shit i thought you were a tall nerdy white creeper guy

9/7/2012 2:53:19 PM

Quote :

"although they don't get paid very well. "

really? I mean for all the shit bourdains camera goes through (i.e. walking backwards in a dark cave covered in bat and roach shit) you'd think theyd get paid pretty good

9/7/2012 2:53:34 PM

Depends on the seniority of each camera operator, but you are looking around 40-60k for a cable network show like Travel channel. (The median annual wage of camera operators was $40,390 in May 2010. The median annual wage of film and video editors was $50,930 in May 2010.)

And with shows like that, its constant shooting for weeks with very little down time; break for a few days then off to the next project or show. I mean the highest paid camera operators on TV are the guys on SPEED channel who operate the Big Bertha's, which get paid around 90k, but good lucky trying to get a job with them; they have a huge and I mean HUGE waiting list to even get a job interview, but most of those guys start as PA's or grips and that's after knowing someone at SPEED.

It also really depends on the level of skill, experience and knowledge of equipment you have, but if you are really good at all three... you would not be working on a cable network channel... You'd skip to film where your income could go up 2-3 folds for the same work. Especially if you have a niche skill like camera operation for a helicopter or mobile crane operation on a 500hp porsche suv...


Shit, I'd love to be a mobile crane operation/rider for a motorcycle camera system.

9/7/2012 3:07:10 PM

Do people really call you JBaz at work?

9/7/2012 3:41:56 PM

Yeah... that or Baz the Spaz. Its just the first letter of my First name and the first part of my last name. Kinda lame, but it works. Been known as JBaz pretty much all my life, can't break the cycle or a kitten gets it.

9/7/2012 4:00:47 PM