Khalid Khan

Exactly, good job mate. I've seen your IMDB account. It's quite impressive. Its a shame I'm living in the North West. Keep on working and you'll be the 2nd AC in no time!

Hi all, I hope everyone is doing well. Here is a bit of an update. I have managed to secure a camera trainee placement in my home-town, however, the company I work for focuses on corporate/wedding videos, so I'm not going in the right direction yet but its something for now. In addition to this, its also part-time, so I'm not on the run 24/7 with them. In my spare time, I've managed to get some work experience lined in Panavision (Manchester) however when I was on the phone they told me to ring them back in a couple of weeks time as they said they were busy. I guess this was around peak season as I rang them in early September. I waited for approximately 4 weeks until I rang them last week and bam ! Same story again, although they said to ring them (Panavsion) this week. The last thing I wanted to do was to leave an impression that I was pestering them. I emailed them a couple of days ago and I haven't had any response, as a matter of fact, I emailed the person that was charge of my work experience. I also spoke to her on the phone. She was kind enough to give me their (Panavision's) database with all their camera operators/dops/grips/camera trainees etc With their contact email address and phone numbers etc, she told me to email some of the people. I'm obviously not going to email anyone at this stage as I don't have experience being on set, let alone having experience with cine cameras. This is what Panavision said to me; "Hi Khalid, Please find attached a copy of our crew list. As mentioned on the phone do feel free to give us a shout in a couple of weeks about coming in to go over equipment. Kind regards, Panavision" I emailed back Panavision but I haven't heard anything yet. So what should I do? In other news, I emailed Arri (London) and they told me to get back to them in January as they are fully booked until the new year. And lastly, I have been watching and learning how ARRI, RED, and CANON cameras operate on YouTube (workshops) and coming from a DSLR background, most of cine cameras operate very similar to DSLR cameras. I am also familiar with the principles of how these cameras operate such as setting exposure, shutter rate, ISO also called EI (Exposure Index) in RED cameras & ARRI cameras, REC 709 colour space, C-LOG, prores codec, raw metadata recording, some even have ND filters built in and so and so forth. So you get the point. Does anything know what I can do? In terms of Panavision & any other general stuff. I am still learning how to drive as that's a MUST in this industry. Many thanks Khalid.

I'll prove you wrong. You might have experience but ill try.

Hello, I'm here to tell you guys what has happened so far. Things aren't looking too good. I have applied at every rental company I could find near me. Most gave me an email back saying ' Unfortunately we don't have any positions available at the moment, but I'll keep your details on file, should the situation change' or the one that is a bit scary is 'We don’t unfortunately offer work experience due to insurance rules.' Please understand,I am applying for work experience at the moment, I dont want a job offer for obvious reasons. So what do I do now ? I am working in a Fish & Chips shop (on weekends) at the moment because I am literally doing nothing at home and I am waiting for my passport renewal so can hold a driving licence which will take a couple of months to pass. I applied to a camera trainee feature film 1 year stop motion job offer but didn't hear anything back because they probably wanted experience. I am even willing to work for free even though its advised not to. Many thanks Khalid.

Yes, very much so. I suppose I will only get an 'internship' once I hold a diving licence. In the process of trying to get one. I asked 'work experience' because it sounds cheaper than 'internship', (I'm talking financially here) I believe I don't need to get paid If I am getting work experience whereas internship you have to get paid. And by this i mean, some rental houses might not have the money to facilitate me as in internship. Who knows, I might be wrong here. I'll try my best.

1 more question guys, what is the name of the job role called if one is working in a rental house ? 'cleaning equipment, scrubbing cases, moving boxes around, learning the inventory' I need to get work experience first not an internship. Whats the name called if youre not working as a internship but you're cleaning equipment, scrubbing cases, moving boxes aound etc. Thank you.

I am quite late to ask but how was the experince ?

A cinematographer, I didn't want to sound like another kid trying to become a cinematographer.

Thank you! I'll let you guys know if anything happens.

I have heard the taking the DIT route is the best course of action to take when becoming a cinematographer? Or is it all about nepotism ?

Perhaps the contours on the mans face is making you feel like its sharp ?

Hi guys, I have a bit of a conundrum to ask. What sort of experience does one need to get work experience at a rental (kit) house. I recently found out that to work as a camera operator, for films or TV etc you need to work your way up as a camera trainee. Getting a camera trainee internship for film is one thing but getting entry level work experience to work for rental is another. I have worked for the NHS and TEDx whilst studying at University, but I feel though as this might not be enough to get work experience at rental kit house. I have listed all the rental companies near Manchester (UK) (I am from Blackpool, around 1 hour and 30mins away from Manchester), there only seems to be a handful of kit houses. My biggest fear is that I will get rejected due to lack of customer service. Any advice is helpful Thanks !