Posted by Ed Mullen on 11/28/07 07:14

Blinky the Shark wrote:
> Bone Ur wrote:
>> Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Tue, 27 Nov 2007
>> 21:48:04 GMT Blinky the Shark scribed:
>>
>>> Bone Ur wrote:
>>>
>>>> So, as a TV cameraman, do you willingly bear your share of
>>>> responsibility for the crap that's on TV?
>>> I do my craft; I earn my pay; I cash my check. You're welcome to
>>> your opinions on what you like and don't like, but they don't
>>> interest me.
>> Er, too close to home, eh? Okay, I'll lay off.
>
> I know plenty of TV haters. That's okay. :)
>
> But let me ask this. As a camera op here in Hollywood, I consider
> myself a blue collar worker. I'm a member of the International
> Cinematographer's Guild. My grandfather was a tool and die maker; I
> consider my camera the equivalent of his tools. Different era,
> different product, different unions. Both skilled craftsmen. So. If
> you hated all cars, would you honestly feel that their design were the
> fault of the guys on those assembly lines?
>
>

I know what you mean. I worked in broadcast TV in the 70s for almost
ten years (floor manager, camera op, lighting, crew chief, audio
engineer, associate producer, etc.). I worked on a lot of shows I'm
still proud of. And a whole bunch of crap, week after week ...

"Farm, Home and Garden" might have been pretty low-brow fare but,
dammit! I framed those shots just great! ;-)

There are lots of very adeptly produced products on the market that do
not interest me. I may find some of them insipid, some annoying, some a
tad risque, some even disgusting for one reason or another. But they
are well produced nonetheless. So, I can, at the same time, shake my
head at the "marketing man run amok" (and I was one) who conceived of it
and got it marketed, while still giving a nod to the talented folks who
built it. Different ethos involved for each group. I can admire one
while disdaining the other. No conflict.

The only responsibility the camera op has is how well the shots coming
from his camera look. Period. Hey, The Jerry Springer Show is pretty
dumb (I think I was just kind there). But those camera ops follow the
action pretty well.

--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net
http://mozilla.edmullen.net
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An oyster is a fish built like a nut.

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