HockeyFan12

That's a complicated question. At the highest setting there's a benefit. Whether you'll see it or not is an entirely different question. At high ISOs it makes a difference and with some very high detail scenes it can, too. Below 422 HQ I think AVCHD is better. It's cleaner than the lower prores flavors, that's how good it is, or how bad Atomos' prores implementation is.

You should try both before you buy, because the ergonomics and "feel" are so important. Your beloved t2i has technically terrible video and maybe 8-9 stops of DR, but the ergonomics are good and the feel is good. It's beloved for a reason even if the reason isn't the technical image quality. If you can, rent or demo both. There's some test on reduser that shows that the Dragon actually has way more resolution, dynamic range, and color quality than the Alexa, but the over/under of the Alexa and saturation rolloff and interface will always be more comfortable to old school film DPs. Specs aren't everything. Personally I like what I've seen from Panasonic more than what I've seen from Sony, but Sony is the technical king.

Yikes. Looks like I'm getting Apple Care after all.

I was talking about profit, not income. Though in my field (post, dry hire) they are not as far apart as for a cameraman.

You can't buy a house if you can't afford it in your market. But otherwise, I fully agree. Luckily I have very low rent for where I live but still about what you're paying for a mortgage. The network thing is real... within a year of moving to a large market, my resume has completely transformed. Unfortunately, quality of life even at twice the pay is not different and it's not even that rates are better, just that there's more work. I think the only advantage of a big city is networking and that's pretty meaningless unless you're out doing it. The more successful people I know run their own production companies in smaller cities and enjoy a higher quality of life. Their networking options are limited, however.

I live in a city with bad traffic. As in... the worst in the world. :/ Even far outside city limits a small two bedroom house is $600k. I suppose if there's anything to take away from this discussion it's that the one advantage of a big city is the network.

This is a very good way to approach things if you can make it work. I wonder sometimes if freelancing in the big city is a bad idea. Maybe it makes more sense to try to get in with the biggest agency possible full time in a big city despite the lower wages, work locally with a low standard of living, network to the top, then quit, move to a small town, and freelance from there. Sounds like you skipped a few steps, but arguably there's no need to take them.

That sounds like a good situation. I considered learning programming and moving to the Bay Area but there rent is $3000+/month for a one bedroom in a bad location. A friend is a young multi-millionaire having studied at MIT and Stanford, and selling a successful company in her 20s, and has still yet to buy a house as they are too expensive. I have friends making $40k/year and living very comfortably in less expensive cities. The US is quite diverse and much of it is a matter of social capital, not quality of living. I believe one friend there has a house, but he worked at FaceBook before it went public and is a multi-millionaire.

I'm in a cheaper city, though top three or four in terms of total COL. About $80k if you're frugal, own your own car, have no debts, and have a very inexpensive apartment, as I do, but that's almost subsistence and with no savings. If I want to buy a house I must find a way to get to $150-$200k, or realistically twice that for a decent house. As I am now basically surviving, I need to figure out how. Arikhan, I wouldn't take that dire a view. Do what you love, either as a hobby or a day job. But I do think buying your own gear in a major city is a foolish decision. As a one-man band in a smaller market it can work out where you simply buy what you need to produce content that is at the level your client requests. But if you are being judged by your equipment you are being used, simple as that. Most red owner/ops in LA and NYC are simply cheap rental options. Don't get used. I do know people who have made it in major cities in media simply through education and talent without starting with any connections or having any family money. A grand total of two of them but hey it's something! Neither bought a cinema camera, both worked in post.

The standard rate for a DIT in my market (wet hire with a computer) is $1200-$2000, for reference, $5000 for a DP (dry hire) maybe. But DITs don't get to work every day. In light of all the low pay work I've taken on recently, I'm wondering whether to try to bill by the job or just look for a 9-5. Post seems to pay much worse because you can work every day...

I actually got the credit and money promised, I was just faced with so much additional work. I dunno. In my market you need to make $150k/year to get by. I'm not there yet and I'm worried. I guess I have to take the risk, brush up on my presentation, put together a website and up-to-date reel, and charge a lot more, $1k/day for post sound right or too low?

Well this is going south fast.

This is why you'll go far. 100% on point.

