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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Working as a freelance DP, how to get started?

timurcivan said:
Am i missing something here? Is LA really cheap? how can you survive on 15k a year?
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I have buddies that live in LA for about that. They live in a 2 bedroom apartment, with 2 guys to a room. They eat horrible food (mostly instant macaroni), and walk most places besides when driving to work (production assistant jobs that literally pay 250 a week for 60 hours of work).

If you somehow manage to not have to pay for your car insurance and health insurance, LA can be cheap to live in. However I had a Cartoni F102 stolen out of one of my buddy's cars in Hollywood, so that pushed my bills up last year when I replaced it. :\
 
Vladimir Cassel said:
I'm a recent transplant here. It's surprisingly affordable--food especially.
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For 15K I can pay all the lawyers bills and application fee's to get a green card to be able to work in LA legally....
 
timurcivan said:
Am i missing something here? Is LA really cheap? how can you survive on 15k a year?
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$15K = 15,000 taco's in LA.

This thread is making me nostalgic... Also a little hungry.

5157498520_5e52ba3327.jpg


Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
timurcivan said:
Am i missing something here? Is LA really cheap? how can you survive on 15k a year?
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I wasn't expecting to live off that little, but I have heard it's possible. I cook my own food, which helps. I'm saving up a few thousand, possibly borrowing some more, in order to make the move. Just trying to be realistic since I'm usually being offered about $50/day with gear (or free with gear!) so I didn't want to set my sights that much higher to start. Which is why it's probably smart for me to work as a grip until I've got more to offer (and can charge more).

Your name looks familiar, btw. I think years ago you mentioned you knew my friend (well, acquaintance, I doubt he remembers me) Ray from school. Things worked out for him last I heard!
 
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Why not look up production houses in LA and get work shooting commercial stuff for them? Getting paid well shooting a promo or corporate video is a lot easier than a narrative feature.

Your reel looks pretty great, BTW.

Edit: damn, those tacos look good.
 
I can't believe how little you're charging!
I assume you're talking $US which makes it even worse.
I am a operator/assist, I also do the odd running job and $100 is nothing. I take it at the moment cause I'm saving to go overseas, but everyone says $200-$250 is a good rate. That is just me and a camera. Or sometimes just me. You should definitely be charging more. By only charging $100, they won't be expecting anything good and you won't be able to produce anything good cause you won't be able to get the gear, camera, or assists that you really should have. Basically, charge more. People will still hire you because it will be worth it.
 
I looked all over local craigslist and all the gigs were in the $100/day range. Worse yet, I didn't end up getting any. Couldn't even find gigs offering to pay more.

I think I'm going to go for an MFA and come back to the field once I really know what I'm doing.
 
hey matt. i'm 25 too and i've lived in Los Angeles my entire life. the best piece of advice i can offer you, from one professional to another, is the old-advice that was given to me which i now apply to my work philosophy on a daily basis.

if you're early, you're on time
if you're on time, you're late
if you're late, you're fired

if you can understand this simple and pure concept, then you will be successful in the industry. why? because people will rely on you, and this is an industry built off of reliability. it's as simple and complicated as that. but also what separates those who are serious, from those who aren't.

good luck
 
What is useful about film school is that it offers a great place to just make movies w/o the pressure of a larger and more professional production. More importantly, it's a great place to make contacts since you are surrounded by people who are going into the same industry, and can potentially give you a leg up in the future.
 
Yeah I'm definitely heading back to school. FSU (if I get in) or UT Austin, since I can't afford and have really mixed feelings about the expensive LA-based programs.

I've been begging everyone I meet locally to hire me even for free grip work and spamming CL and finding nothing, even in the $50-$100/day range, just since I love being on set and would do it even free. Offering free color grading for student shorts and even after begging with directors not getting any work there, either. It's actually kind of humbling, if not downright embarrassing, asking to work free on a youtube videos and student films and getting turned down, but I guess you learn what your work is worth once you try to enter a new market.

I'm going to give it a few more years in school and then on set and put together a really killer reel. I know a lot of tech stuff but can't even match eyelines across complex scenes or load film on anything but a bolex. I feel silly having gotten so ahead of myself that I forgot what I was going for in the first place. I see all these awful reels from self-proclaimed DPs all over youtube and vimeo, and will be glad to leave those ranks myself and get somewhere better.
 
