >My resume and cover letter was sent to a job finder site and they said both were excellent.
Nobody gives a fuck about your resume and job finder sites are full of HR drones that know nothing. You need to get an amazing showreel and contact production houses directly. If you're good enough they will find some work for you or at least point you towards someone else who will help you.
A friend of mine does lots of camerawork for the BBC natural history unit, he got there by making an amazing show reel of our local wildlife on his Canon 7D . He's now traveling the world using RED cameras and training with shotover.
Noah Taylor
>How's the casting scene in Georgia?
Good. If you put in the work and play the game you can get a little something. I got booked as a handmodel for a little commercial. $300 per day. One tip I'll give: just apply for fucking everything. Whatever it is, convince the director you're the perfect person for it.
> less projects in Atlanta than Hollywood. I'd say it's about even. Theres a LOT of projects being completed in Georgia.
Nathaniel Butler
Yeah I feel you on the exhaustion. Just keep networking, keep looking for crews and productions that don't work their guys to the bone.
I know one crew that never goes over 12hrs in a day. That's how it should be.
I worked on Ring 3 and we kept doing long days. One 16hr day after another. Fuck that director.
Blake Gutierrez
Thanks user. I might consider Atlanta for college now instead of Florida.
Robert Kelly
literally just go to LA and apply lmao
Anyway, why would someone choose a career in camera operation is beyond me.
Landon Taylor
Porn, no idea, can't help you.
Dude, you have to contact the PRODUCTION COMPANIES if you wanna be a shooter for Nat Geo or any other thing like that. Go to Deadline, go through the "new production announcements" on Doco and Factual, see the names of the companies producing the shows, hit them up with an email or call them. And forget about Youtube, they all run on a shoestring.
Forget Scripts. Even if you "write well" which you probably don't, it's virtually impossible to get a script picked up, put it this way, if you wait 2 years to get an option on your script, even if you make 100k it sounds great, but that's 2 years you've been out of work, plus the next 2 years you spend writing the next script, so it's really 25k a year, and you have no idea what happens next. You're in competition with all the fuckwits who think they're great writers, and the friends of producers who actually DO get jobs.
This is the reason why most film students end up after a few years, if they don't pack it in, starting their own production companies because they realize that "you have to make your own work"
t. Film Post-Grad
David Smith
Good advice. Way too many people in film have zero sales ethic.
Call people. Ask. Keep it short. If they say no, politely thank them and move on.
Lotta people at the top simply had the guts to tell people they were the right person for the job.
