Am I being naive .. . ?

[Cane Carrington]

Hi,
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I am a newbie to pro shooting - I have been using a small sony pc105 for about 6 months & really getting my head around fcp 4.
I am a electronic music producer who is dying to change career & hopefully get into this as a living.I started thinking about making my own music video about a year back - when the record label could'nt give me a budget for one to be made - so I started to find out how this was possible & jumped straight into fcp & started using my pc105 for filming random stuff.
I had no idea what I was doing & almost _7 months later - I feel confident enough to take a loan out & buy a dvx100 or XL1s (pal). I am practically broke but I want to buy one of these cam's - so I can get a grasp of pro dv shooting & learn it inside out - so I can hopefully get some work as a cameraman or something.
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The short films & clips I have seen around on the net have been a real inspiration but I wonder sometimes If I am being a bit naive in trying to learn a pro dvcam & eventually get some paid work.
Can anyone who has been in this position give me some tips & maybe let me know if its possible to get paid work just by having this cam & inside out knowledge of fcp ?
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With music - I done the same thing -I just went out & brought a sampler/seq & started making dance records _- before long I had signed an album deal & put out dance records with moderate success - the only difference was, I was a lot younger , in my late teens /early 20's.
Now I am in early 30's & maybe not so off the cuff as I used to be - but I have nothing to lose - so any info & tips would be very cool indeed

[Federico Dib]

From a Pedagogic point of view (that´s what I studied for 5 years)... Interest and dedication are the main things to learn anything.. so If you have both you sure can learn enough to be "ready" to become a Pro...
This is not Rocket Science or Neurology... although of course it has it´s degree of difficulty (I´m far from mastering it)... but for me learning anything I like is fun.
I think that around here we all have a bit of Renaisance Spirit.

I guess the real hard part is getting in the business, and making a living out of this. That´s something that can´t be tought by a book or a School... It will depend on the market... where you live, time, contacts, how you move.. who you know, luck, making luck happen... etc...

I don´t think you are being naive.. but I´m sure it won´t happen on a week.. (You sure know this too)... I just want to believe you can do this.. because I´m on my late 20´s and still have many miles to go to earn a living doing what I like...

So, my first Tip: keep hanging around here... the knowledge of this forum is priceless....
I´m sure others will have more to add... and in case of doubt... do a search... you´ll be surprised....

[Mike Rehmus]

Were I you, I'd not worry about the camera. The fancier cameras won't make your material any better. Use your 105 and just do a music video.

I've seen really bad music videos shot on 35mm and really good ones shot with a Sony Digital 8.

Presumably you have the tools to record the sound correctly so you can record it separately and plug it into the timeline using the camera's sound track as a reference.

'Bout the only thing the 105 won't do is work in dim light very well. So make it a 'bright' video this time around.

If your work is at all good, you will be able to find volunteers with pro cameras to work with you.

[Glenn Chan]

Some of the Sony cameras just don't give pictures that look like real life and they have the vertical smearing problem when pointed at bright lights. You can tell the difference from more expensive cameras. However, content is still the most important part of your productions by a long shot.

The short films & clips I have seen around on the net have been a real inspiration but I wonder sometimes If I am being a bit naive in trying to learn a pro dvcam & eventually get some paid work.
Can anyone who has been in this position give me some tips & maybe let me know if its possible to get paid work just by having this cam & inside out knowledge of fcp ?

As far as getting work... cameramen get very little respect, at least in news. In the news industry, shooters/photogs are about the least well paid. The pay is somewhere close to the poverty line, and you have to work odd hours. Outside of news things are probably different. You have to figure out what you want to do and research that area. If you start your own business you can make money off weddings or industrial videos once you get some clients.