peter bartle

I'm a 26yr old Camera Operator from Australia who is currently in New York (Manhattan) until the end of this month... I've done all the "tourist traps" here in the city and now i'm really keen to get any experience/assisting I can with any established DP's or Camera Operators in New York. Any experience I can get here would be greatly beneficial to me. Even if its just moving your gear & carrying your tripod on location i'd be happy. I've only been on a few weeks holiday from my job back home & am missing being near a camera already. I have 3 years shooting experience in Australia, mostly on Digital Betacam. I work on 2 shows back home as a Camera Operator (a weekly car show & a gardening show, the latter being an Australia wide network show) I also worked as a Camera Repair Technician for 5 years prior to being a Camera Operator. I'm very easy going, hard working & would be greatly appreciative to anyone who can give me any experience that I would not be able to get back home. Phone: 646 283 2990 jamie@blueskymedia.com.au Available immediately.

David, A very true statement! Well said...

I'll need to telecine some 16mm film & will be editing it in FCP. I'll be mixing it with with vision from the consumer HD formats (from the Sony Z1 & Panasonic HVX200) I plan on editing in HD. What are my options in telecine? Which format should I transfer onto? Since the majority of footage is from the HVX200 in 720 & 1080 mode, would it be best to transfer onto DVCPRO HD?

If I was a PA for the camera dept, i'd have no problem doing "petty" jobs like bringing coffees, food etc provided at the same time I was being taught by the DP or AC and they didn't mind answering any questions I had whilst they're not busy. After all, everyone should help out when they can. Interesting comment, I had no idea that occured!

Hi Adam, Welcome to the new forum. No major horror stories here, other than the occasional B-grade celeb with a F-grade ego problem... So are you a 1st AC? What do you mainly work on?

*bump* Anyone?...

Hello everyone, To start off this new forum, it'd be great if all the present & former AC's (1st's & 2nd's) could list who they are & the present / past jobs they've worked on. Also list what you like & dislike about being an AC, so lets hear it!...

As i'm a qualified electrician myself, i'll give you some advice... Here in Australia, to become a qualified electrician, you must complete a 4 YEAR APPRENTICESHIP first. 90% of it is on the job training working under the supervision of a qualified electrician & 10% is school based learning. Even when you complete your apprenticeship, this only gives you an ELECTRICAL WORKERS LICENSE. This is probably enough to carry out most jobs on a film set but if you wanted to wire a house or similar which involves tapping into the mains power lines you must also have a ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS LICENSE. This involves another 2 years on the job experience which you'll be issued another license & contractors number. This allows you to wire up houses, factories etc to mains power supply (or grid power, depending on what you call it over there). As i've never worked as an electrician on a film set before, you'd need to find out what & how you're connecting your lights etc before you can know what qualification is needed.... I'm not sure if these rules also apply to America so you might want to check. Electrical work is very strict here and rightly so. Not only can it be dangerous but a producer or yourself could be sued if something goes wrong. Don't even consider any online education, its totally a waste of time & money(it should be illegal to offer online education in this field). Electrical training is done on the job learning from others, not in front of the computer. Hope this helps....

Hi, I own a 16mm Bolex RX5 which I think is great but now i've got some more experience using 16mm, I'm looking at updating the camera. I'm looking for some recommendations & here are the features i'll be needing on my updated camera: 1: Electric motor driven, pref 60fps or over. 2: Able to take 400feet magazines 3: Super 16 or can be easily converted, including the viewfinder. 4: Reasonably good & clear viewfinder. 5: Reliable & solid. I've been thinking of an Eclair ACL but would like some recommendations from memebers. I have about US$2000ish to spend on body & would like 2 x 400feet magazines. I'd be using Nikon 35mm still lenses with an adaptor & support as the majority of my shooting is with telephoto lenses. Thank you....

Thanks Tim for the new AC's forum.....

Tim, Can the forum be named after me??.... haha :) Thanks for the new forum Tim. Now all you AC's out there, let us know who you are & what you do!...

Any chance for a new sub-forum for AC's?..... How many people are working as AC's?...

Hi Thomas, The company i'm a camera tech for had recently sent a 4008 super 8 camera to him for service.(although 95% or our repairs are done in house, we occasionally send some cameras to specialists, that is if there are any in Australia!) The camera was completely overhaulled including new ground glass & the battery mod. I thoroughly checked the camera in the workshop and it looked like a good job was done. It wasn't cheap though, from what i remember about AU800ish?? Maybe more, i'm not exactly sure.... Best thing would be to call him. I think he's an older german guy so his english might not be the best but "older germans" tend to be great techs.... He probably knows your model inside out & generally they have a standard overhaul price plus any extra parts needed. Hope this of help!

Thanks to everyone for the info... I have a follow up question: What is the usual budget allocation for the average mainstream hollywood feature? I mean, how much is allocated to the main actor, supporting actors, extras, crew, locations, travel, etc etc?.... What is the "average" total budget cost?...

What would be the average "day rate" for big name actors in mainstream Hollywood films? I'm talking people like Tom Cruise, Jim Carey, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, etc. Also, what about the main stars in TV series like Lost, Prison Break, CSI, etc, would they be on similar day rates or much lower?...