Really? Is it that hard to find shooters for all those ~$50/day ads I see on LA craigslist (or here for that matter, though not nearly in the same volume) looking for a DSLR package? Or the low/no ones on Mandy? Media-match? Etc? I mean that in all earnestness even though it sounds terribly snarky.
No seriously, is there a dearth of shooters down there right now or something?
Perhaps we’re talking about different things.
A director can find a DP with equipment if they are willing to
pay. I’m thinking that most directors posting their camera
questions here do not have the funds to pay a DP for their shoot.
That they are planning on shooting only occasionally. They they
are just starting out.
A director looking to make one short on one weekend should hire a
DP rather then buy a camera. A director who will be making that
movie over many weekends might find it difficult to pay a DP. Or
even find one willing to give up several weekends over several
months to work for free.
I wasn’t commenting on Los Angeles or any big city. I was thinking
about someone like Zombie who is in Marietta. I suspect there are
not droves of DP’s in that area with their own equipment trying to
find a director to work with.
I’m thinking that the reason every up-and-coming writer/director
thinks they need to be the DP as well is because there aren’t
droves of up-and-coming DP’s in most smaller cities. They just
don’t have the access to people who have already spent their time
in research and their money on equipment. You're thinking that
they are out there?
Zombie here is the rare case - most up-and-coming directors ask
about a camera in the under $1,000 range. But even using the
$5,000 figure I’m not sure hiring a DP would be the best method.
Of course that depends on Zombie’s long term needs. Spending 5
large on a camera to shoot two short films is not the best way to
spend the money. Hiring a fledgling shooter at $50 a day for 6
days would be much better.
I’m all for teaming up. All of my early days making short films I
had a DP. It was a great collaboration. So we are not at odds here,
David. My thoughts are based on not seeing very many fledgling DP’s
offering their services on messageboards. I don’t look at craigslist in
smaller cities and towns so I’m making an assumption that there
are very few notices for DP’s. I might be wrong.