All Documentary Film Crew Jobs Explained in 15 Minutes

Ever wanted to know what all the different jobs are on a documentary film crew? In this video I’m going to break down all the members of the field team, what they do, and how you can start looking for work in that role so you can get on set as quickly as possible. We’ll cover a veritable alphabet soup of job titles - DP, AC, PM, PA - as well as the ones you might have heard of before, like director and producer, so that you can figure out what job might be right fit for you.

#filmmaking #documentary #career

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CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro
2:26 - PA’s
3:31 - Fixers
4:46 - DIT
5:55 - Camera Assistant
7:05 - Director of Photography
9:40 - Gaffer
10:49 - Sound Recordist
12:57 - Production Manager
16:00 - Director explained
18:30 - Final thoughts

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IG: @lucforsyth (BTS content, but I’m TERRIBLE at DMs - sorry!)

[MysterSer]

Growing up wanting to be a director, writer, actor -- thinking that was all there was.. Was in for an eye opener when I started working with professional crews and realized there are literally SO many different jobs.. that normally one or two guys take on all alone. Crazy!

[kyleranney]

Sound is super important but it is mostly technical and there are so many resources on it. It's how I started, but now I do DP and camera work. People are always mystified by sound and wireless management, but it's literally just math, and if it doesn't work out, you just use boom. this is at least true for most location capture. Now, TV and cinema are different things where you're mixing, have cues, a video feed, and your own little team to handle boom, wireless, and the small stuff. I've worked Hulu level docs with a basic kit that was only a few thousand. Meanwhile, the camera crew was lugging around $100k worth of gear.

[thDad]

Your channel is truly a hidden gem of production knowledge. I'm learning a lot iv always wanted to work on a film crew. This is definitely giving me more confidence in my abilities thanks my guy.

[who]

Great breakdown, have never worked on a crew with most of these as distinct roles but as someone who usually has to wear three or four different hats on the crew it's nice to dream. Typically in local TV (at least at my station) we're working in two man crews with a DP and either a reporter or field producer/project manager. Or in my case I'm often a DP/field producer/project manager with a PA/AC who needs training up in tow. I think maybe three times in the past five years we've had the budget/time to hire a dedicated sound operator, and in those cases everyone local we could find was booked solid and I wound up having to juggle it with my other project duties to the detriment of both the project and my sanity. I think if I had to start over from scratch I would definitely try to get started as a sound operator, even though it's not where my passion lies it definitely feels like had I gone that route I could have gotten to work on higher profile projects much more quickly, and then had the contacts to work into other roles.

[BuckJolicoeur]

You're putting out great videos that are super relevant.

I'm now reading "The War of Art".

While I am very experienced in Narrative Production, these videos you put out give me greater insight, and help me reaffirm or gain better insight into the world of "Filmmaking".

[johnclay]

informative video on the elements of the roles Thanks Luc.

[tjkennedyphoto]

Luc, your videos are invaluable. Thank you my friend 🙏🏻

[mouctardiallo]

You’re doing an amazing job sharing all the information and knowledge

Thank you

[georgander]

Loving the Content sonfar and aspecially your kind and calm personality. Keep going! 😊

[CavalieriTom]

Great video. Great channel, by the way. Love your insights and tips. Very much appreciate the content. Cheers from Tom, from Fixer Brazil!

[OREO]

5:30 Slider name? Curious how that handled in that cold climate.

[cameragod]

Nice video... I need to send it to clients that still use "videographer" to describe everyone on the crew :)

[WhySteve]

Man I hate it when people shoot a narrative vertical micro-short (basically a tiktok or shorts skit) and then label themselves a DIRECTOR. And then wear a fedora and brag about being an independent filmmaker.

[andyball]

What role do you consider the producer to play in the overall creative direction of the doc? Generally, do they work with the director to bounce ideas off each other about story direction? Or would that be considered a different role?

[thewellvideoproductions]

Great stuff as always!
Being a one man band 50% of the time, I can only dream of having assistance like this. Every blue moon I get two or three DPs on a shoot with me and every lunar eclipse I get to hire an additional cameraman. It is nice having my own company and I do love production, I suppose. I've done it for 30 years lol. You are quite the trooper man! I'm a marshmallow when it comes to wading through swamps and walking 20 miles through deserts. I'll take a nice air conditioned CEOs office any day lol. Keep on keepn on!;)

[DogAmongMen]

Sound guy is to the crew as Bass player is to the band..

Probably the same person in both cases too.

[BuckJolicoeur]

One Question: What's with the 12 minute clock at 4:54 ?

[edinburghaction]

I was waiting for the Health and Safety person to get a mention.

[anilajinkya]

उम्र भर खयाली भूतो से मैं ना डरता, खुदा मैं क्या जोर से जीता, खुदा मैं क्या चैन से मरता। ❤😌What a deep meaningful quote... Kudos to The TVF team. 👍

[darkphotographer]

good thing about working in audio, is the gear don t get much upgrade like camera, and don t cost as much to get start, with 1 or 2 k you can get all the gear you need for most jobs, and will still be relevant in 10 years, or more,