Cinematography : How does one find the right cinematographer or any crew member . by Ed Blount

I would start with the professional or union fellowships: A.S.C.(American Society of Cinematographers) I.A.T.S.E.(International Association of Television & Stage Employees) It's a union and the 600 locals are camera. These are just suggestions, because I am just a humble New York Native screenwriter/director/producer.

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The process is not particularly difficult and pretty much falls in line with what you might expect with any hiring process except that creativity is a complication. Let me deal first hand with finding a DP. Breaks down into 3 different types of contacts; someone I know, someone I was recommended to, or someone cold calling.

Typically I am approached by someone I know calling and saying, “last picture was fun, let’s do another”. Barring nepotism, that is the surest best approach for getting a “yes” from anyone. We know each other, the team worked well last time, and everyone was happy so of course this is a great call to get.

Next best is a personal introduction at an event or something similar, or a phone call, or email saying “I got your name from your friend ___ and would like to talk about an upcoming project”. This is great because I know the origin of the call, and who to thank or blame for what happens after that. Ideally the person who suggested me will call me first to say they have recommended me to a productions and that XXX from the production may call me. This gives me time to do a little asking around. One of the risks we all take in suggesting people for productions you are not physically on, is that you will be judged by the quality of work done by the person you recommended but you cannot affect. Do not give such recommendations lightly, give them honestly. Something going wrong can cause serious blow-back.

Last is a cold contact of some sort. It can be a name you saw in the credits (blame) of a picture, saw online on forums like Stage32, anywhere is a start. Stage 32’s private messages are quite effective for this. Time to do whatever checks you can which usually tell you nothing if you are in the situation of doing a cold call. But don’t worry about that. So much of the “info” people post online or on various sites (think IMDB) is very questionable, i.e. on Stage32 when someone claims they are a Deity, Ruler of the World, 18 time Oscar winning everything, and burger-flipper. They might actually be a wannabe burger-flipper. Maybe. So the phone rings and I hear “Hi, I need a DP and I understand that you are one of those”. This call is a tough hurdle for most people to make, but sometimes it can work and if you have no other choices why not? My first thoughts are: who are you, how did you find me, what have you done and is this a real funded project? The first contact will be short. Allows me to check what I can about you which will probably not change what happens next but provides some info.

After one of these different initial approaches works, then on to the next and most important step. Meeting in person, or maybe phone or Skype if it is impossible to meet. Meeting in person will tell you everything you need to know, if you have the skill to listen. Within 10 minutes over coffee you should know if the person you are talking to is real. By 20 minutes you will have a really good idea of their knowledge level, thinking, a handle of their creativity, some info on their past and something of their personality. All of those things and many more can be learned in short order. Discuss: Story-telling, Art, Technology, and Visual Interpretation at a very minimum. Once you know the person has the knowledge and skills and experience you hoped for, you need to make a crucial decision about whether or not you will want to spend a lot of time with them creating a picture. Remember you are being interviewed as well. I find the questions people ask to be entertainingly revealing :-)

Trust yourself to learn about the people you will be working with. Trust your instincts or practice developing better ones. The initial contact is the hardest part. It gets easier after that. Meeting in person is absolutely crucial.

If yours is a professional fully budgeted shoot, you may contact agents who represent DP's with your budget and dates, or contact cinematographers whose work you have followed.

If a lower budget (non IATSE) indie or amateur project, you invest the effort to screen local candidates found by google, referral, or ads.

Never ever ever hire based on a demo reel alone. A demo reel will only tell you who not to hire. It will never vouch for overall ability to deliver your project on time as a collaborative creative. That comes from referral, reputation, and discussion of the shoot.

Thank you guys. I appreciate the input.