Film Crew Profile - How to Be a Good Focus Puller

2017-09-03T02:42:29Z

Poundjuly94: Film Crew Profile - How to Be a Good Focus Puller

The job of all the assistants and the operator is to ensure that the DOP is happy, and the DOP is ultimately working for the director. Occasionally the DOP is also the operator, but on bigger jobs they are usually separate roles. The DOP is also in charge of the lighting, so having an operator to frame the shots is an advantage and lightens the load of the DOP. In my job I have to ensure that the focus remains sharp (or soft, depending on the shot), that the stop (aperture) and frame speed is correctly set, and that the camera is rolling! This is very important!Interviewer: How long have you been in the industry?Angela: Ten years or so. When I was in my second year of Uni studying media, arts and production, I decided that I needed some industry experience if I was to consider a career in the film industry. I believed at the time (and still do) that a degree alone was probably not going to get me where I wanted to be. I ended up as a camera attachment on the ABC series Wildside.Interviewer: I loved that show!Angela: Me too! It was a great show to learn on, and basically taught me how to be a camera assistant. The focus pullers were excellent teachers. Joe Pickering was the DOP. Opportunities to pull focus happen a lot more readily in TV drama, so it's really a personal choice of where you want to be. On a drama, when the light is going and there's a mad scramble to finish a scene, rehearsals will go out the window and the focus will become a matter of educated guessing - there's a great sense of satisfaction gained from nailing a shot without a rehearsal. This would rarely happen on a big budget feature.Interviewer: So how many people are wanting these types of jobs?Angela: I'm not sure, but I think that the exciting nature of the film industry attracts people to it. The Australian industry is relatively small [http://www.balifilm.net/references.html film permit anaheim] compared with, for example, the American film industry, so the fewer number of jobs creates competition. I found being on set exhilarating when I first started out, but this has changed over time, even though I still love what I do. In the beginning I had no real personal responsibilities, and therefore the long hours and occasional scarcity of work didn't bother me. But things are different now that I have started a family.Interviewer: Talking of that, you've been out of the industry for a year and a half now due to parenthood, so how do you think you'll find getting back into it?Angela: I won't know until I'm doing it! There is a part of me that's itching to get back to work. However I've been at home with my son for fourteen months now, so leaving him is going to be a struggle for me I'm sure. It's difficult too because my husband also works in the industry. Due to the long hours we can't both be working at the same time unless we have full time care arranged for our baby.

Film Crew Profile - How to Be a Good Focus Puller

2017-09-03T00:00:59Z

Poundjuly94: Створена сторінка: Occasionally the DOP is also the operator, but on bigger jobs they are usually separate roles. The DOP is also in charge of the lighting, so having an operator...

Occasionally the DOP is also the operator, but on bigger jobs they are usually separate roles. The DOP is also in charge of the lighting, so having an operator to frame the shots is an advantage and lightens the load of the DOP. In my job I have to ensure that the focus remains sharp (or soft, depending on the shot), that the stop (aperture) and frame speed is correctly set, and that the camera is rolling! This is very important!Interviewer: How long have you been in the industry?Angela: Ten years or so. When I was in my second year of Uni studying media, arts and production, I decided that I needed some industry experience if I was to consider a career in the film industry. I believed at the time (and still do) that a degree alone was probably not going to get me where I wanted to be. But with the good times come the bad, the quiet periods, which can be a bit scary financially. I think most people in the industry are really aware of this, as it fluctuates all the time. It's a life style that takes a bit of time getting used to. And you can never be certain that a job will go ahead until the camera's rolling, that's the other funny thing about it. Jobs fall over at the very last minute; they get postponed, as we have seen recently as a result of the writers strike in America.Interviewer: You mentioned pay before, so when the work is coming in is it good money?Angela: Once upon a time it was, but the rates haven't gone up a lot in the last ten years. Certainly it depends on budgets, the American films paying a lot more than Aussie features or TV drama. And it also depends on how good a negotiator you are!Interviewer: So you're in a position to negotiate?Angela: Yes but it doesn't always go your way. When a production tells you they've got no more money, chances are they do, but it all depends how you play the game. If there's a lot of work on and a shortage of crew, the possibility of negotiating a higher rate of pay is better, as it should be.Interviewer: What does the future hold for you besides the possible job in May?Angela: I don't really know. I'd like to have another baby soon. I'm not sure if the film industry is the right place for me at this time when I'm concentrating on my family. I really enjoy what I do though - being part of the creative process of filmmaking is wonderful, hard work but great fun. I have female colleagues in the camera department who have managed to juggle work and children, and I really admire them for that. It inspires me in some ways to do the same.Interviewer: What advice would you offer filmmakers or any aspiring thespian?Angela: I'd [http://www.balifilm.net/references.html jacksonville film permit] suggest picking a department that interests you, and finding someone to teach you all about it! Free work experience is a great way in, as long as you're willing to be enthusiastic about doing it for nothing!

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Film Crew Profile - How to Be a Good Focus Puller

Film Crew Profile - How to Be a Good Focus Puller