Need advice on a career change

Kit Hannah · March 26th, 2007, 02:16 AM

*Begin Rant*

Forget Video. Go into some aspect of construction. We've just spent the last 2 weeks building out our new office / studio and we did it ourselves. Fun stuff - bought me one of those Hitachi Framing Nailers (pneumatic) and framed up the whole place in an hour. People always need stuff done on their houses, business, etc. Video is cool and all, but most of the time it's a luxury item for companies / people. I think i'm gonna sell everything and do some framing or painting. At least I'll be able to go home at 5 and have a life. With video, it's 80 hours a week for me and non-stop editing of cheerleaders, fashion shows, documentary stuff...blah blah blah.

*Rant Over*

Don Donatello · March 26th, 2007, 10:30 AM

"though PA might be too low in the food chain for me and not close enough to the camera and lighting departments"

any non camera POSITION you decide to take should be a learning experince toward DP.
back in early 80's when i went to LA i did PA work just to see the top DP's light .. 1st LA job -swept a stage so i could see Vilmos Zsigmond light ..http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005936/. PA'd to see Vittorio Storaro light .http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005886/.. i got to see just about all my favorite DP's light becuase i did those bottom jobs so i could LEARN ... and today i'd still sweep a stage to see a few DP's light...

i didn't do the camera PA, loader, 2nd AC , 1stAC thing .. i tried the camera dept and i have to say BORING !! IMO things only get interesting when you step up to operator ...
i did the shoot whatever -whenever for free and made $$ doing whatever job that i could learn something about the business or lighting ( and that included watching ) ..

back when i started there was 35mm FILM and then there was 16mm FILM (& video was a FOUR letter word) ... a DP could get stuck working in 16mm for years ... i preferred working on lighting crews then working in camera dept...

back then i saw many talented "camera want to be's" not make it because they wouldnt take crap jobs ( to pay bills) or they had to take other work outside of film business to pay the bills ...

there are all different ways to work your way up to DP

David Lach · March 26th, 2007, 12:10 PM

Thanks Don. I want to make it clear that I have no disdain for whatever position in the motion picture industry as long as it is not a dead end that will lead me nowhere. My reasoning behind not wanting to do PA jobs was that I would be too far from the action to actually do what you said, learn by watching. I would think you don't get to watch anything when you're miles away from the shooting location blocking a street or going to the renting facility to get the equipment trucks for the shooting. But I will do anything that will bring me closer to my goal.

Maybe there's also the age factor coming into play more than I'm willing to admit. I'm 28yo and after 3 years of College and 3 years of video production work, I hear a clock ticking. But I will certainly not snub any position, heck if I was rich I wouldn't mind working on sets for free, it's really not about the money for me and PA work would certainly be better than sweeping the floor in a restaurent waiting for my "big break". Maybe I should say I'll try to start as "high" as I can, while being ready to do whatever it takes to get in. So the camera and lighting crews are high in my wish list, but, whatever is necessary I will do.

Josh Bass · March 26th, 2007, 01:43 PM

Actually, again, from my experiences here, as a PA, every job might be different. I can't say I've actually worked on a movie (sorry), but I have worked on a number of commercials and corporate videos (higher end ones), as well as a weird educational videogame shoot that was basically a movie. Sometimes I would have plenty of time to stand around and watch the process work, and sometimes I would be sent on errands. Sometimes I would be on set but busy doing things so I couldn't just observe. You just never know.

Here's something else I thought of. . .sometimes production companies (at least here) have permanent staff who act as grips or whatever when the company has a shoot, and work at the office the rest of the time. I don't know if you'd want to do that, but it's another option.

David Lach · March 26th, 2007, 03:19 PM

What kind of production companies would those be Josh? Corporate and commercial or movie? Are you talking about the big Studios in Hollywood? Because here in Quebec there aren't those kind of mega production companies. Actually, the US Studios usually come down to shoot here in order to save some dough. There are independent producers of course, but they build capital for a movie on a per movie basis, mostly through government subventions (big budget movies here run around 10-20M, so the scale is probably not comparable to Hollywood).

Josh Bass · March 26th, 2007, 03:45 PM

Probably smaller companies, but the point is to get real set experience while making money. You'll just have to call around and see if anyone's looking to hire. Nothing wrong with working on higher end corporate projects and commercials. . .there's a lot to be learned there that you could take as a DP to work on movies.

David Lach · March 26th, 2007, 03:51 PM

Definitelly Josh, I'll keep all my options open. The important thing for me is to progress technically, and for that I'll have to work on higher end productions. What they are about ultimatelly will depend on the opportunities I find.

