Annie Wengenroth

We kinda just had this conversation on the phone Karl, but I'll chime in anyway! I lucked out and got some hours in at NYFA helping teach the Panavision class for 6 weeks, but other than that I only got like 3-4 calls for work last month. So yes, it is slow, but it's like 3 different types of slow all rolled into one: 1. New York City Winter slow. 2. Unions that can't get their poop together and threaten to strike/cause conflict/scare away the work slow. 3. Extra Super Crappy Economy slow. Oh well. Life isn't fair and you gotta roll with it anyway. I'm used to slow winters now, so it doesn't bother me as much as it used to...I'm over it. After 3 years of beating myself up about the slow times and assuming it must just be me (it's never that simple), I finally learned to let it roll off my back. There is no logic to this business. When people say things will pick up, you should add at least 2 months to that time period just in case. It is what it is.

As much as I <3 the 235, I would say, you're better off putting your money towards good lenses...because when it comes to the quality of your image, the glass is what counts. The Arri III is heavier than the 235, but not to the point where handheld work becomes ridiculous. (IMHO) It's maybe twice the weight of the 235 (body + viewfinder), probably a bit less. But, the 235 body is only about 7 lbs. What lenses do they offer you with the 235? Where are you renting from?

In theory, if you have the machining skills, it might be doable...but good luck opening up the camera without the vast array of specialized Bolex tools required. These tools are VERY rare and expensive. Believe me, I looked into it. I also came across a Bolex service manual when I was working as SCAD's tech back in the spring...but of course, it was pretty useless without the tools. If you are interested in getting some work done on your camera, you should get in touch with Dieter Schaefer at Pro-Cam in Prescott, Arizona. He really knows his stuff. I think the website is www.bolex-usa.com.

I don't think it's right to predict the death of a medium that's been around for 100 years, based on the past 10 years of technology. I'm sure a lot of statisticians would agree. Yeah, things have changed a lot, but eventually something's gotta level out again or we will lose a lot of stability in this business. I left New York for six months and when I got back, I don't know if it was just me psyching myself out, but it seemed like everything had gone Red or some other HD camera. It seems to have affected the climate of the low-budget indie world pretty significantly and I feel like it's becoming an excuse to cut even more corners and totally cheap out. There's like this hysteria about how amazing HD is. While I don't think it's crap, I also think that to claim "HD will replace/be better than film" is ignorant and short-sighted. We're all caught up in the hype and the shiny new feeling right now. And cameras are changing faster than you can upgrade your Ipod. If HD is going to "replace" anything, it had better give us some solid ground to stand on first. Because this is where film will always win...they came up with the idea and after tweaking different camera designs and film gauges, they settled...and haven't changed a goddamn thing since. If any HD camera manufacturers really wanted to kill off 16, they would have to keep things simple, and make it able to be upgraded as needed, without a lot of expense or hassle. Maybe this is where Red is onto something...but I think it'll be another 10 years before anybody can really get an idea of where this industry's going. Change doesn't make me uneasy. What makes me uneasy is all these people at the top of the game calling the shots in this biz based on trends that might be obsolete in 3 years. Film's not going anywhere. It might become more rare as a format, but let's not get dramatic about it. I'm so sick of hearing OMG 16MM IS DEAD. Give me a goddamn break, do you really think Arri would have made the 416 if that was true? I'm not trying to start anything, I'm just saying, I'm totally over hearing this apples-and-oranges hysteria about how we should start burying our Bolexes now and blowing our parents' money on Red cameras. Whatever, dudes.

I can't speak for the 16S and ST cameras (Tim Carroll would know) but I know that for the SR's, on the outside, Arri uses Krylon semi-flat black applied with a sponge brush. They used to bake the paint on (I forget what it's called too, but again, Tim would know!). The old paints are not as readily available in the U.S. anymore. Your tech might have some other suggestions on how to do it too. But if you end up using spray paint, it's an easy enough DIY job, though time-consuming. Have fun and don't let the fumes get to ya...

