Dean Babis Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 i have work in some film as a steadycam as.now i want to start as a loader am 20 is a good age to start and what should do first or to buy for to be a good loader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted July 30, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted July 30, 2007 i have work in some film as a steadycam as.now i want to start as a loader am 20 is a good age to start and what should do first or to buy for to be a good loader Age really doesn't matter, as long as you're old enough to be taken seriously. Can you do the job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Babis Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 Age really doesn't matter, as long as you're old enough to be taken seriously. Can you do the job? Yeah i have great pasion with my job i love to be on a set and working with all those great guys.i have learn and see a lots of arri cameras and some moviecam i now a few mags i think if you love what you do and you doing with the same pasion every day i think you will be great but thas my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted July 30, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted July 30, 2007 Passion is great but loading is, from someone who has loaded a lot of mags, not a very passionate job. You have to work very fast, be very accurate, and do a lot of paperwork. On top of that, any "downtime" you have is usually spent on the set and isn't really very relaxing. It's stressful. Any problems with film will be blamed on you first. Paperwork has to be perfect. Little problems can easily turn into big ones if you're not careful. Just remember that you and the first are the ONLY people who actually touch the film between the factory and the lab. You have probably (this could be debated, but it's my opinion) the most responsibility per dollar of pay of anyone on the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Puli Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 (edited) I started loading at 16, Focus Pulling at 18, Operating at 20, Steadicam at 22, DPing at 23. Granted I had a father who was a cameraman so had oppotunities early, but it doesnt matter. It all depends on the oppotunities you get and obviousley not moving up before you think you are ready to do so. I got lucky and started working with a good group of people who were all fantastic at what they did and were moving up through the positions whilst at film school. So I simply went with them and learnt the hard way as we went along. Another good way of learning and seeing how it all works is working as a Video Split Operator / Video Asist Operator. I found it a fantastic way to learn, because you get to speek to Directors, Continuity, AD's and of course your Camera Department. Filling in for the loader when he/she is off set etc is great. I operated split on a Spike Jonez movie last year (on the minitures unit) and had a fantstic time because I had more time to ask questions (when appropriate of course) and observe alot more of what was going on and see how it was all working in that bigger scale (production) environment. Now at 23, Im shooting a fair bit of video, Operating Steadicam on what ever comes my way and Focus Pulling / Loading as my in and out day job. I must say that I am a bit picky about some of the jobs that come my way. Especially when it comes to Focus Pulling and Steadicam operating. In these cases it will all depend on the DOP and wether I think I am ready and prepaired to do the job or not. At the end of the day, its all about knowing the gear, processes, procedures and going from there. Age has nothing to do with it most of the time. Just dont stuff it up!! JP Melbourne Australia Edited July 31, 2007 by James Puli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted July 31, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted July 31, 2007 Just dont stuff it up!! I'm tempted to get a tattoo of that or hang it on my wall or something. It's really the only tenit to work in the camera department, isn't it? :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Babis Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 At the end of the day, its all about knowing the gear, processes, procedures and going from there. Age has nothing to do with it most of the time. Just dont stuff it up!! I will keep that in my mind dont stuff it up thnx :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Ralph Keyser Posted August 9, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2007 Just remember that you and the first are the ONLY people who actually touch the film between the factory and the lab. You have probably (this could be debated, but it's my opinion) the most responsibility per dollar of pay of anyone on the job. Oh, I can't imagine that there's a debate on that. The value of an exposed 1000' roll of 35mm film is pretty high, and the responsiblity level is pretty high. You can mess up pretty spectacularly if you get hurried and lose focus. Couple that with the fact that you are the lowest paid member of the department, and I think that responsibility to dollar ratio award is all yours. It is, however, a pretty thankless job. People only pay attention to you if you mess up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Collier Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 People only pay attention to you if you mess up. They will also pay attention if you save them from messing up. That is always a good feeling. I don't know about big productions, but the small ones I have worked on and even the TV and freelancing I have done, camera dept is always crosschecking eachother. Asking basic questions about filters, lens, appeture, etc. that everyone should have a handle on anyway. If everyones constantly asking quick double check questions, a few seconds is taken and it can save a HUGE mistake from happening. I would recomend buying 'Camera Assistent: A complete proffesional handbook' by doug hart. It goes into detail all the various resposibilities and expectations of all the ACs and camera trainees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted August 9, 2007 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2007 I can't imagine it's any less pleasant than the equivalent position on a digitally-originated movie, that of imaging technician. I have been practically spat on in the role and would never do it again. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Puli Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 (edited) Hey Phil and guys Ive done a fair bit of this sort of work latley and its basically become data management or on some shoots ive been called "data wrangler". Copying files from memory cards etc to computers and fileing them properly. Im not a fan of it myself, but take the work when its there. Dont even ask me about the pay as its generally way below the loader and even the split operator as its the new additional luxary position in the camera department that producers dont want to pay for. The role of "Clapper Loader" is essentially the same, being on set doing sheets, slates, helping the focus puller out etc. But tis when your either sitting in front of the computer instead of in the darkroom thats the difference. Im still not sold on the whole hdd recording as opposed to tape, film or even disc's (like XDCam). Time will tell because this is the way everything is going. And im sure we will all learn to like it. JP Edited August 10, 2007 by James Puli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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