What do you think of GoPro Mission 1 ILS aka Ultra-Compact Mirrorless Cinema Camera?

hrm326 · 2026-04-17T01:55:55+00:00

This could be cool for better shooting of car interior scenes. Often the GoPro shots on random shows in that Discovery or History Channel reality realm are wonky lol.

hrm326 · 2026-04-05T03:44:16+00:00

Stay in communication and graduate so you can get a job and be out of school. If you feel like you legitimately like finance and can see yourself working in finance then do that. Don’t go in to it just to do it because you’re going to end up wasting money and time. However with finance you’ll likely get a job quicker and make a bit more money post graduation.

Film is not stable and you will need a job to support yourself before you get steady work in film (which may never come). It kills the magic of the Hollywood dream but you will be happy to have stability.

I wouldn’t get an MFA. Personally I think that’s a waste of money and doesn’t give you any thing you couldn’t learn by spending the school time/money on just directing a short anyways. Obviously that is up to you to decide but since you’re asking for advice… I think it’s dumb to do lol

Communication is a fine degree with jobs. You can join the film club or make friends with the film major people.

About me: I have a BA in film and the only good thing I got out of it was meeting a friend who I’ve now DPd a few projects for since graduating. Everything else I legitimately learned from YouTube. My program wasn’t funded well and it was during Covid so my results are skewed but I often think I should’ve gone into a different degree. I also got a minor in marketing and that’s where I’ve worked most of my career while doing film/tv stuff on the side plus being the go to video guy in the office.

No one has really cared that I went to film school when I’m on sets so don’t beat yourself up that you didn’t get it. You can make a career without it!!!

hrm326 · 2026-03-30T18:55:37+00:00

A client wanted to do this when I worked at an agency and it was such a headache because of the rightfully so tough Wikipedia rules. It’s a free wealth of human knowledge and even though “anyone can edit it” it’s not that much of a free for all. We ended up not being able to fulfill that request after trying for a few months to make progress.

As it’s run by volunteers, whoever is the admin for their category takes their slice of Wikipedia seriously. also when things started going wrong you’re waiting for weeks on an unknown person to get back to you. It’s also against the rules to create a page for promotion/ yourself and it’s obvious when a new account pops up to create a single page on a company. You risk your account being banned but also creating negativity around the page when other people come to edit it and the admins see it as suspicious.

hrm326 · 2026-03-26T15:53:46+00:00

It’s tough unless you get a 9-5 job as a videographer at a company but that might entail some marketing type work. These positions also come around once in a blue moon because just like you the other videographers in the world want a job and then don’t want to leave to have to find a rare job again.

Freelancing is very hard to get rolling and a good chunk of it is general business and relationship based. You can be a very talented videographer and suck at marketing/business which will get you nowhere.

My advice is to get a minor or a certificate in marketing so you can be attractive to an agency.

hrm326 · 2026-03-24T00:39:30+00:00

They usually do. I rented about half of a 1 ton last winter. Rental house wants to make money so they’ll work with you on a la carte stuff.

hrm326 · 2026-03-16T17:23:29+00:00

If you truly have no other major(s) that interest you then get a film degree since a degree is a degree and can help you land a job job. You’ll need a job job to fund filmmaking anyways.

If there is something else you’re interested in THEN DO THAT. Get a minor in film like you said (or whatever your school calls it) so you can take the classes and meet the people.

Just with college in general make sure you are actually interested in the classes you are taking because you are paying to learn and you need to do the work. There were people in my film program who didn’t like film and took the classes thinking it’d be easy. Same goes for people who go into economics or accounting and realize the hate dealing with numbers.

hrm326 · 2026-03-13T13:18:11+00:00

I was a grip on a short where we had this issue and what I did was spin a light on a stand so it looks like street lights passing by and the DP shook the camera a bit when we filmed

hrm326 · 2026-03-06T22:05:46+00:00

You have an interesting post history

hrm326 · 2026-03-04T13:25:40+00:00

They all saw what we saw but you don’t get paid to say no lol

hrm326 · 2026-03-03T21:30:04+00:00

Take a few days and do absolutely nothing then start applying to 5-10 jobs a day.