I've been skimming this thread since much of it was TL; DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) for my tastes. I did notice a few posts about the idea that Red owners are getting pissed at rental houses for stealing their business or something? And all I have to say on behalf of all my rental house friends is, "...Whaaat?" I mean, come on. If you are ONE person with a camera, can you honestly expect to compete on the same level as a rental house employing hundreds of people and housing millions of dollars' worth of equipment? Maybe I'm missing the point entirely, but I just thought that was a pretty ridiculous and grandiose attitude to have. My opinion, as a rental house alumni and as an AC, is this: If you are an individual with a camera, step on in and play the game. Especially in a city like New York where everyone's trying to cut corners just so they can pay their rent, you'll probably make a decent living if you sell yourself right. But don't be surprised when the big guys get there first. Why wouldn't they? It's a huge company versus an individual. It's like trying to sell 8-ounce paper cups of your mom's coffee for a dollar each, when there's a Starbucks next door. The people who only have a dollar and think your mom makes great coffee, will probably buy it, but for every one of them, you'll probably get 3 who flock to Starbucks because they want their venti mocha cappcucino no whip for $4. I really just wanted to use the phrase "your mom" in a thread on cine.com, but you get my point. I think Starbucks coffee sucks and that's my opinion, but it's two completely different things, based on two completely different economic principles...so why compare? Such is life. You can play either game and do it quite well, or not...but to compare something that's 100 years old (film) with something that's, uh, not (HD), doesn't even make sense. And to compare the mom n' pop coffee joint to Starbucks, doesn't make sense either. I know that a lot of individuals have sunk a lot of money into their Red cameras, but it still doesn't hold up next to a big rental house, and never will...because it's a different business model. This is where I think a lot of the assumptions about low-budget filmmaking kinda fall apart. It almost DOES happen in a vacuum on some level...they spend their money differently than the big boys, either out of ignorance or out of necessity (because when it comes from your pocket, it's different). The other thing to speculate on is if all the hordes of individuals who own Red cameras, will now take business away from rental houses. I doubt it. I think within all the comparisons and contests, everything will eventually level out, everyone in this industry will be able to take something from it, and that will be that. There are people who pay 30 bucks a pop for vinyl and they love it. Is it practical? No, but who gives a poop, it's vinyl and that's what they like, so let it be. How much sense does it make to continue buying CD's anymore? Well, I don't know, you tell me. When your computer crashes and your Itunes library bites it, I bet you'll wish you hadn't traded your collection in. Cassette tapes were once the DEATH OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. ...Whatever. So was Napster. People always find a way, whatever they listen to or like to watch. They buy the $100 converter box, or they throw down $1000 for a new TV. It doesn't matter. There will always be an audience. I forget who said it, but someone said that the Red is a valuable tool for people who have been shooting for 25 years, and an Instant Spielberg device to the n00bs. I agree. It's another tool to make a picture...not the second coming of Christ. So we might as well just cut the hype and keep shooting. A lens is still a lens.

Well, I'm a camera geek so things are different for me. Local 600 is like the Community Athletics of unions: everybody plays. I could elaborate on that sentence in a few creative ways, but I put myself on sarcasm probation. :-D ...I digress. 52 is a lot more...old skool? Hardball. Like you take the test, then they decide if they like you, and if they don't, you're S.O.L. Bonus points if you have family in the industry. No, seriously. Right now, it is cold and slow. Every winter here, is cold and slow. Then, things "are supposed to pick up" by March, but they don't, usually, until about May, at which point you can bust out the Bermudas and stop hibernating, until approximately Thanksgiving; after that, everything comes to a screeching halt again. I would not say that a car is hugely necessary, but if you own a lot of gear or live further out in any of the outer boroughs, it might be helpful. Good luck with parking though! :-P The non-union work is generally low-pay or no-pay, like you said. It is possible to scrape by, but sometimes you have to really do your time on the little gigs in order to make it add up. I'm trying to tell you this in a way that is realistic because I'm a New Yorker and we don't blow smoke up people's asses...but I'm also trying to be somewhat impartial because I don't want this to sound too negative. I mean, I have a friend who's a grip/occasional gaffer, she's not in 52, and she works A LOT, on pretty good jobs too. So it can be done. Most of the union work round these parts, is commercials and a few shows. (Oh wow, it's 2:30 am and I totally almost wrote "a few shoes". Yes, union shoes.) It sounds like you're the kind of person who would fit in pretty well here and be successful though...because you've been doing it for long enough that you won't get pushed around, but you're tuned in to how smaller projects run. As important as it is to know how to act on a union set, you can't always bring the union act to the indie jobs, or they'll think you're a snob...so it works both ways! What's Austin like for work? I have never been there....

