As an up-and-coming operator, it's hard to sound like you know exactly what you want to do because, let’s face it, you don't, or if you do, you're not sure that you do. I see this time and again with younger/newer operators and, largely due to societal reasons, I see this more with women who are coming up as operators than I do with men. That said, it’s a problem everyone starts with.

Assuming you do well and assuming you are going from job to job, you are going to come across some gigs that simply don't fit. You don't get along well with the DP. You are early in your career and you have a 1st AC that resents the fact that you have risen up quickly. You find yourself appalled at the actions of an actor or director and simply can’t hold your tongue anymore.

We work in an industry of attitudes that is very heavily populated by people who need validation. From general insecurities to people who feel they haven’t gotten the opportunities that others they work with have, to out and-out-jealousy, crews are made up of individuals who are wanting more than they have in their careers, and in fact, this can happen to any of us if we are not careful. It's the price of chasing a dream that goes hand in hand with stardom, money, flattery and beyond. 

You've watched the rehearsal and set the shot with second team. You’ve worked out the move, checked reflections, looked for gear in the shot, and you are ready for first team to come in.

There are usually two cameras on most shows these days, the A Camera and the B Camera. The A Camera is generally, but not always, helmed by the operator with more experience.

As filmmakers, we have all sorts of tools at our disposal: dollies, cranes, Steadicam, handheld, insert cars, drones, and on and on. Sometimes, we can get caught up in the tech and forget about what we are really there to do: to tell stories.

There was a time when cameras didn’t move at all. In those early days, in the novelty of the first moving pictures, pictures of people gesturing and waving on the screen were enough. Then very quickly the camera learned to travel, first on cars and trains and then on primitive dollies and cranes, and then for quite some time they were…content.

You were up late last night. You lost the script. You just can’t remember lines. There are a ton of reasons you can have trouble following dialogue and when you do, there is usually one tried and true option for remembering who is talking next.

There are going to be those jobs where someone - the director, the DP, another operator who is higher on the line then you are, crafty - is going to talk you into a frame that you don't like.

Three words.

Game. Of. Thrones.

By the time the actors get to set, your job is to be absolutely ready, not only for what has been planned, but for what might arise that you need to quickly adjust to.

At some point in your career, you will eventually find yourself in a garage, industrial space, etc., with a poured concrete floor.

Depending on who you are, location gigs can either be the greatest thing out there or the bane of your existence.