March 26th, 2007, 01:43 PM	#19
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Actually, again, from my experiences here, as a PA, every job might be different. I can't say I've actually worked on a movie (sorry), but I have worked on a number of commercials and corporate videos (higher end ones), as well as a weird educational videogame shoot that was basically a movie. Sometimes I would have plenty of time to stand around and watch the process work, and sometimes I would be sent on errands. Sometimes I would be on set but busy doing things so I couldn't just observe. You just never know. Here's something else I thought of. . .sometimes production companies (at least here) have permanent staff who act as grips or whatever when the company has a shoot, and work at the office the rest of the time. I don't know if you'd want to do that, but it's another option. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

March 26th, 2007, 03:45 PM	#21
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Probably smaller companies, but the point is to get real set experience while making money. You'll just have to call around and see if anyone's looking to hire. Nothing wrong with working on higher end corporate projects and commercials. . .there's a lot to be learned there that you could take as a DP to work on movies. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

March 26th, 2007, 02:16 AM	#16
Kit Hannah Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Fresno, California Posts: 528	Begin Rant Forget Video. Go into some aspect of construction. We've just spent the last 2 weeks building out our new office / studio and we did it ourselves. Fun stuff - bought me one of those Hitachi Framing Nailers (pneumatic) and framed up the whole place in an hour. People always need stuff done on their houses, business, etc. Video is cool and all, but most of the time it's a luxury item for companies / people. I think i'm gonna sell everything and do some framing or painting. At least I'll be able to go home at 5 and have a life. With video, it's 80 hours a week for me and non-stop editing of cheerleaders, fashion shows, documentary stuff...blah blah blah. Rant Over

March 26th, 2007, 10:30 AM	#17
Don Donatello Hawaiian Shirt Mogul Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: northern cailfornia Posts: 1,261	"though PA might be too low in the food chain for me and not close enough to the camera and lighting departments" any non camera POSITION you decide to take should be a learning experince toward DP. back in early 80's when i went to LA i did PA work just to see the top DP's light .. 1st LA job -swept a stage so i could see Vilmos Zsigmond light ..http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005936/. PA'd to see Vittorio Storaro light .http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005886/.. i got to see just about all my favorite DP's light becuase i did those bottom jobs so i could LEARN ... and today i'd still sweep a stage to see a few DP's light... i didn't do the camera PA, loader, 2nd AC , 1stAC thing .. i tried the camera dept and i have to say BORING !! IMO things only get interesting when you step up to operator ... i did the shoot whatever -whenever for free and made $$ doing whatever job that i could learn something about the business or lighting ( and that included watching ) .. back when i started there was 35mm FILM and then there was 16mm FILM (& video was a FOUR letter word) ... a DP could get stuck working in 16mm for years ... i preferred working on lighting crews then working in camera dept... back then i saw many talented "camera want to be's" not make it because they wouldnt take crap jobs ( to pay bills) or they had to take other work outside of film business to pay the bills ... there are all different ways to work your way up to DP

March 26th, 2007, 12:10 PM	#18
David Lach Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Montreal, QC, Canada Posts: 570	Thanks Don. I want to make it clear that I have no disdain for whatever position in the motion picture industry as long as it is not a dead end that will lead me nowhere. My reasoning behind not wanting to do PA jobs was that I would be too far from the action to actually do what you said, learn by watching. I would think you don't get to watch anything when you're miles away from the shooting location blocking a street or going to the renting facility to get the equipment trucks for the shooting. But I will do anything that will bring me closer to my goal. Maybe there's also the age factor coming into play more than I'm willing to admit. I'm 28yo and after 3 years of College and 3 years of video production work, I hear a clock ticking. But I will certainly not snub any position, heck if I was rich I wouldn't mind working on sets for free, it's really not about the money for me and PA work would certainly be better than sweeping the floor in a restaurent waiting for my "big break". Maybe I should say I'll try to start as "high" as I can, while being ready to do whatever it takes to get in. So the camera and lighting crews are high in my wish list, but, whatever is necessary I will do.

March 26th, 2007, 03:19 PM	#20
David Lach Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Montreal, QC, Canada Posts: 570	What kind of production companies would those be Josh? Corporate and commercial or movie? Are you talking about the big Studios in Hollywood? Because here in Quebec there aren't those kind of mega production companies. Actually, the US Studios usually come down to shoot here in order to save some dough. There are independent producers of course, but they build capital for a movie on a per movie basis, mostly through government subventions (big budget movies here run around 10-20M, so the scale is probably not comparable to Hollywood).

March 26th, 2007, 03:51 PM	#22
David Lach Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Montreal, QC, Canada Posts: 570	Definitelly Josh, I'll keep all my options open. The important thing for me is to progress technically, and for that I'll have to work on higher end productions. What they are about ultimatelly will depend on the opportunities I find.