I don't operate much but it seems like it might allow the op to get tighter leverage and motion with the camera...worked with a dude who opped a Moviecam in a similar fashion. He put his whole body into pans and tilts and kept it loose. Panhandles are really kinda awkward sometimes when you think about it, especially if you want a more hand-held aesthetic to your shot. Also, as an AC, I feel like wherever I put the panhandle for the DP/op, is instantly wrong and in the way no matter how I do it. :-P Heck, with the 435, you could operate that baby upside down and it wouldn't affect a thing!

Hey Steve, I'll PM you about the sound stuff...my friend has a studio that she uses for motion picture scoring, so she's running Pro Tools, Digital Performer, and has 2 MIDI synths, a Kurzweil K2500 and a Roland XP-30. It's a nice little setup and it's possible that maybe she'll let me borrow the space a few days a week. I'm kinda busy this week but I'll send you a message about it. As for the resume, I feel better about it now than I did when I first wrote it up. I've always hated having to show what I've worked on, on paper...I'd rather just show up and talk about it or something. But anyway, I think the format's better than what it was and I just have to re-word some stuff.

:lol: Gotta go hose down the ol' Moviecam now....thank you for your kind words Steve...will you buy me a marshmallow pony if I get the job?:D I am seriously very flattered by what you said and it means a lot to me. I have 3 words for anyone thinking of "cutting my throat" to take a job out from under me: BRING IT ON PAL! Oh, that's 4. But you get the idea. I rarely speak of having to fight both to get work, and, perhaps more importantly, for your right to party. This is because I initially prefer to avoid conflict. However, maybe it's worth thinking about. Hm...padding...tweaking...and incidentally it WAS a little bit of post-production sound for film and television. We had a few recording and mixing classes for music production too, but who needs to know!

Damn you, Karl! :P Like oh my god, I should get better curtains because there's probably a job recruiter hiding in the bushes after Facebook-stalking me, eventually tracking me to this post, and then reading my resume and being like, "Well, this James Steven Beverly guy has better ideas, so I don't know about this chick..." Oh wait, I don't have bushes. Heck, it's not like I'm posting my Social Security number. Well for what it's worth, my legal name is Anne, so, with an "e". But yes, I do see your point. Also, I didn't major in film...I majored in sound design....so it seems wrong to lie...? Other than that I think the revisions would work. Oh yeah...the only other thing that's a little awkward is that when I was at CSC as a floor tech, I was ALSO working occasionally in the Digital Department. So it was technically two different job descriptions. Anyway, further tweaks shall commence now. Thanks Steve! (and Karl, for making ME paranoid! Ha ha)

Cool, let's help each other out then and you can post yours if you want.

OK, I tweaked the format a little bit and changed some things. Better/worse? :)

Steve, Thanks for the advice. I think it's not so much the content I need to work on as it is the wording of specific job descriptions. Then I guess I have to figure out which AC stuff I should stick on there. Do you think listing the cameras I'm familiar with is overkill? This is something I did when I was first starting out and I just did it again because I figured it was something a rental house would notice and appreciate.

It's really pretty amazing how something as simple as clapping a slate can go so HORRIBLY WRONG when you're 1) exhausted, 2) new, 3) nervous, or 4) all of the above. I still find slating to be nerve-wracking and it occasionally makes me self-conscious, especially the time when I had bronchitis and could barely talk above a whisper. Then, sometimes they want you to call it and sometimes the sound guys will end up slating for themselves, so it can get pretty confusing. Or there will be a large and vicious dog in the frame which you have to cross in order to clear. People make a really, really big deal out of the simplest, most basic tasks on a film set. And they do this to justify their career choices and make themselves feel better. So don't feel bad...it's an important task but it's not like you have to write a 200-page dissertation on the literature of Tolstoy as it relates to the Cold War. As my friend Alexa says, "We're making movies...not saving babies from burning buildings!" Amen to that.