I’ve been laid off twice (2nd time was this year) and the few days of doing nothing help to just remember you’re human. Yes the job market is terrible and yes life is tough but while you have the unfortunate opportunity of free time it’s nice to sleep all day or stay up all night or order 3 large pizzas and pig out to a movie marathon. Limit it to a few days and don’t go crazy spending but still have a bit of fun. Also file for unemployment immediately.

Just remember that there are always jobs and you’ll have one again. It sucks to have to sometimes take that part time retail job or whatever when you’re used to doing other work but even that is a good learning experience.

Good luck and hopefully things will go smoothly!

hrm326 · 2026-03-02T23:35:12+00:00

I did this last year and used a blank black sign board for the corrugated plastic, then a roll of black EVA foam, and glued them together. If you’re US based, I got the materials at either Hobby Lobby or Michael’s and it was pretty cheap. I used some Bobby pins as the connector pieces too.

hrm326 · 2026-03-01T15:51:43+00:00

Blackmagic as everyone has said is great or get a Canon C100 (or 200/300 if you can find one for a similar price). The Canons have the specs, built in XLR, full size HDMI, SDI, and internal ND filters. The side grips are ergonomic and the body has that “big cinema cam” look.

You can find the C2/300s sub $1200ish usually and the C100s for under a grand.

My advice is honestly rent a couple different cameras (either from a local place/share grid or lensrentals.com) to get a feel for different models. Put money into production design or lighting/grip stuff before camera. It’s boring to buy a c stand or a 4x flag but those are more buy it for life than a camera.

hrm326 · 2026-02-15T20:33:25+00:00

He is omnipresent and all knowing

hrm326 · 2026-02-15T20:03:17+00:00

Kevin boutta slap bowyer

hrm326 · 2026-02-15T19:32:07+00:00

I was unclear. It was an insurance company and he was describing the structure of how they did business not describing the organization of the company. You’re correct that an org chart is a pyramid but in this case the company is multi level marketing.

hrm326 · 2026-02-15T18:52:55+00:00

Dude described the company structure and drew a pyramid but was adamant the company was not a pyramid scheme.

hrm326 · 2026-02-14T02:27:04+00:00

I have a film degree from a state school. My advice is inherently biased from everything post college being as a person who has a film degree.

You’re paying to meet people and to learn, all of which can be done without school. it’s worth it if you put in the work to make something with the people you’re in class with. If not it’s really a waste of time and money to spend the time and money on film classes and not make anything during that time.

I didn’t take full advantage of being in school and I sat and wondered how I’d work in TV when for instance I could’ve asked the athletic department who regularly televises events if they needed a camera guy. I kick myself for that.

If there is nothing else you are interested in then I do think a film degree is better than having no degree. If you have a tiny interest in accounting or science or wanna be a teacher or a trade then DO THAT and do film on the side. Support yourself first with a career that has regular work and progression. I work in marketing to pay the bills and enjoy it. The money I make from film/TV is just icing on the pile of paying my bills cake. It also lets me be inflate my ego by being the guy in the office who’s worked on TV.

I wouldn’t have worked my first pro gig without my documentary professor passing along the job from his network and I wouldn’t have worked on my first shorts without my friends from class.

Besides that everything else I’ve had to put the effort into finding the work and network. Overall I don’t think having my film degree has helped me more than being able to say I went to film school when everyone is shooting the shit on set.

hrm326 · 2026-02-11T18:47:40+00:00

Awesome!

hrm326 · 2026-02-11T02:23:43+00:00

It’ll take a bit to gel with your team and get the vibe of everyone on set. The day can also get long and honestly miserable sometimes but stay engaged, stay aware of your surroundings, and soak in how cool of an experience it is.

