Work of the video camera man

By Julie Kim


Having a creative edge and knowing how to set up lights so that they create a specific mood is only a small part of a cameraman's work. A lot of cameramen are proud of their work, especially if they've joined the union. With a good editor, the end result of your work can look even better before and shock your audience.

To see your audience has been affected the way you wanted them is a treat as a cameraman. When the audience feels how you want them to after watching your movie, a sense of accomplishment arises within. The blood, sweat and tears that are poured into creating a movie are well worth it when the movie is said and done.

To be a cameraman means that you have to creatively design a picture in the frame-which is incredibly difficult if you think about all the aspects in the shot that have to become unified-lights, props, the whole ambiance of the shot, have to be captured appropriately. To be able to unify all these elements takes a well-trained eye and good, creative vision.

Showing up to work early and staying late are a standard procedure in a cameraman's job because it takes so long to prep a camera. Sometimes, a cameraman ends up taking longer than anyone else in the crew because of prep-time. Bigger cameras are more delicate than smaller ones and come with a lot smaller pieces. Every piece of the camera has its own case-which means more to watch over.

It's always a good idea to thoroughly check every piece of camera equipment you rent to make sure it works the way it's supposed to. Camera equipment tends to be on the heavy side-especially equipment rented from such large places like Panavision or Arri-so it's a good idea to stay in shape and lift weights so you can move all the heavy cases of camera equipment as fast and carefully as possible. Working in the crew on set requires that you are able to move quickly without hurting yourself or others on set.

A lot of camera preps can take up to a week, so during that time, the camera crew can get acquainted with all the pieces, where they go and what they do. A cameraman must be in good shape for holding and running around set with heavy pieces of equipment. Considering how the crew moves so quick and how time is of the essence during every production, being able to move heavy equipment quickly and with ease is also mandatory.

I think that freelance camerawork is the most difficult type of camerawork because it is never a promise. Sometimes projects will call you a week before you're scheduled to work and tell you it's been canceled. All cameramen start off as freelance as that's the only way to get noticed and get more jobs-unless you're somehow related to someone who can (and will) plug you in right away.

The majority of getting your foot in the door has to do with networking, meeting and keeping in contact with other camera people from previous shoots or random contacts you just happen to meet. Even if you're still a student, there are a lot of people who have contacts and networking is a big deal and a big part of getting work in the film industry.




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