Three tips for beginner camera operators

Starting out as a camera operator can be daunting. There's a large list of settings, features, and shooting techniques you need to remember and master before it all becomes second nature. Until then, here's three things to remember before you press record.

1. Level the tripod
Editor are under tight deadlines to render out the final video and don't have time to fix errors. Often zooming in, rotating, or changing a chip's position requires more processing power to render out the final video and this time loss could be what makes you miss your deadline.

2. White balance
When dealing with locations and scenes with complex lighting, always get a new white balance. It's very important to get the colours looking right when shooting because colour correcting shots can be difficult process. If you are recording on a camera that shoots in a RAW workflow white balance isn't an issue. However, most tv stations and ENG shooters shoot with cameras that don't allow you to adjust the white balance later in the post process.

3. Set your levels.
Many modern cameras have four channels of audio. I like to have the first and second channel be the main mic and a shotgun mic on camera. Channel three and four will be backups for channel one and two. Three and four can either be set to auto or -6db less than what the original recording is. That way if the audio gets too loud the editor has a backup.

I hope these quick tips help you in starting a career as a camera operator.

Tips for new camera operators

I've been behind the scenes making promotional videos, commercials, and reality tv shows for the last six years.  Here are some tips I recommend for anyone getting in the industry:

1. Wear black. You don't want to attract attention to yourself. If the talent is distracted by you they won't be able to do an effective job.

2. Don't look at the talent when recording.  You may distract the talent causing them to lose their train of thought. The talent may also think you want to talk to them and stop performing.

3. For micro productions, I bring along: cotton balls, to remove shine on a person's skin; Tide to Go, for any stains that may occur on the talent's clothes; a Letherman, for minor repairs to equipment; and a roll of electrical tape.

I hope these tips will help you as a camera operator on your next video production.