At the end of the show, it is often customary to give wrap gifts to the people you have worked with. This isn’t mandatory and a lot of people don't do it, but I’ve always found it’s a nice way to thank the people who made your job easier.

It's the first day of a new show with a director you haven’t worked with before. The first tip is to take it slow, as far as your involvement. Assuming they have a plan and aren’t floundering (in which way, step in and help), let them get up to speed and use this time to observe what they are like. Then, assuming the opportunity arises, try offering a suggestion on something small you think could improve the shot. I usually use something along the lines of, “I don't know if it’s ok to throw in a suggestion like this, but….”

The film biz is an industry that can eat you up and spit you out, or rather spit out what is a former shell of yourself. This isn’t the rule, but it’s important to remember it in order to protect yourself. If you don't have a good sense of yourself – where the lines you aren’t willing to cross are, who you are as a person – you will find yourself constantly pushing your boundaries and, sometimes, into areas that you will regret.

The first day on set with a new DP is always a test. You are testing them to see what they are like and how they like to work, and they are testing you as well. 

At the end of the first day, I always try and grab the DP after wrap, or call them on the way home, and ask two questions: How did we do and what can we do better for you?

If you are going to work in this biz, you are sadly going to work some really long hours. 10-12-hour days are the norm. 14 isn’t unheard of. 16? Yep, it will happen. Sadly, the longest day I ever worked was 23 hours. Thankfully, the business has started to push back, and standard days of 16 hours are becoming less and less common. Having said all of that, even a 10-hour day is long so here are some tips for getting through them.

As we make our way in our careers, we all want to get to that next level, the bigger movie, the more experienced crew, the bigger names, the top-rated shows. Most people’s careers take a slow upward momentum and continue to grow over time. For these kinds of careers, the shows get incrementally harder and more demanding, and most people can step up to the challenge pretty easily.

Over the years, it has become very clear to me that simply explaining the nuts and bolts of a shot to someone - a dolly grip or a 1st AC - is nowhere near as valuable as also explaining the concept behind what we are trying to achieve. By telling my dolly grip where A and B are, the camera will be in the right positions when I need them to be. However, by explaining the reason for the move, they will not only understand how the camera needs to move, but WHY it needs to move, and it will result in better storytelling.

Commercials are different. Sure, there are some skills that transfer over for your narrative (storytelling to a degree, landing frames, some framing ideas) but the weird thing about commercials is you generally have to be much more of a robot than you are in a dramatic piece.

I was hired on the television show ER in 1996 when I was 25, at the beginning of their 3rd season. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, it was, by numbers, the most popular show in the history of television. To give you an idea, at that time, a good rating for a show was somewhere near an 8 or 9 share, which means that 8 or 9 million people are watching at any given moment. ER maintained above a 40 share from the moment the pilot aired until about the fifth season or so when it dipped down into the high 39s. When I say most popular show in the history of television, I mean most popular show in the history of television.

Any good well thought out shot that is being done in order to advance the story should have a beginning, middle, and end. Sometimes these are clear. The dolly starts to move as the individual enters the frame, it continues to move as the individual stops, and it ends as the second person enters the room and walks past the camera. Sometimes, they are not so clear and you need to manufacture them.

Everybody starts somewhere and the reality is, when you look at some veteran and are completely overwhelmed by what you don't know at the stage of the game you are in, they were right where you are at some point.

You're the A Camera op on a show. Clearly, yours is the most important job on-set; everything should revolve around your needs and desires, and every other job on-set, from the Director and Executive Producer on down to the newest PA, should be done in order to serve your needs as the incredible center of this universe we call a film set. Everything should be run by you and everyone should recognize that you are the engine that moves the bus.

One of the great things about working in the film industry is working alongside like-minded people who don't fit the 9-to-5 office mold that so many end up making their lives. These are members of society who generally march to the beat of a different drummer as they have chosen an odd lifestyle that clearly fulfills them. Like carnies, the folks who build up and take down the circus day after day, filmmakers are some of the most interesting people you’ll meet, and not just because of their film experience.

You will work in the shit. It's going to happen. Pouring rain (sometimes real, sometimes fake), freezing cold, blazing hot, hurricane winds, long winter nights in the desert, you name it, you’re going to have to spend 12 hours in it. Trust me when I tell you that when you say to yourself We aren’t going to actually work in this are we? you are. And not only are you going to have to work 12 hours, but you are going to have to do exceptionally hard, technically demanding, and often very exhausting work in all kinds of weather. So be prepared.

When I started this project, I decided that I would be honest throughout the whole process. So, here I am being honest. Yes, I’ve been fired. And more than once, might I add. There’s a saying in the film industry that if you haven’t been fired, just wait.

You landed the job, you did the job, and now the job is over. Seems pretty simple. Jobs can vary in length. Some can be a few days (commercials), some a few weeks (short or short feature), some a few months (average feature, limited series) and some can be a few years (several years of a tv show or a mega million dollar heavy effects laden feature).

There are going to be those jobs where someone, the director, the DP, another operator who is higher on the line then you are, is going to talk you into the frame that you don't like. Sometimes you can talk someone into something else and sometimes you can’t. Maybe you have been suggesting things all day and you are realizing it’s time to be quiet. In those times, a handy tip can be to simply park the camera on the frame you like and leave it there.

I’ve been doing this for 30-plus years, at this point. I have done a lot of big shows, people know me, blah, blah, blah, and I still hear about operators doing other shows and wonder “Why didn’t I get that call?” . When I’m not working, I hear of folks doing shows that I have zero connection to and wonder why they got it instead of me. Because, of course, I should be EVERYBODY’S first call, right?

The two characters in this frame have had a fight, and the gentleman outside the door is apologizing. The door not only acts as a natural split screen and barrier, but also creates a different lighting effect, underscoring how the two of them exist in different worlds at this moment. It also serves to allow the character inside to be in control of the situation while the character outside is at his mercy.

OK, you landed the gig and it starts in a few weeks. What’s next?

First off, it’s worth noting that we are talking about a long-term job of a month or more, not a day-playing gig. While some of these ideas definitely happen with a day-playing gig they dont all apply. If it’s local, you don't have to worry about leaving town and taking care of everything before you do. If it’s a location show, you’ll have to add in packing and shipping equipment (if you have it), making sure things are taken care of at home, and all sorts of other things that come up. I’ll deal with that in another section, but, for now, let’s discuss what you can do to prepare for the work you will be doing.