Hello my darlings. Happy 2009! I think the last time I asked for help with a resume, it was 2005 and I had just been flung unceremoniously from the comforts of art school into what we know as "the real world". I have a resume that I use when I morph into Annie Wengenroth The Camera Assistant that I find to be perfectly adequate. However, I'm looking for some more general advice as far as content and format, because I want to make an additional resume to show to rental houses and film schools who might be looking for a camera technician. I attached my current AC resume, as well as the one I am working on now (note: it's really, really rough right now!) so that you may mock and advise accordingly. As far as rental house/tech work, I'm willing to start small with basic tasks and train as needed, or even to work as a prep tech again in order to move up within the company. It just depends on the structure of the shop and what they're looking for; I'm trying to be flexible and open-minded. I like working with the gear and helping customers. One of the things I really enjoyed about working as a floor tech at CSC was making sure that my AC got everything he or she needed in the camera package, while at the same time, trying to find creative solutions for various filming conditions. And I don't mind "grunt work" either. ;) I'm familiar with Arri camera systems and did some pretty extensive overhauls on the school's SR mags while down in Savannah last year. I understand how the Arri parts books are laid out and am comfortable with basic maintenance of film cameras and the tools involved. I'm also pretty good with computers and software and can easily remove Fed Ex labels from camera cases. :thumbs up: So here we are then. How do I put this in a resume in a more organized fashion? Any thoughts or ideas?

I just got done working as 2nd AC on the second unit/skeleton crew of this indie feature "Five Star Day" shot in LA...directed by Danny Buday, DP Jason Oldak, starring Cam Gigandet and Jena Malone. It was fun- we shot for 4 days, Moviecam SL....some stuff around NYC and then we went to Atlantic City where I managed to actually hold on to my per diem instead of blowing it at the casinos like I was originally planning. :P Next up, I dunno.

I was looking around the Arri site recently and came across this application which allows you to pick out Arri accessories and then figure out exactly what you need based on your lenses and camera system. Looks like it's still in a beta phase (the URL says "test area") but it seems like a really cool, useful thing. The link is here. Check it out!

Arri Inc: 845-353-1400. Ask to speak with a service technician and then with somebody in sales for a quote for an SR handle. The school I used to work at had an SR fall out of a U-haul, in its case. The case bounced and hit the highway, (ugh every time I tell this story I sort of want to throw up a little) at which point it was picked up by the cops, who opened up the case, jammed a sandbag on top of the camera, and closed it. Between one thing and another, the camera had issues with its viewing system and with its electronics. It was repaired for about $1400, I think...something like that. Just looking at it after it fell, you wouldn't have known any of these things, but once the school sent it in, the camera ended up having some pretty serious problems. Those handles are pretty heavy-duty...I mean, it's a handle...and if something like that breaks, enough force to break metal, it's a fair amount of impact on the camera. So you're better safe than sorry!