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I recently posted on diffrent forum (fxphd) this answer it was for vfx industry but I think it applies to many freelance work. (bit of mine experience I learned)

As a starting freelancer you probebly take every job you can get you hands on.
And hit your head several times...it is all part of it.

The best way I personal find, is to make a preferd client profille.
You can base your profile on location, size client / projects etc. (make it realistic)
The importants of this is to choose your network, and network places.
If a tv channel doesn't fit your profile you spent less money and time networking that way. (no vip tickets fo IBC..for exemple)
If they come to you because they want you, of course you take the job.

Most of the time these are clients that are happy of the work you do, pay there bills on time!!!! and have a good relation with.
The bigger project is not always the best project.
For some it might be the big studios, or tv channels, but could also be add agency's, corrperate work, or indie productions.

Have two price rates..most clients always want less no matter what the hour rate is.
For exemple your rate is 110 dollar, if they take 8 hours or more it is 90 dollar, never go lower.
If you work for free because you like the project, and want to help them out. Always show what it normally cost!!
So that they don't take it for granded.

I hope this answer helps a bit.
 
Richard G said:
hey matt. i'm 25 too and i've lived in Los Angeles my entire life. the best piece of advice i can offer you, from one professional to another, is the old-advice that was given to me which i now apply to my work philosophy on a daily basis.

if you're early, you're on time
if you're on time, you're late
if you're late, you're fired

if you can understand this simple and pure concept, then you will be successful in the industry. why? because people will rely on you, and this is an industry built off of reliability. it's as simple and complicated as that. but also what separates those who are serious, from those who aren't.

good luck
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This is SO correct.
 
Thanks all, this community is great and the advice has been really helpful. (With the exception of Rob's asinine quote, as has been rightly mentioned.) I DEFINITELY don't come from money and I've worked plenty of minimum-wage (or less!) jobs to buy this gear.

While I am heading back to school in the fall (this whole idea of freelancing was spawned more by realizing I had the gear to freelance than any legitimate desire to), I'm planning to do some gripping in the interim and will take this advice to heart.
 
Rob Ruffo said:
Yet, I've never seen anyone without a University degree get very far in this business - it's very rare.
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I think Canada might be different in that sense. The government funds many docs for example, and those who can get that funding must jump through some very specific hoops that require advanced degrees, etc. We don't have such funding in the US (or very little of it), and so it's more about the talent on the reel than the resume.

That said, I'm always surprised by how many people in this biz have interesting backgrounds. My favorite gaffer - I found out many years after we began working together - was a Chinese history major at Stanford. Who knew!?
 
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Matt W. said:
Thanks all, this community is great and the advice has been really helpful. (With the exception of Rob's asinine quote, as has been rightly mentioned.) I DEFINITELY don't come from money and I've worked plenty of minimum-wage (or less!) jobs to buy this gear.

While I am heading back to school in the fall (this whole idea of freelancing was spawned more by realizing I had the gear to freelance than any legitimate desire to), I'm planning to do some gripping in the interim and will take this advice to heart.
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One last thought: you will be amazed what you will learn as a grip. Keep your ears open, arrive early, learn the craft from the inside that way and you'll have a huge advantage over those who only learned in class or 'above the line.'
 
I'm planning to do some gripping before heading to school and likely a whole lot more afterward. I don't see the point in returning to features before I'm ready. And I'll remember to arrive early.

Samual Murman said:
That said, I'm always surprised by how many people in this biz have interesting backgrounds. My favorite gaffer - I found out many years after we began working together - was a Chinese history major at Stanford. Who knew!?
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Agreed, I met a very cool gaffer last summer who had a background in computer science (I think?) and took a writing class taught by David Foster Wallace--as cool as it gets, in my book. The truth is only very few movies about movies are any good (namely, Inglourious Basterds, Vertigo, and little else) and obviously breadth of knowledge is key in any field. Those with diverse backgrounds have a lot to bring to the table, but I'm doomed to be a movie fan through and through. Could be worse.
 
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