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Is age a problem for you?


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As marketing oneself as a DP becomes the norm, and is intertwined with Instagram, where its expected that you brand yourself and your style, youth becomes a natural part of it; being trendy and now. I think thats limited to a certain part of the industry and once youre in with successful collaborators, producers and directors, its not as critical. But the pressure does exist as youre entering the industry.

 

That being said, the most energetic, fun, arguably best action film in a decade was Mad Max: Fury Road, directed by a 70 year old and shot by a 72 year old who came out of retirement to do it. Tony Scotts later work too, despite his age, was always full of energy and pushed the envelope stylistically, it didnt feel old or out of touch. There are plenty of examples that show that youth is unrelated to modern style.

 

While most young DPs I know bend over backward to shoot anamorphic and with vintage glass to get a legitimate retro look, established DPs seem to push the envelope stylistically; for good or ill, they take chances. Bradford Young or Kaminski, for example.

 

At the end of the day, age isnt something you can control anyway, neither is the stigma associated with it. So buy some just for men and some tight fitting jeans and carry on...

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Mad Max: Fury Road, directed by a 70 year old and shot by a 72 year old who came out of retirement to do it.

 

Gosh you younger people have a hysterical view on age. How old are you Tristan?

 

R,

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Im 35, so half way there. I didnt mean to sound hysterical, 70 isnt very old these days, but a lot of younger people think it is, which is the point Im making. 65 is still considered retirement age in most professions. Theres a trend with younger filmmakers to think if theyre not famous or established by 25, theyre doomed.

 

Funnily enough, I just Key Gripped a short with 94 year old Cloris Leachman, which puts 70 in perspective.

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Damn even 35 is old as hell to me.

 

Which would explain why there is no record of any kind anywhere of any achievement from you in the motion picture industry.

 

Director? What exactly have you directed Macks?

 

R,

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The world of content creation is pretty broad and it some areas are more agist then others.

 

I've been on set for certain fashion brands promo shoots and it the full "Nathan Barley", with no one over 25.

 

On proper drama/Tv shoots the age skews older, but it really depends on the content. Sometimes producers want the cool wonder kid and other times a safe pair of hands are needed.

 

I've taught film production for the last 10 years. Getting older has allowed me to project a bit more authority, and working day to day with younger people has kept my cultural references upto date. Although I think the "age gap" is less of a thing then it was in my parents generation.

 

There are some roles, that perhaps I'm too old for. I've stopped doing music videos. Partially because I can't make them pay, but also bands are often looking for younger collaborators - I'm becoming out the loop on that one. As others have said it because self excluding in your 20's you can afford to work for low/free. Now I have to me more selective about the projects I'm involved with.

 

Personally as a filmmaker and specifically someone that writes scripts, my writing has got better as I got older. More life experience has given me more to write about. Sure there are writers that are flat out brilliant, geniuses in their 20's. But they are very rare, a lot of excellent writers find their groove when they are bit older.

 

Although agism is a thing in the film industry, it has a bigger problem with how it copes with disability. Many disabled people are completely excluded from many roles (that they could do) because there's no attempt to build or maintain any infrastructure to support disabled workers. One issue is the industry can plays fast and loose with HR and not have the procedures in place to avoid: disability discrimination, agism, sexism, bullying etc...

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In my own case I think there is lots of age discrimination. I look at all the online venues for photography and all they promote is young people. But can't say for sure, as I'm underground and deal with lot of controversial subjects and do it right in your face...warts and all. so people have prejudices against that type of work and don't like being associated with it due to their goal of making advertising dollars.

 

Back a few decades ago all the talk shows had old movie stars. Now just the opposite. Was watching African Queen. Very evident on the special features how things changed. Personally I like the best person for the job, young or old.

Edited by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.
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Director? What exactly have you directed Macks?

 

R,

For one, my name is spelled incorrectly on here because I don't need serial killers stalking me (you never know). I have more official credits in voice direction for web series and video games than cinema direction.

 

I screenwrote and directed for a computer game set to release this year.

http://www.treneongames.com/

As well as a couple TV pilots currently being shopped.

 

Film is still my favorite industry to get into, but I've focused my time on new media, music, and TV because it accepts younger talent. Having just some of the technical knowledge that everyone here has when it comes to cinematography makes me look like a genius on new media sets.

Edited by Macks Fiiod
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For one, my name is spelled incorrectly on here because I don't need serial killers stalking me (you never know). I have more official credits in voice direction for web series and video games than cinema direction.

 

I screenwrote and directed for a computer game set to release this year.

http://www.treneongames.com/

As well as a couple TV pilots currently being shopped.

 

Film is still my favorite industry to get into, but I've focused my time on new media, music, and TV because it accepts younger talent. Having just some of the technical knowledge that everyone here has when it comes to cinematography makes me look like a genius on new media sets.

 

I don't even know where to begin with this one......

 

R,

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Well there is some good news, luckily this thread wasn't regarding gender. In the old days the one(1) woman who posted here would of chimed in, but now that we are officially back to being a 100% male only board, I guess there is nothing to worry about. :D

 

R,

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I don't even know where to begin with this one......

 

R,

I don't blame you if you don't understand, our starts are in two completely different eras with different rules. The age of the internet forces you to spread to as many different mediums as possible.

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Yeah um.....the interweb thing didn't exist when I started in film. We used phones on the wall you had to crank first in order to communicate.

 

R,

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Being 'young' lasts for such a short time anyway. Think about it. You get out of school, you spend a few years finding your way/getting higher education and/or experience ... you've really only effectively got something like 8 short years to be what many school leavers seem to see as 'young'. And we're all on the ship called life ... no exceptions. Who was once the young person becomes the older person, with new young people stepping out. I was not long ago always the youngest. Now a few short years later I'm amongst the oldest. It happens surprisingly quickly. The point is that you will be 'old' far longer than you will be 'young'. And here comes the classic, so well known, but in my case and in the case of many of my peers, it was true: I respected my elders (if they deserved it, and usually they did). Of course the 'old' should respect the 'young' too. Same with sexism issues, etc. Men should respect women and vice versa. An impossible vision? Not at all.

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Yeah um.....the interweb thing didn't exist when I started in film. We used phones on the wall you had to crank first in order to communicate.

 

R,

 

 

I'll save some jello for you.

 

G

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