Quick Tip: You Don’t Have To Know Everything

I often find that younger ops are concerned that they don't know all the solutions, don't know all the shortcuts, don't have all the answers. Let me let you in on a secret: none of us do. I can’t tell you how many times I will recognize a problem and turn to ask my dolly grip, my assistant, the DP, the stand-in, anyone I trust in earshot, because I have no idea what the solution is.

Our jobs are not to have all the answers. Don't get me wrong, have as many as you can, and continue to learn so that amount grows, but there are too many problems that happen every day for one person to have all the solutions. To paraphrase, making a movie takes a village.

So, rather than being the problem solver whose job it is to solve every issue, I look at the job of the op as being a problem finder. The key is to figure out what doesn’t work and then find a fix, but if you can’t, engage others to help. It's better to find a problem that needs to be fixed and not know the solution yourself than to have never noticed the problem at all and let it get into the movie.

So don't be afraid of not knowing the answer. None of us know them all. Keep your eyes open, use your team, and make sure you continue to learn and evolve. That is what makes good operators great.