This is my personal observation about the current state of our industry.
First, on the contrary of what most people think there’s still plenty of good business out there, actually there are more high paying gigs today than ever before, but one thing is for sure, they will not come to you even if you are an established veteran, you have to work for it in order to get in, but that’s an entirely different topic.
The major and most damaging change than I’ve seen happening in the last 5 plus years isn’t the introduction to new technology, is the shift in focusing the necessary skills from the front to the back of the camera.
Most of the recent topics here have been about business issues. Finding work, bottom feeders, insurance, buying gear, etc. It seems like a while since we talked much about artistic or technical things. You know, shooting.
It’s difficult to discuss “shooting†topics when there are no question asked on the subject. Most if not all question asked today are about the technical end of the business with “what camera to buy†leading the way.
I’ve been saying for years, there’s no money to be made behind the camera, the money is in front of the camera. Like I said countless times in the past, cameras, lights and everything I use is nothing more than tools for my trade, and like a good mechanic whose livelihood and quality of life depends on his work I will buy the very best tool that there is, but yet these are just tools to help my skill. Seriously, would you take your car to a mechanic who is still asking what tool should he buy to fix your transmission? Or if you are the client, would you hire a photographer who is still asking what camera he should buy to do your video assignment?
This “shift†from in front to behind the camera isn’t only on these boards, it’s a whole industry phenomenon and I attribute this to the power of manufacturers whose interest is selling products, for them there’s no money to be made in creativity, their only interest is in volume.
In my personal video library I have over 100 videos of techniques, those in front of the camera. Original all these videos were on VHS and I’ve been converting them to DVDs. Back in the 80 Kodak and other publishers had very extensive libraries of techniques covering just about every needed subject for all levels of expertise. Subjects that included tabletop, food and product photography, architectural both interior and exterior, all kinds of lighting both artificial and natural, composition, aesthetic, etc. You name your need and there was a tape for it. I’m forever thankful that back I had the wisdom of investing in these libraries.
Now, go to B&H and do a search on educational material, see how many videos or book you can find that cover any of those topics, very few, poorly done and mostly useless. Most educational material available today is about camera operation or post production softwares. The only reason that there’s almost no advanced educational material available is that there’s no mass demand for it. Yet those advanced techniques can be seen every minute of everyday on national programs, those are the programs that pay the highest rates to us. Those who can create those techniques are also those getting top dollars.
Years ago there was a phrase we used, “we’ll fix it in postâ€. It was mostly used as a joke when the cameraman screw up something, today this is the norm. The need of camera skills have shifted from doing it the right way in the camera to fix it in the computer, now they even have software that can focus an out of focus picture.
it seems Rosenblum was right after all despite the amount of rancor he generated here.
Welcome back Joe, how are things in the cold Northeast.
Let’s talk about the Rosenblum’s theory of “jack of all trades, master of noneâ€. This might be good for small jobs, mostly low paying web gigs, that’s what most of the OMB operations do today. 99% of freelancers on this board do web projects only, and there are hundreds more entering the business everyday, use the theory of supply and demand and you'll see that Rosenblum's theory leads to poverty, in fact most people who in the past supported his method of doing business are now nowhere to be found, and there's a good reason for this, they need money to live and there's none to be made by following his system.
High paying clients do not and will never hire a OMB for their projects. These OMB freelancers do a little bit of everything except making money, sorry but in spite of what Rosenblum is preaching there’s no money to be made there, and by money I mean the ability to own a nice home in a safe family neighborhood, raise kids and provide for their education and build a nice nest egg for your retirement. Find me any of these jacks of all trades that can accomplish this. Even thou we've been asking him for years to show anyone who is actually making a living from his teaching and preaching, nobody at all has come forward and proved that a living can be made with limited skills, a toy camera and a computer, NOBODY.
I have 3 editing computers, 2 MacBookPro and one full blown desktop, and I keep them updated with every new release, I even buy new computers as Apple release a new one. Yet, the last job that I did editing was six years ago. It just doesn’t pay for me not to be behind the camera, that’s where by far the best money in this business is, beside, creating images is what I love to do, not fixing what I screwed up in the first place.
As more and more people concentrate their skill in behind the camera instead of in front of it, the demand those who have the “in front of the camera skill†is greater than ever and pay more than ever.
If you’re looking to make money you have to go after those with deep pockets, and as I said before there are still plenty of those. None of my national and international clients are interested in my editing and post production skills. My extent of post production involvement is the old school of shoot for edit. The reason the clients pay $2250 and more per day for me and my assistant/sound tech is that they want a tape or hard drive handed to them at the end of the day that contains the very best picture that can possibly be obtained IN THE CAMERA. If they have to spend hours trying to improve my work in post then I wouldn’t be worth my day rate. In the pay scale of all people involved in a production the highest paid one is the cameraman, or director of photography for the fancy title. So if we are talking about making money why on earth would anyone concentrate their efforts doing anything else.
This brings us back to the shift in skills from the front to the back of the camera that has been happening in recent years. There are not enough skilled photographers that can create quality images in front of the cameras to meet the demand. I mean the really skilled ones not the Rosenblum’s OMB types.
I just turned 66 and this month I’m collecting my first SS check, almost $1900 per month going directly into one of my saving accounts. That should be good for at least two good and well deserved vacations per year for me and my wife. Yet in spite of my age I’m the busiest that I’ve ever been in my 42 years career. In spite of everything that has been happening in this industry my business has been steadily growing year after year, I can only handle half of the work I’m getting, for the rest I have a number of trusted crews that I can depend on it. I attribute this in spite of all the hype about new technology driving the industry in different direction I never left the front of the camera, I used everything new to make that better and not different. This is also what every good and busy freelancer that I know and work with has been doing.
The Rosenblum’s dinosaur theory never materialized, in fact if you look at all his past predictions and you would have done exactly the opposite you would be doing very well today.
My participation to these forums has been very limited and down to nothing, it’s very hard to try to teach young kids how to make this a skilled and profitable career and in return being called and old fart, grumpy old man, over the hill, a dinosaur, etc. Granted I come from the old school that you get more attention with a kick in the a$$ than with white gloves, yet there’s no worst kick in the a$$ then when a bill comes due and there’s no money to pay for it.