A friend worked with a high end agency where many of the directors are Academy Award winners and so it's already the upper echelon and everyone pitching for the job is superb and qualified ($100k/day day rate level, probably far more at times). What often gets them the job is remembering everyone's name in the room and treating them with respect and charm. The director who charms the agency will likely charm the client on set. The ad directs itself at that level, to some extent, so having that impressive figurehead and liaison to the client is as important as skill. Guys like Scorsese and David O. Russell will often secure jobs based on their awards. Brands (Scorsese does perfume ads, Russell KFC) want that prestige, and that reputation allows you to act up a bit. But if you don't have it, you'd better be charming. Yours is good advice; research the company and its corporate culture first and find things you like about it, which impress you, and present yourself as being impressed by them and wanting to be a part of that culture. If it's too far a stretch to do so, perhaps it is not the client for you.

1000%. But a higher level client might be hard to work for and thus not have vendors on hand. So they're looking for another person to take advantage of. And it's you. But there are ways to leverage a good credit without going straight back to the client who provided it. I hope.

Fell into it by accident and am trying to make the best of it. We will find out soon enough. Good call, though, I am going to check in about credit and payment asap since delivery is fairly soon.

I wish I'd learned that a decade ago. I agree: it's not the work you're doing that's as important as whom you're doing it for. To that extent, this job could be a big "break." I am currently working on a similar gig that is far too much work for extremely little pay and a lot of stress. It is also for a first-time director; I'm getting railroaded. But now I can bid on a higher echelon of work. That's the plan, at least. :/

Because fully honest is, ultimately, either fully selfless or fully selfish. In retrospect, I'm sure George Lucas wishes he had a guy with the guts to admit the Phantom Menace had a bad script. But he didn't, because the guy who had the intelligence and honesty to admit it he fired years ago for standing up to him or he kept that guy on but he learned better than to voice that opinion. Honesty is is good... in moderation. Pure unbridled honesty is unfortunately either self-destructive or self-absorbed, at least in this industry. I envy anyone who can have that level of fully honest intimacy in their best romantic relationship for even a moment, but in business... it's impossible imo. But when you can find it, cherish it. That said, I still agree everything bad is bad communication. An honest relationship is perhaps a platonically ideal one. But it needs to go both ways and that takes time. You need both empathy and sympath and to build both until you have a good relationship. This relationship ain't good. It's gonna take baby steps, not a sudden slap across the face, to make it better over time. And it needn't ever be perfect. Perfect is something we strive for, not demand. If you are 100% honest and 100% perfect every day of your life and it suits you well, well more power to you, but if you truly believe it I can assure you others aren't being honest with you. Hello, George Lucas (a brilliant creative led astray by bad faith and poor communication).

Everyone makes this mistake and there is no echelon too high for it. “Flat rate” bankrupted Rhythm and Hues. Learn that you’re more talented than the upper echelon now. Charge accordingly later. Learn how to charge way, way more so the even higher echelon that awaits won’t screw you over. (They got there by being good at screwing peons over, even screwing over Fincher on Alien 3!) But don’t worry about the credit hurting you. Either the project goes nowhere and no one knows about it or it goes somewhere and it’s a good credit. You’re potentially more fucked, however, if you’re above the line. Drop the directing or producing credit if you have one but don’t want it... but do so carefully. Drop the financial stake immediately. An artist with a supervising role (one step down from above the line) on a historically top grossing blockbuster and a senior artist on features that have grossed billions told me this about free work (which I don’t do, so I apply this dictum to low rate work, but higher end people often will do free work to curry favor): stipulate a number of revisions and charge way more beyond them, but have that in the contract. If you don't, you'll be working free forever because the contract says you can and you will until you can't unless your client is fucking awesome. I've seen it. At the highest end. Failing that, if you truly have no leverage, distance yourself and run out the clock. Time is money. If you have a flat rate as regards money, find a way to leverage your time. Don't let others' credits impress you. That's how they know you're a sucker. Deliver slowly. Establish an end date. Then run out the clock. But also don't let the resentment build up and make things toxic. No, you can't be fully honest, but you need to change the relationship because it's bad to start with. Create a timetable and a reason why you need one (or maybe convince your client to create one around a festival submission or color grading date). Express at least some frustration. Push back. If you don't, your partner will assume you're behind this as much as she is and then you're leading her on in bad faith and that helps no one. It's toxic to you both. Find the leverage you still possess (time and skill are usually it if the contract doesn't specify money per revision or day) and leverage it, but do so honestly. She's not leading you on in bad faith. The real top brass will use the hell out of you, but it sounds like she's merely enthusiastic and naive in this particular capacity. It's not her fault, it's just bad communication. Make things as good as you can, get what you can out of it, learn, fail, learn more, fail, learn, thrive. Do so well and in five years you'll be directing Star Wars.