:wub: The other thing I would add is that nobody's holding a gun to your head making you do ONE THING with your life FOREVER. And if they are, they're an idiot. Unlike college where you had to pick a major and stick with it or else risk being up to your neck in loans and not graduating until you were 35, in Real Life you can do all kinds of amazing things and you don't have to lock yourself in to one decision. Case in point, and most of you cine.com guys know this having read my posts...but, I am a major camera geek. To the point where it's actually almost embarrassing. I love, love, love the gear. There are Arriflex manuals and parts books on my coffee table and my favorite thing to do at CSC was bug the guys in the shop to tell me about what they were working on and how it worked. Last winter when the strike hit, I decided to take a job down in Savannah as the film camera technician at my old school, Savannah College of Art and Design. I ended up coming back to NYC at the end of the summer because things were not perfect and I think it would have been harder to justify staying down there in the long run, for a few reasons, personal, political, and practical. However, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, I LOVED working in the shop with the other engineers and being a part of that group, and it was incredible to have an opportunity to make contacts at Arri and learn this stuff from the inside out. And the funny thing is, now that I'm back in NYC, even though I'm still working as a camera assistant and enjoying that, the interest in being a technician still hasn't left me. So in all honesty, I don't know where things are gonna go for me, or when. But it brings me to an interesting turning point where I'm becoming aware of how there are so many facets of this business which are all connected...and like Steve said, the film world doesn't start and end with New York or LA. So who knows. Play to your strengths and figure out a way up that works for you. Progress is not always a straight line from point A to point B. It can often be circular. Most people never have a chance to realize this because they get stuck working in an office before the ink has even dried on their diploma.

Hey does anybody want to marry me by say, New Year's? It's getting a little slow this winter and I'm starting to feel like I spend too much time by myself. I hope you like cats, South Park, and coffee made with a French press. I started out by working at CSC (in New York). LA scared me so I decided to go someplace that was 1) still cool and 2) familiar. I started trying to make connections right away, just to have people I could talk to about work in general, even outside of camera. I remember the exact moment I decided it would help me to work at a rental house first before going out to work as an AC. I was on the set of a low-budget indie, working for free, wondering if I was doing things right and if I would learn the gear I wanted to learn if I were to stay in the low-budget indie world (a world which is, incidentally, still quite close to me...). I realized that for me personally, it was more important to learn the gear and to do it in an environment that was structured and full of the people who could get me work someday. The pay sucked but I didn't care, it was better than making $0 a day. I was staying with friends rent-free and I had money saved up so I knew I could make it work. It was a tough job in many ways that I wasn't expecting; lots of physical/manual labor, more downtime during the winter than I'd anticipated, surprisingly long hours. There were days where I'd fall asleep on the train on the way uptown from Columbus Circle because I was so wiped out from cleaning cases and running around all day. My arms hurt, like, ALL the time. And sometimes I felt frantic with the idea that I was wasting time there. But I can't imagine not having worked there. Learning my way around the cameras and meeting the people at CSC gave me the confidence to get out there as an AC. So for me it was a good path. Some people might be able to go right onto set and be totally cool and do fine, it just depends on what your strengths are and where your priorities lie. I hit the ground running and was looking for work before I'd even graduated...that's another thing. Don't lose momentum and don't hesitate to make contacts while you're still in school. The film industry is not this holy, mysterious, prestigious world. You shouldn't have to sell your soul to Break In . The hardest thing is networking, learning how to talk on the phone to strangers without feeling like a jackass, stuff like that. But you'd be surprised how fast you can build a solid base of people who will call you and recommend you for work. It can be really, really freakin hard, but then again, so is life after college anyway.

These are the best pants for winter exteriors. :-D

This one time I put on so much mascara, that my eyelashes were vignetting.

I have been known to place a short eyepiece in my pants to warm it up. My hands were full, my armpits were already occupied by 1) a mag and 2) an eyepiece leveler, and I did not have a 2nd AC. I suppose these things happen. ...I hate winter exteriors... all the people I talk to who are like, What Are You Talking About, This Is GREAT have at least 20 pounds on me and expensive North Face winter gear to boot, so what do they know. Just don't laugh at me for jumping up and down next to the camera all day (I take breaks while rolling) and we'll be good. Another good trick is to stand on an apple box because you'd be surprised- once you're off the ground, the cold doesn't seep in as much. You can dance on the apple box or make a speech if you want. You can also purchase 4-5 pairs of pants in ascending sizes which you can then wear on top of each other, similar in concept to those Russian toy dolls that stack up? Just remember that going to the bathroom will be awkward. And please remember, it's not a fashion show. I got these really stupid-looking MC Hammer/mad old skool style snowboarding pants which I wouldn't dare wear on the mountain, but I wear on set all the time. Maybe someday I will wear them to a checkout too.

TIM CARROLL=WIN! K, NEXT TOPIC.