Getting Jobs with the Scarlet

[Michael Pyon]

Hey Gang

So far, I've been making some pretty good money renting out my Scarlet to the many student crews of NYU. However, with the semester ending, I'm finding trouble making money with my Scarlet when I return home to Washington DC in the summer. How or what jobs do people get with Scarlets other than renting and where can you find them?

PS, I've also tried Craigslist and even the jobs there looks scarce.

Would greatly appreciate a response.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[PatrickW]

Invest your rental income into your own creative projects, or collaborate with people who share similar creative ideas to yourself.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Having a prior client base really helps. Are you looking to DP with your camera? If so, the first thing you'll need to do is get out there and meet lots of people in the industry. Producers, directors, AC's, DITs, other DPs, etc. Obviously, you'll need a reel too. If you're simply looking to have companies hire you to produce videos for them, that's a whole other can of worms. The key is to identify what it is you want to do with your camera to make money and then take the proper steps to go after that work. Although Craigslist is a potential source of work, there are far better and more lucrative avenues out there.

 

[Shapour Daneshmand]

Steve,
could you name some of these venues please?

 

[Joel Mielle]

Since I got the scarlet I'm turning away work. Unfortunately Scarlet had to be returned but I wouldn't consider anything else.

 

[Olivier Madar]

For me, the scarlett is the "everyday, everyproject" cam (my main problem with it are the noise and the price of the SSD). If you need to shoot at 720, put a pix or Samourai, if you need clean images, work with the raw. Prime or Canon or...Go Epic (I also have one and very happy with it) if you need slowmo or 5K.
Rent it as much as you can but I think you need to use it for yourself too.


Olivier

 

[George Butterfield]

How or what jobs do people get with Scarlets other than renting and where can you find them?

I think this leaves you as the Camera Operator yourself. You do realize that all these NYU Students who rented your Scarlet did not "make any money", using your Scarlet .... correct? You could ask people who rent your Scarlet, "What, pray tell, are you doing with it, and are you making any money?". What you can do is rent yourself out as a Scarlet Operator together with your Scarlett, maybe team up with a "Sound Guy" ... maybe get a Grip and a Dolly and become a "Film Production" Company. You could shoot weddings, but the Scarlet is overkill for that. Shoot Commercials. Make Music Videos. If you want to make money ... become a Government Employee.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Steve,
could you name some of these venues please?

You can have an agent who helps try to secure work on commercials, films, etc. This has worked pretty well for me. As mentioned, having prior roster of clients helps. If you're just breaking into the industry, it will take time to build up these clients. Just work as hard as you can, and get yourself out there as much as you can. Meet people. Be someone they can trust and enjoy working with. You'll be amazed at the opportunities that can come about.

 

[Al Lougher]

Sorry to hijack your thread. I'm currently in a positon where I'm looking at investing into this camera so this thread interests me. I'm currently a part-time filmmaker and I do a few corporate videos here and there and I also have a short film I'm directing next month (alas not on the RED because they're so scarce down here, but a Canon 5D2). I'm deciding whether to take the plunge and invest in the Scarlet and then position myself as a DP with camera to hire (as well as rent since there seems to be a great demand for RED rentals here in South Florida). Interested to hear if this approach has worked for others. I think that having some talent and owning a RED camera would allow me to position myself more strategically in the industry. It's just such a HUGE investment!

That said, to add my 2 cents: Create a listing on productionhub.com and mandy.com. I seem to get a lot of response from that.