jeff c

Hi all, Just finished shooting my graduate film on super 16. Unfortunately, production went over budget and we are a tiny bit stretched for cash. We are transferring from super16 to hdcam sr. The tapes if bought new would cost around $300. We actually have access to stock but it has been used once previously. Would this still be okay for the transfer? What do we need to do before hand? Black them? Degauss them? Also - another quick side question. What would be the best format for our offline? I would like to be able to edit on my macbook pro. I was told mini-dv is unreliable even with a timecode burn and I should be looking at dvcam or betasp. Would DVCAM work fine? Thanks all, Jeff

I'm not splitting hairs. You misquoted me so I was correcting the mistake. No need to get snarky, I'm not trying to flaunt knowledge. This is just what I've been told associate producers do by an associate producer! From my conversation with an AP (features) at fox, they occasionally rep producers at meetings, run errands and essentially extend their arms and legs. Of course it could be different for every film and I'm sure many people get credited for sleeping with EP's. I'll admit the comparison between the 1st ad might not have been the most apt example. But my intention was to correct the misquote. Either way, I'm not here to argue or nit pick and apologize if I came across the wrong way.

"Associate producer" is different from "producer". An associate producer is equivalent to a Director's 1st AD to a Producer.

There are associate producers out there in their late 20's. I've personally met a few, one being 25 at the time, but I'm not too sure they would want to be named on the forums. Obviously the work is for lower end comedies but we're still looking at 30+ mil budgets with a wide release. Maybe 25 is a tad earlier, but I don't think 28-30 is unreasonable. These people go on to become producers when they are 40-45. It is far from myth. Oh and by the way, is that Liam Card in your trailer?

I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about people who go down to become scribes and get an entry level job reading coverage at an agency. That's a success story. Or people who go down to produce and end up in the studio system as an associate producer by the time they are 25. That to me is a huge success story. I'm not interested in going down to make my magnum opus or become an a-list actor. I would be interested in starting from the bottom, learning my craft and being in a stable creative and financial position by the time I'm 40ish. I'd eventually like to end up in the Director's chair but I didn't bring that up because there is no answer on how you go about doing that. I guess I could start off in Canada and work my way up the ladder here and eventually hope to switch over.

Jesus, thanks for opening up my eyes. I think it's mainly because I've heard so many success stories from people who have gone down and made it. I guess I'll stay in Toronto for a while and try to get brought down once I'm a bit more established. Regarding the 5 million dollar quote, that is for a feature where everyone gets paid, most likely shot on film. Two hours HVX specials don't count. Thanks for all the information guys.

I'm just finishing up my film/tv degree in Toronto, Canada. While there is a decent industry here and especially in my hometown Vancouver, I feel the work here is either service based for Americans or the ceiling is too low. Canadian films rarely have a budget of over 5 million dollars. Which is less then an indie down south. I also would like to one day be a key creative, which are almost exclusively flown up on studio shoots. Since everyone knows you start at the bottom after you graduate, do you guys recommend moving to L.A? If so, what are the steps one has to take. Should they get an immigration lawyer right away? Should they just go down for the allowed 6 months and try to hang on? If anyone has experience in this situation, I'd like to here your story. Any advice is also appreciated. Also how hard would it be to find work down there. I've heard it's five times larger then Toronto, but also five times more competitive.