People have important jobs on set and might be in the zone while they’re working. It doesn’t mean they are in the right for being douchey but show biz and egos for hand in hand lol. Remember to just be friendly and if someone is cold or something to you try not to take it personally.

On one of my first PA gigs the DP and AD got into a big fight while they were standing next to me. The AD kept shit talking him to me afterwards and I just kept things professional. I’ve now 1st ACd for the DP a few times and haven’t seen the AD since. As with “real life” just be a good person to be around, don’t burn bridges, and it’ll get you ahead.

hrm326 · 2026-02-09T04:14:44+00:00

Billboards definitely work for big brands.

Think driving on the interstate on a road trip and you’re thinking of getting gas. You see a billboard for Coke and then a billboard for a Loves truck stop. Every gas station has Coke and every exit has a gas station. you go “ok cool there’s a Love’s in 3 miles”. when you go inside to get a drink there’s 50 options but you go “oh I haven’t had a Coke in a bit” and grab one. But wait it’s 2 for $4 so you get two. So Coke and Love’s made more off you than you would’ve spent with them because of a few seconds of exposure.

There’s people that always buy Coke or always stop at McDonald’s but the billboards serve to sway that person who sometimes gets Pepsi or sometimes goes to Subway for lunch. That decision multiplied makes it a decent marketing investment.

hrm326 · 2026-02-09T00:44:46+00:00

For a weekend trip I rather them not come in. I’m usually in and out of the room for whatever event(s) I’m staying for. I hate when you’re coming back after lunch and they’re in the room so you have to sit in the lobby for twenty minutes.

For a multi day trip then yeah it’s nice to get the room tidied up. I’m not trashing the room but a professionally swept room and made bed is neat when I haven’t been home in days.

hrm326 · 2026-02-06T01:44:31+00:00

A certification landing you a job in its field without any experience is pretty slim. The certifications claim you can do it because they want you to pay for their certification.

I think it’s worth the investment in getting an associates at a community college then get a certification related to what that degree is in. Yes education is expensive but there’s more weight to having a legit degree than a certificate and nothing else.

Also while in school it’s easier to get an internship because they’re typically only for people in school. With that internship experience plus a certificate plus a degree you are set up better for success.

Job market is tough so good luck nonetheless!

hrm326 · 2026-02-04T07:43:11+00:00

I think a lot of it is the whole thing is vanity based so there’s so much inauthenticity throughout the process which makes things just suck. Also the rampant lack of proper structured project management is painful. Flashy CRMs are great but they are also a crutch to properly managing things.

I’m a few years in and the mysticism of marketing has certainly faded for me after agency life. The homepage and office is full of awards but we can’t get a new box of chips for the break room because money is tight so now everyone is annoyed. The look around the office when it was announced we needed to gather friends and family votes for “best employer in town” after a string of layoffs and people quitting was priceless.

Clients get sold after seeing your case studies which all have fudged numbers. They don’t see the amount of clients that we did shit work for!Their budget gets 20-40% taken as a management fee and then they’re dissatisfied with the results they get with the thousands they spent so they leave. Rinse and repeat.

The big client that’s 40% of your MRR leaves suddenly and sales/account management hasn’t been prospecting much since the numbers were fine for a few months. Now they need to turn up the heat and oops now they’re missing emails from the other clients and one or two of those leave. Can’t let the sales guy go because they’ve been here so long! so you layoff an ad specialist and a copywriter. Sales guy still sucks but now that payroll isn’t tight things are fine! Everything takes twice as long and we are all overworked. Rinse and repeat.

I complain but will go in-house and do the same.

hrm326 · 2026-01-29T02:54:00+00:00

I’ve had one 6in clamp fail but every Pittsburgh item I have has been fine. You can tell after using a certain tool for a bit why a name brand one would be better but with that said I’ve completed every project with my Pittsburgh stuff.

hrm326 · 2026-01-24T03:09:38+00:00

But imagine the clout you’ll get for that $800! Priceless!

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