9/11 here in NYC is always a time for quiet introspection. I went down to the WTC site a few days ago to pay my respects, and while I’m glad that the great big hole in the ground is showing some signs of progress, it’s still hard not to feel the raw emotion that wells up there like a wildcat oil gusher. Honestly, no matter what side of the political fence you’re on, 9/11 will always be a seminal event that must be learned from and most hopefully never repeated anytime or anywhere.
On a much different note, I’m taking advantage of the quiet am time to jot down a few thoughts about this crazy world of digital techdom. Junior is quietly snoozing in his bassinet, and the dog is snoring, so it seems like the perfect time to weigh in on a few things I’ve noticed as of late:
First off, circle the tech carts, because things have fundamentally changed in this new post-recession order.
The wild salad days of techs pretty much naming a rate are gone. Besides slashed budgets, the fact is that photographers are much more comfortable with digital nowadays, and the associated insecurity that used to provide many of us with a comfortable cushion has gone by the wayside.
Out to pasture, so to speak.
More and more photographers are looking for that new breed of assistant who also knows their way around a digital workflow and is willing to take on that additional task without much of a corresponding bump in income, which is wrong on more than a few levels. If you’re going to take on the responsibility of the photo lab as in years past, you better get compensated for it because the margin of responsibility has shot up exponentially. Blowing up a power pack is one thing. Losing images from a shoot is a whole world of greater hurt.
The other attack on tech world is that of the in house studio. More and more, I’m seeing studios demand that photographers use their own in house digital services, much in the same way they require grip and lighting equipment to be rented through them. Which is fine if all a shooter requires in a tech is a glorified mouse pusher someone competent enough to run the digital side of things on set.
Now this is not a dig on the in-house tech. If anything they are on our side, and I would advance the notion that forming an alliance with a studio can be a very productive and stable revenue stream for us, but I’m getting ahead of myself here. What I want to say is that once again it’s up to us to make ourselves an order above just that of average tech and become a valued, somewhat indispensable member of the creative team. In doing that, I’ve had clients go to bat for me and get me on the set anyway. Studios know that techs can often be more than just operators, and much in the same way they don’t require in-house assistants, they really shouldn’t require an in-house techs either.
What I’m trying to say is, don’t bow out with a whisper. On the contrary, make some noise and negotiate.
When offered a low fee always (politely!) push for a higher rate than is offered, and back it up with how much more you bring to the shoot, whether it’s because you can provide offsite backup and storage, or have mad retouch skills that can translate the shooters vision to the AD while on set, or just because gosh darn it, people like you. The worst that can happen is that they say no, but even in that case you’ve at least opened the door a little for future negotiations and given yourself credit for the hard work and experience you’ve accrued.
It may be a new world order, but that does not mean we should acquiesce to the downward pressure in fees that is occurring. This recession will end one day and we don’t want to spend the first few years of recovery trying to get back to where we were.
Lastly, don’t forget polishing your skills, whether on the software or hardware side. C1 4.0, LR, DAM and Sync solutions, never mind Snow Leopard all could use a little time to make you a faster and better tech on set. Keep an eye out on video too, these 5DMKII and Red cameras are not going away, if anything they are the future.
So there you have it…my world at the moment, both micro and macro. If you can, take a moment today to reflect where this all is, has been and is going. Not just in techworld, but in the bigger picture as well.
