Where to practice?

[Christopher Millham]

Hey! Wanted to hop on here and see if anyone has any advice on places / ways to practice? I already drill at home (try to fly the rig at least once a day when not working) and try to get on as many short films as possible but most practice I got recently was for a church Christmas service broadcast. Are there any other places or events you’ve found to get practice at? I’ve been practicing at home but I learn so much more having a subject in the frame. 

Thanks in advance! 

[Aaron King]

I'm not sure what resources are around you, but I enjoy going to a local camera rental house to practice.  It's a great opportunity to fly different cameras, lenses, accessories... and to test new equipment that you might have recently purchased.  As far as getting more subjects in a frame, pull your friends and other production folks together to create your own practice sessions.  Create a series of shot ideas/techniques you would like to drill and work them together, rotating people around as actors, operators and also observation to watch from a distance and critique from there.  This method is also great to do when wanting to brush up on conventional operating skills as well.

[Pedro Guimaraes SOC]

ANy practice is helpful. BUT.

Quality practice is really what you should aim for. Dont simply blindly and randomly follow a dog around or your younger brother.....that might be helpful if your going to be working in live broadcast situations but in general....

For me that means having someone or 2 people be "actors". 2 is best because frequently you need to deal with framing 2 people so this is very valuable.

Have at least 1 other operator play the role of the director. (you guys can switch roles)

The reason for this is that I found when I have a "director" coming up with a shot they will ask for something I would of never thought or that complicates things in a way I might of avoided if I was coming up with the shot. it also mimics the real situation of having to listen to instructions and work with a director.

This obviously complicates logistics, but the quality of the practice and learning you will be doing is significant.

As far as a location? any house is great.... dealing with furniture, hallways....maybe stairs....doorways is great practice. Then you can always go to the backyard or garage. You also have bathrooms and a kitchen to have a break in.

Getting together with a fellow op is key. In a big city its easier I hope you know someone else in your area.

my .02 cents.

[Christopher Millham]

On 3/6/2025 at 10:38 AM, Aaron King said:

I'm not sure what resources are around you, but I enjoy going to a local camera rental house to practice.  It's a great opportunity to fly different cameras, lenses, accessories... and to test new equipment that you might have recently purchased.  As far as getting more subjects in a frame, pull your friends and other production folks together to create your own practice sessions.  Create a series of shot ideas/techniques you would like to drill and work them together, rotating people around as actors, operators and also observation to watch from a distance and critique from there.  This method is also great to do when wanting to brush up on conventional operating skills as well.

 

On 3/6/2025 at 10:38 AM, Aaron King said:

I'm not sure what resources are around you, but I enjoy going to a local camera rental house to practice.  It's a great opportunity to fly different cameras, lenses, accessories... and to test new equipment that you might have recently purchased.  As far as getting more subjects in a frame, pull your friends and other production folks together to create your own practice sessions.  Create a series of shot ideas/techniques you would like to drill and work them together, rotating people around as actors, operators and also observation to watch from a distance and critique from there.  This method is also great to do when wanting to brush up on conventional operating skills as well.

Thanks for the advice! I have a buddy getting into steadi as well so I’ll message him about getting a little group together. Thanks! 

[Christopher Millham]

On 3/7/2025 at 10:41 PM, Pedro Guimaraes SOC said:

ANy practice is helpful. BUT.

Quality practice is really what you should aim for. Dont simply blindly and randomly follow a dog around or your younger brother.....that might be helpful if your going to be working in live broadcast situations but in general....

For me that means having someone or 2 people be "actors". 2 is best because frequently you need to deal with framing 2 people so this is very valuable.

Have at least 1 other operator play the role of the director. (you guys can switch roles)

The reason for this is that I found when I have a "director" coming up with a shot they will ask for something I would of never thought or that complicates things in a way I might of avoided if I was coming up with the shot. it also mimics the real situation of having to listen to instructions and work with a director.

This obviously complicates logistics, but the quality of the practice and learning you will be doing is significant.

As far as a location? any house is great.... dealing with furniture, hallways....maybe stairs....doorways is great practice. Then you can always go to the backyard or garage. You also have bathrooms and a kitchen to have a break in.

Getting together with a fellow op is key. In a big city its easier I hope you know someone else in your area.

my .02 cents.

This is great advice, thank you. I have another operator learning as well as me but he’s about 2 hours away. Could work to our advantage in planning it out more instead of just winging it if we were neighbors. I’ll defiantly put this to practice. Thank you for the reply!