Non Union Survival?

[Phil Rhodes]

That's difficult because, as I've said before, typical means so very many different things. There are certainly a lot of people in London working for wages that mean they have to do other jobs on the side. This is less so in Los Angeles, and at least in LA people have somewhere to go, a chance at the bigtime. The difference here is that there really isn't that chance, at least not for more than a vanishingly tiny minority.

 

One thing I do notice is that some people have a habit of assuming that their situation is normal and anyone doing things any other way is abnormal and should try to do things differently. I'm no cultural relativist but there's obviously a world of difference between a big action movie shooting on a sound stage in Burbank and a short film shooting in rural England and one would not expect the pay and conditions to be the same whether it's fair or not.

 

P

[George Ebersole]

Well, let me rephrase. In terms of Pounds or Euros, how much can I, as a grip, gaffer, video tech, or DP expect on say a 3-day shoot for ... oh hell ... I don't know, a commercial selling bread or a toaster?

[Brian Drysdale]

The rates will depend on the brand and if it was a local or network commerical, also London rates tend to be higher than regional rates The miniinuim for a DP on a Advertising Producers Association commercial is £693. Of course many commercials aren't made by APA members, so DPs may be working for less and you may not always be getting regular work. It really depends on how good your connections are and if you're the current flavour of the month. I know documentary camera people working for £300 a day without the gear.

 

In the UK you need to be a qualified electrician to be a gaffer, so not everyone can do that job. They also tend to keep their rates up.

[Phil Rhodes]

It's also increasingly the case that you need paper qualifications to be insurable as a grip, which is difficult to see in any light other than job protectionism unless, of course, you're dealing with cranes, overhead rigging, etc.

 

P

[Guest]

Ok. Let's get back on topic.

 

Good luck with that Greg. Brian and I have gone 15 pages on another thread, once he starts on the evils of capitalism there is no stopping him. :D

 

R,

[George Ebersole]

Based on the varying level of crew quality, I often wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to require a licensing for some crew positions.

[Kemalettin Sert]

im from europe and damn healthcare is free but who cares if everything not cheap like in states? sick of paying 10$ for a gas.

[Guest]

Based on the varying level of crew quality, I often wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to require a licensing for some crew positions.

 

IMDB at least brought some degree of "stability" to the wild West style resumes that existed prior to IMDB. So many people made up credits and vastly overstated their experience and responsibility on set. With IMDB it has brought a kind of forced credibility to people. If you say you were the 1st AC on a hollywood tent pole, your credit had better say so on IMDB otherwise obvious questions will arise.

 

R,

[George Ebersole]

Yeah, but my entry only lists one feature I worked on that was released last year. It doesn't list all the industrials, commercials, still shoots, music videos, and related jobs I worked. And it doesn't list the features I worked where I didn't get a credit.

 

But yeah I used to meet a lot of phonies. Phonies who had name clients and scruples that matched their ability to produce and shoot something.

[George Ebersole]

I was wondering if someone knew a typical day rate for an actor.

[George Ebersole]

Just a bit of an apology to Bryan, I just reread this thread, and I thought I came across as rather cold. Sorry if I did. What I meant to say was that because a lot of us are in business for ourselves, we therefore get the benefit of writing off a lot of expenses at the end of the fiscal year, including health care.

 

Still, it helps to have a lot of work to justify the expenses :)

[Anthony Brooks]

To be quite honest...as a DP, I've always thought that the story (or concept) is the most important thing. This led me to angle myself as a different kind of "swiss army knife" (as I've been called by people). You've got people that DP/Direct or DP/Edit or DP/VFX or DP/Produce...I've done all of them and have survived the entire I've been in Los Angeles. Each experience has enabled me to meet/bond with some of the real movers and shakers of the industry.

 

In my current situation, I am a co-creator of series project on which I also shot the pilot for. Without giving away any info, we'll get the greenlight on the first season soon. To me, in today's world, this is the best combination to be paired with being a DP (business-wise). I can choose to DP it...or not and still be able to earn a living. Again...I think stories/concepts have always been the most important to me and being able to compliment them photographically is something we all love as DPs. But just imagine giving yourself the job instead of always getting the call. It's been a grueling experience, but its well worth it.

 

Some would say that this is a very rare case. I dont think it is. The industry is ever-changing. What does one do when it becomes saturated by low-priced, (arguably) high-quality rigs? The highly skilled DPs that have already established a great name for themselves will be fine. The DPs that have other businesses (rental houses, G&E houses, ) will be ok as well. But what about the highly skilled DPs that don't yet have the means for any of that? They get nifty. I know so many highly favored DPs that are slightly older, have waaaaay more experienced than I, but will be in trouble in the near future if they don't figure out how to survive the change of flow.

 

As far as healthcare is concerned. I literally just got insurance recently.

 

 

 

Anthony

[Adrian Sierkowski]

I am probably a little rare as I am just a DoP. I can do other things, and sometimes, I'll head out and I'll gaff on smaller things for favors or because I haven't a thing better to do when I get that call. But I think if you are talented, professional, and have the grit to keep at it, then you'll be fine. It's not easy, but it's doable. The problem of course is, no one else has a methodology which will work for you. Everything in film is an individual story of how they made it.

[Phil Rhodes]

Couldn't agree more. It's often a very bad idea to give careers advice. I find this is mainly because the people who get asked the question tend to be the more experienced - for obvious reasons - but this tends to mean that they started off quite a while ago and the circumstances are entirely different now. Combine that with the fact that everyone's abilities and contacts are different, and perhaps most importantly that everyone has different lucky breaks, and it's practically impossible to give careers advice in an industry this flaky.

 

P