Work of the video camera operator
To be a cameraman is a very rewarding experience. Setting up the lights, painting a picture in the frame and moving the camera to different angles is challenging yet creative. The outcome of your work once edited and put together-if done right, can have an amazing impact on the 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.
Movement is also very important because without camera movement, the shots become boring and it’s more apparent that you’re watching a movie. Jerky or unstable movements ruin your shot and kill the moment, hence why a cameraman must also be in shape-to be able to hold shots for long takes if it’s hand-held or on a Steadicam system.
Normally, cameras are rented for productions, and each camera comes with many little pieces, each with their own case. For this reason, the cameraman and all the various camera assistants must show up to work early and stay late. Every little piece must be accounted for and nothing can be lost or damaged otherwise it’s considered the production’s fault.
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.
Freelance camerawork, like I do, is the most difficult, as I believe, because it is never a promise. You think you’ll be working a gig two weeks from now, and then in one week, the person or production company hiring you will call you to let you know the project had been cancelled.
Half of the game is just meeting other camera people and networking. The Head Prop Master for Warner Bros. once told me, “In this industry, it’s good to be nice to everyone because you never know when you may need someone even like a plumber. What if one of the toilets on set break onE day? You’ll know whom to call, and he might even give you a discount! Happened to me!”
Thrilling work of the music video camera operator at Mark Anthony Cella‘s site.
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