Help and advice from the professionals of REDUSER

[Michael Pyon]

Hey RED Community

Just wanted to ask all the professionals out there about how get jobs and make money as a RED Scarlet Cinematographer/Director. I have had my Scarlet for over 8 months now and I have been primarily making money through renting out my camera to other students. However, I haven't really done much job wise (like a couple of weddings and some cool reels) and I want to learn basically how to market myself as a freelance director/DP.

I have tried using craigslist, both posting and replying to ads, but I feel like there has to be a more legitimate way of getting jobs. Are there other sites to post ads? Should I make a website? Should I apply to a production company / production house?

What I'm confused is how to approach the matter, and living in the biggest film capital in the world, New York City, I feel like there is an untapped pool of opportunity just waiting to be taken.

Any advice or "two cents" could be extremely appreciated. As always, thank you!

Best,
Michael Pyon

Scarlet-X #1338
NYU Tisch '15
https://vimeo.com/user10763756

 

[Ryan De Franco]

Hi Michael,

I remember when I was at NYU I said to Chat Gunter I had been "working as a freelance DP" shooting music videos and fashion content; he cut me off and said "woah woah there bucko, you've been workin' as a shooter, the union guys will roll the dolly over your foot for puttin those two letters together."

Work on being a cinematographer; aspire to being a director of photography. A cinematographer is anyone holding a camera with a vision in their head for how the image will look; a director of photography can direct a crew of 20, politely advise 10 distinct departments, calm down a nervous director, deal with a sudden damning change in weather, bounce back from two hours behind schedule, entertain and inspire his or her crew--all on the way to crafty. It is a level of talent and confidence I'm just beginning to get a proper feel for after 5 years of shooting.

(And don't take my word for it.... for the last century, "director of photography" has been a job for folks in their 40s and 50s, sometimes 30s. "Shooters," videographers, cameramen and -women, can start young. But not film directors of photography. For that, one traditionally worked as an assistant for years, then as an operator for a few years after that, before a senior cinematographer recommended you to your first production.)

While I was at Tisch I spent three years doing the Craigslist hustle--shooting a lot of shit jobs, I learned what shit looks like. You have to know (and make) bad lighting decisions, bad operating decisions, bad planning decisions, before good ones become second nature. You have to work with a lot of directors to know how to anticipate what certain stories (and storytellers) call for. When you find yourself saying "oh you want one'a these" and the director shouts YES!!! and your gaffer grins, you're on the right track.

Your "untapped pool of opportunity" is not the limitless jobs you're wanting access to, but the incredible network of crews and producers here in NY. The best thing you can do is see the professional field at work--learn about agencies, learn about production companies, learn how to invoice and show up 5 minutes early. For this I highly recommend grip and electric: take camera 2 and lighting exercises at NYU, then ask if you're ready for the local 52 reserve list. You will learn so much lighting for the people twice our age! If hard physical work is unappealing, try to get a job at a rental house in the camera department; this is also a time-honored path to getting to know assistants, then working as one. If you can fix a camera on location because you fixed the same problem in a shop, you will one day save a production thousands of dollars in down time, and secure yourself a reputation with everyone on that set.

If you absolutely don't want to spend the usual few years working in other departments to learn how it's done, then just shoot all the time. All the time. Forget color sync and 48 hour festivals, go make your own 2:00 movie in a weekend! Shoot the shitty scripts well, then people will come to you with great ones. You're surrounded by young people with pot, ideas and nothing but time, go make movies! Direct and DP! Do both at the same time, invite that pretty girl to AD for you! That's what film school is for! You have almost 1,000 creative inquisitive people willing to work for free, that is such a resource I wish I still had.

Let me tell you, I spent all of NYU trying to work professionally. The first week I showed up I started scooping popcorn at Angelika, then became a projectionist, then found a rental house job. After two years of 12-hour days there, by senior year, I was offered a great "full time freelance" position as a 1st AC, then camera operator, which allowed me to save up and buy a Scarlet. And yet. I deeply regret spending that time working instead of shooting constantly with NYU friends. It is way more valuable to graduate with a reel full of student films and a good 200 people who know and respect your camera abilities, many of whom will one day have sway in the industry, than a reel of shitty behind the scenes jobs, virals, and $200 hip hop music videos, which is what you'll find in the low budget market willing to employ a 20 year old DP. I am being this blunt because I can't change what I did, I worked like crazy during school, and that's not what you're paying for. Go out and shoot good work for free. In a few years, everything you're asking for will seem like second nature.

 

[Alex Kornreich]

What he said.

Also, you're in a pretty fortunate position to own a Red and still have a few years left of school. Shoot as many student films as possible. Like all of them if you can. But you'll only be a good DP if you know lighting, so take as many courses on that as you can.

Study shot composition, learn lighting, and shoot every student film. Forget professional jobs for now, anything you'll get at this point won't be worth your time.

 

[Michael Pyon]

I see, well thank you very much for taking the time to help me out and give me advice.

The only reason I'm bringing this up now is to pay the rent for apartments in the city for next year (I'm moving out of the dorms, they are terrible!) so any real income would be awesome.

Thanks again

 

[Dominick Pietrzak]

Hey Michael. I'm at SVA class of '14. I've got a Scarlet kit, and also have ended up renting it to a lot of student films. I usually try to get myself involved in the shoot as well. Be it AC or DIT or Camera Tech, anything is better than just renting it by itself.

That's great advice Ryan. I feel inspired to go out and shoot right now! I've been trying to shoot and rent my camera out as much as possible, so I'm slowly growing a network of people who not only want my camera, but also want me. That is the most important thing you should try to achieve, at least I think so.