Case studies: Freelance camera operator: Blake

Working in television these days is all about multiskilling and, as well as camera operating and camera assisting, there may be a whole range of tasks from setting up the camera to laying the tracks for the camera dolly.

I got my BA in Film and Video at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design (now the University for the Creative Arts) in 2006.

I’ve always been a creative person rather than interested in theory, which is why I chose the course I did. I got lots of practical experience, the tutors were all practitioners and, because we were making films and shooting film rather than video, we learnt the discipline of filmmaking – only shooting what you needed. This has stood me in good stead in the workplace.

On my degree course I met a lot of like-minded people and four of us formed a company while we were still undergraduates, making music videos and recording bands because music is one of my big interests. After I graduated, I continued doing this for about a year and then I consulted a business adviser who suggested I get a job in the industry rather than just working with my friends. I got a job with a camera and equipment hire company called Transmission (TX) Ltd. This was a really good place to work because I had the opportunity to learn how to use a wide variety of cameras, lights and sound equipment that I wouldn’t have had the chance to use otherwise. I also worked as a camera assistant on shoots and began to build up my network of professional contacts by working with camera people and directors of photography. This has proved invaluable in getting freelance work.

I went freelance after one year at Transmission (TX) Ltd and now work for myself as a camera assistant and camera operator and as a filmmaker making short music videos for a production company. Working in television these days is all about multiskilling and, as well as camera operating and camera assisting, I can be on a shoot and do a whole range of tasks from setting up the camera to laying the tracks for the camera dolly. Budgets are tight and I’m sometimes asked to act as the microphone boom operator because the production company can’t afford to hire a separate sound assistant. I also edit using laptop editing software for some projects and for my own music video work.

There are some downsides to what I do – shooting outside when it’s cold and wet and there is the uncertainty of being freelance. This is why having a good list of contacts is important. When I’m coming to the end of a job, I ring round all my contacts and find out what is going on.

I love my job and I get a lot of job satisfaction because at the end of the day I go home with something to show for it and I like looking back at programmes I’ve worked on that are on the TV and saying to myself, ‘I did that.’