To find out what knowledge or skills I’m required to get entry-level work, I looked at the learning outcomes of the Raindance Film Festival Basic Cinematography workshop.
https://www.raindance.org/courses/basic-cinematography/
This will serve as a good checklist for the equipment, camera technique, theoretical and technical information I’d have to learn before applying for entry-level jobs or work placements in industry..
Researching on photography careers, what I understood from a number of sources can be summarised in a few paragraphs here from Adorama Learning Center’s website on The Highest Paying Photography Jobs (And How You Can Land One) :-
“Photography is one of the most over-saturated industries the world. In addition to boasting a severe shortage of job opportunities and no guarantee of a stable paycheck, it is one of the hardest professions to break into and survive. That’s not pessimism, it’s just a fact.”
The New York Film Academy also has an article on Photography Jobs: Average Salary & Career Path Glossary. According to them, Fashion, Fine Art, and Medical photography seems to be highest earning photography jobs, and also the most difficult to break into.
But they seem to be quite uncertain about all the photography jobs mentioned, just less uncertain about Fashion and Fine Art.
Photoworkout also has an article. They also mention the importance of business skills and have a list of photography jobs and the clients for the jobs
All websites I’ve found giving information about photography careers seem to be quite uncertain about their knowledge in the areas. They also categorize jobs differently, and have almost no sources. Although what they seem to all have in common is advising the importance of business skills in addition to photography skills, and that the highest paid photographers are mostly freelance, in any field. My dream client the National Geographic Society certainly seem to only hire freelance photographers who already have their name out there.
Working on an assignment for National Geographic has always been the highest aspiration in photography for me. It is the documentary, journalistic and story-telling aspect of photography that inspired me to pursue a career in this field. And this National Geographic does best.
“Our editors and photographers agree that it is important to complete a degree in a discipline other than photography.”
In another article by National Geographic as well : http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/14/how-to-become-a-nat-geo-photographer/
“There are very few full time salaried photography jobs. All the photographers who take pictures for National Geographic Traveler are freelance independent business owners.”
“Our editors are constantly looking at magazines, books, newspapers, and online for photographers who deliver compelling pictures time and time again. Once they start to see a photographer’s name over and over associated with good work in different media, then they might reach out to those individuals and ask if they have any good story ideas.”
” It’s not enough to just be a good photographer. To make it at National Geographic you have to have interesting stories to tell.”
Here is the film so far,
Here are the prints I will be exhibiting at the Framework exhibition. They feature women and children at the morning markets of Malaysia.
Here is my edit of Tom’s performance.
Here is where I learnt how to remove noise and clean up audio tracks with Adobe Audition:
Here is a compilation of test footage of the burglary scene, escaping scene, and a stunt with a match to be included in a dialogue scene with B1, my character’s brother or partner.
I showed this to Matt and here are some notes from his critique.
Just to explain where I will use the ‘Putting out a match’ stunt. Before the final burglary B2 tells B1 that it will be his lost job, B1 responds with something like “you say that before each job”. B2, to show that he has made an absolute decision, to show that he is being serious, puts out a match with his tongue, and maybe goes on to reply something that means “this is the last time I’m saying it”, the line is to be decided with B1. Here is the inspiration for this stunt from a movie a watched recently called Eastern Promises (2007)
Here are some tracking shots used beautifully that inspire my burglary scenes.
Opening scene from Spectre (2015):
Scene from Pulp Fiction (1994):
A scene from Kill Bill (2003):
A scene from Touch of Evil (1958). I wanted to do something similar to the long tracking of the man and woman here walking through the city for the burglars once they escape from the police they walk into the city and blend into the crowd.
zenkhyeooi 