PathSource - CAMERAPERSON: Cinematography Is A Skill, Thick Skin Is A Must

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CAMERAPERSON: Cinematography Is A Skill, Thick Skin Is A Must

About this video

Phil, a 1st Assistant Cameraperson is in charge of making sure that all actors and actresses stay in focus as they move throughout the frames. His advice: Have thick skin. The film industry is all about rejection, and it's how you handle that rejection that sets you apart from the rest.

Degree: Psychology

Job Title: Assistant Cameraman

Job Summary: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Motion Picture

Job Description

Film and video editors and camera operators record images that entertain or inform an audience. Camera operators capture a wide range of material for TV shows, motion pictures, music videos, documentaries, or news and sporting events. Editors construct the final productions from the many different images camera operators capture. They collaborate with producers and directors to create the final production.

On-the-Job Training

moderate on-the-job training

Additional Info

Most film editors have had several years of experience in related jobs before they are given an opportunity as an editor. Like camera operators, editors typically start out on small productions and move on to bigger and more expensive ones as they gain experience.

Quick Facts

Average salary

National Statistic Change Location

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$20,000 - $80,000

Projected Job Growth

0 to 10 percent

Typical schedule

Full-time, Long hours, Irregular

Typical workplace

Travel, Remote, Outdoor, Indoor, Physically demanding

Personal Qualities

Detail oriented, Creativity, Artistic, Technical skills, Hand-eye coordination

Educational Path

Education Requirement

Associate degree

Recommended Education Degree

Associate degree
Bachelor's degree

Recommended Majors

Film and Photography
Visual Arts
Audiovisual Communications

Related Careers

Actors
Announcers
Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians
Editors
Multimedia Artists and Animators
Photographers
Producers and Directors
Reporters
Correspondents
and Broadcast News Analysts

View Detailed Career Data

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For a small fee, we offer transcriptions in different languages, making PathSource a great tool for English Language Learners. This feature is currently available for customers in the education field only.

Please contact us at support@pathsoruce.com if you have any questions or would like to get a price quote for advanced transcripts offered in a second language.

P3.instances[0].transcript.parse_transcript_data({"transcript":"Hi. My name's Phil Bowen. I work as a first assistant cameraman in the film world. My current job is I work as a first assistant called the focus puller in the industry. I also teach a course at the Academy of Art University. I teach a course on cinematography, junior level. What do I do on a typical day or week? Every week's different. Unless I'm on a movie, every week I have a different employer. Last week I worked for Intel. The week before that I worked for Gallo Wine. Some of the movies I worked on are-- Hunt for Red October is my first movie. On a film set, I'm the head technician, so I'm called first assistant cameraman. I'm in charge of the motion picture camera. I'm the person that builds it. I put the film in it. I put the lenses on it. And I also run it. The director of photography, he does the lighting on the set. I do everything else around that camera. And my main job is to keep the actors in focus as they move through the set, so I'm called a focus puller or first assistant cameraman. And I'm in charge of the camera department, so I'm like a sergeant in the military, World War, I run everything. And I keep everything going. The director of photography works with the actors. He works with the director. He works with the lighting guys. I'm the head technician on the camera. What is your career educational path? I went to the University of California, Santa Barbara. I have a degree in ecology. How I got into the film business is kind of indirect. My first job out of college was working with the solar industry selling solar systems for swimming pools. In college I was a water pole player/swimmer, so I have an aquatic background. And so I kind of fell right into that. But from then, I went to Australia and played water polo professionally. I came back and got a job in the film industry indirectly. I didn't know I was going to go into the film industry. I just kind of fell into it. Then for years I did documentaries. Then I started working on feature films. All right. What do you wish you knew when you started your career? You know, if I had to start my career over again, because I liked working in what I was doing, I would have probably moved to Los Angeles, because in the beginning, I liked working on movies. Like I said, my first movie was Hunt for Red October. I worked on The Kingdom, last two episodes, Episode II, Episode III of Star Wars. If I really wanted to stay in the feature world, I should have gone to Los Angeles. But I was happy living in the Bay Area. I'm kind of glad I stayed in the Bay Area. But for a career move, I should have moved to Los Angeles. I would have probably done a lot more things and probably have been-- I won't say more famous, but I would have been an A first in our business. To get a job like mine, you probably have to handle a lot of rejection, in the sense that you apply for jobs, you don't get them. You work for a director of photography, all of a sudden the next job, he hires another person. But then he might hire you again later on. He may want to use different people for different jobs, for different skill sets, so you've got to have like a thick skin. You've got to handle rejection. My advice for people in the cinematography world is you're not born a cinematographer. It's a skill. The more you do, the better you get at your craft. It's like a carpenter. When you build your first house, it may look crappy. When you build your 30th house, it's going to look really good. It's not something you're born to. And my job, as a first assistant cameraman, every time I do it I learn something. I get a little bit better at it. So it's an acquired skill. It's not something I was born into or as a gift like a baseball player who can hit a baseball or a pitcher who can pitch. Our business is acquired skills. And the more you learn, the better you get at your craft. And it's a craft business. Some people think, oh, I'm going to be a famous cinematographer because I have a great eye. You need to learn the skills to do this stuff. So just practice your craft. That would be my suggestion. And keep working at it. Don't think you know everything, because especially now with the HD world, our cameras are changing every month. So I have to stay up on my craft. I have to keep learning new gear all the time. ","file":{"id":227309,"video_id":"2707847669001","name":"66378288","duration":237632,"thumbnail_url":null}});