Quick Tip: Read the Script, Read it Again, and Again

If you haven't figured it out yet, everything you do as an operator revolves around story. So, the best way to do your job is to know the story like the back of your hand.

Read the script. Then read it again. Read the rewrites. The night before any day, read the scenes you are going to be shooting. Read the scenes before and after those scenes, so you understand what the connective tissue of the story is. Read the sides in the morning and read the next scene when you are done with the one you are on.

Read, read, read.

The better you know the script the better you are as an operator. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a director compliment me because I have asked “What are you cutting from and what will you cut to after this scene?” in order to make sure they have a good intro and outro to the scene.

Know the story and you will understand what you need to do in order to tell that story.

Read. Read. Read.