Joe Perri

Hey! So i’ve been asked to media manage a reality show in the NYC area for a highly established company. It’s “house reality” so its gonna be around 8-10 cameras (FS7’s), probably shooting 2-3 cards per camera and shooting 24/7 for about a month and a half. Think MTV Jersey Shore/Real World style. In addition to the FS7’s there will be robo cams, gopros, drone and cell phone footage. So yea… a lot of media to be managed. Media will be managed at crew hotel. All post wants is footage transferred to the drives, no transcoding or anything like that. I have tons of media management experience but not with this data load and consistency this show will be shooting at. I have some questions for you guys… Has anybody media managed a show this large before? If so, what was your system to make the data transfer quick as possible? What kind of drives did you use? Did you do it alone or did you have help/a team? In your opinion what should the daily rate be for a show like this? The production company said $400/12. How did you negotiate your rate with the production company? Any general tips from your experience? What would you ask from production if you were offered a gig like this? Right now it sounds like i would literally be working 24/7 if I’m doing it by myself which i’m not interested in doing haha. I hoping you guys could give me a bit more clarity on the situation. Please ask me any questions as well if you need. Thanks!

Hey, I was wondering if anyone here has any experience hiring PTZ ops or work as a PTZ op. I'm interested to know what the daily rate on average for a PTZ op would be in NYC or LA. I thinking in terms of big network shows like The Bachelor, Jersey Shore etc... That incorporate like 20 robo cams in a house. How much would the operator make a day? I know that there are alot of ENG camera operators that say they don't go below $600/12 for a day of shooting. Is it the same for a robo op, more/less? Thanks!

thanks for that input. I’ve heard of the SXS software. I’m gonna test it out later today. I also got production to get me a spare FS7 for formatting. Should be all good now.

Hey Everyone, I am media managing a large, fast paced cooking show. We are shooting on Sony FS7’s. By the time the new XQD card gets to the operator, they want to start shooting immediately, so taking 15 seconds to reformat the XQD in the camera is not an option. So I have to reformat the XQD card at my DIT station before handing it to the AC. What is the most efficient way to reformat an XQD card (other than on an FS7)? The first thing that comes to mind is something like disk utility, but I don’t want to corrupt the card in anyway, I want to make sure I do it right. I am media managing on a MacBook Pro Thanks!

Sent you a PM Claus. Thank You!

Hey Claus that would be great. Sending a PM now. Thanks

Over the past 8 years, I have worked as either a camera operator or utility on various Film/Reality TV and event productions. Soon I may make a push to get my feet wet in sports production. I have set up a lot of camera systems, but I never had to set up a camera with the big “box” lens (such as a Canon DigiSuper 100) as seen in the photo, nor have I set up the housing the camera body sits in. If I work as a utility on one of these broadcasts, I am more than likely going to have to build some of these guys. I’m sure from prior experience I can figure out some things, but I want to be as knowledgeable as possible going into the gig. So my question is… Is there any books/manuals/resources or rental houses that can show me how to properly unpack, assemble and break down this set up? Or anything else I should know about these powerful lenses. And better yet, if any of you have had experience with these setups, I would love to hear your input. Thank you so much. Joe

Hey, I see live hand held operators (for award shows, corporate events, concerts etc...) have their Triax cable tied to their belt/waist somehow to prevent the cable from being pulled out of camera. So it's pretty much Triax cable tension relief. For those of you who do these kind of shows, can any of you tell me how you tie the cable to your waist? Or any other similar techniques with the same affect? Thanks!

If you joined a union such as IATSE local 600, would you be able to leave/resign from the union later on if you feel that you would rather just freelance non-union instead? If so how would that work?

This question goes out to the more seasoned professionals. So when you reach a point in you career where not a lot of work is coming your way... You have to reach out to your contacts, right? The reason why I ask is that I have been pretty busy the past 2 years with work just coming to me. I've never really had to reach out, now I do. So I ask if there is any proper etiquette to abide by when contacting former line producers, UPM's, coordinators and fellow camera guys. Should I just keep it simple and say "Hey hope all is well. I am available"? How have you guys handled slow times in the past? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hey, I would love to know what you guys think about this sketch I shot. We only had a Canon T3i and an arri kit, so we tried to make the best of what we had. I was going for a black and white "noire" type of feel. I have been camera assisting for the past couple of years and now im really trying to beef up my reel. So if you guys find the time to watch the video, please let me know what you like and what you dont like so I can improve on my skill. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks Link below

Hey all, So i work on this reality show and every so often we shoot at a location that requires us to ND windows. Its usually a pain in the but process to properly cut the gels to the size of the window and figure out how they are going to stick even in high winds. We usually wind up gaff or paper taping the gels to the windows. i personally find taping the gels rather cumbersome and was wondering if there is a more proper and efficient approach to gelling windows. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hey, I'm new to shooting 16mm. I recently purchased a Super 16mm Krasnogorsk K3 Camera. I plan on shooting lots of 100' spools with it. What i want to know is... When i have shot the roll of film, what is the protocol to develop it. How do i send it to the lab? How should I handle the exposed spool? Should i label it somehow? My goal is to send it to the lab and have them transfer the film to mini dv tape. I'm new to this so any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hey all, I just recently purchased a S16 Krasnagorsk K3 and i was wondering if anyone knows of a lab in the nyc area that can transfer the 100' spools to mini dv tape. Im just learning and experimenting with 16mm so the transfers dont have to be super high quality. Preferably a place that will do a good job, but not too expensive. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

My goal is to be able to power my ex1r and the on camera lite-panel off a single Dionic 90. Does anybody know of any rigs or solutions to make this possible? Preferably shoulder mounted but it does not have to be. We shoot hand held most of the day, so balance of the rig is key. Thanks for all your help in advance. -Joe