How do you go about getting production hands on experience with higher end gear or any on set experience?
Going from being an in house videographer working with DSLR's to leveling up your kit experience for bigger projects is an expensive challlenge. I'm looking for any advice on how to gain more on set experience with production houses.
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- If you can afford to its always handy just to hire different cameras and get comfortable using them. Then you can have access to more jobs as your camera knowledge grows.Have you got a link to a showreel? I'd be interested to take a look as we often have work coming in that requires multiple operators and it would be a chance for you to gain experience.ThanksSte
- Thank you for that @George Bushaway, I've reached out to some rental companies however, I do realise covid makes bringing in new people a bit harder but thank you for affirming that route. I will definitely be taking more networking initatives with DOPs and production companies for assisting/ runner roles.
- @Matthias Djan Thanks for that advice, I've never considered the assisting on student films so that's certainly something I'm gonna look into.
- I started learning kit by networking with camera operators that were local to me and assisting them on shoots. This gave me the chance to get hands on with the gear and watch the steps that they took to setup the shoot, work with the shots list and get what was needed.This gave me the chance to work with news camera operators to documentary story tellers to music videos and then commercials.I also worked as a runner to on commercials beforehand to understand the heriarchy in a production house and on set. This is vital.Other possiblities are via a local film club? Start networking with kit rooms on kit to learn gear and see if they can teach you on the cine cameras not the DSLR's or mirrorless.
- Giorgia - AC/ DIT is the route - anything that gets you close to camera - even stand-ins is a good way to appreciate the gear and get to talk to Camera OPS and DOPS.Also reach out to rental companies from kit room role prospective - it's a good way to get familiar with kit.
- You can try get jobs as a camera trainee on bigger productions, if you reach out to some DPs or 2ndACs they’re the people who tend to hire camera traineesYou can also try reach out to production companies near you asking to be a runner or trainee and extra set of hands on setFilm school is another route as they will have access to high end equipment and train you to use it. But you can also just try to get jobs on student films as that will give you the same access to equipment, but without having to pay tuitions. Many of these student film jobs will be unpaid, but that does mean that you’ll be competing against people at a similar level to you for the role, rather than having to compete against people with years of experience using this high end equipmentGoing this route will allow you to have larger roles on set compared to if you went the trainee/runner route, but you miss out on having those experience filmmakers above you, showing you the ropes
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