On the Work-Life Balance of a Cinematographer
For me personally, looking into the industry pathways of cinematography also entails acquiring a realistic image of the work-life balance of a cinematographer in general.
This I did to get a better impression of what it really takes to get into cinematography, and what that entails for your daily life. Since phrases such as ‘cinematography is hard work’ or ‘you have to work hard in the industry’ are not quantifiable as they are, I reckoned that by obtaining information on the work-life balance of professional cinematographers, I would be able to quantify it a bit better and to see whether it would also be a good fit for me practically.
Thus, I ventured to find some sources on work-life balance within the industry, and especially, within cinematography. In order to get a more balanced picture of the situation, I thus researched and compared both male and female perspectives on it to gauge whether there could also be found a difference in gender.
Starting the Discussion
Looking at the body of research, all sources seem to conform with the opinion that work-life balance is extremely difficult to keep if you want to be able to live on filmmaking. Especially in the beginning – as a student or even later in freelancing – it is highly usual that you would work what feels like 24/7 to be able to grasp every opportunity, thus easing your way into the industry. This holds especially true for cinematography.
As Matt Workman from Cinematography All The Things has pointed out, in cinematography freelancing it might very well be possible that you can get called the night before a shoot or even in the morning of filming. This naturally makes for very little own autonomy on time, especially when you start out and need to get your name out there in order to be able to earn your buns. As a cinematographer, this furthermore requires you to know your kit inside out and have it ready at all times.
Tips and Tricks for a Better Balance
What applies for the industry in general also applies for cinematography in particular. Some tips and tricks by the sources presented were centred on the application of honest self-assessment and reliable time-management. Their aim is to make working in filmmaking a more sustainable and healthy endeavour. A few of the tips and tricks thus were (in no particular order):
Be honest with your time (don’t overschedule and make sure to block time for life)
Be honest with your skills (don’t oversell yourself)
Don’t say yes too quickly (this ties into tip 1, 2, and 7)
Don’t overcommit (don’t constantly work by the skin of your teeth)
Don’t say no too quickly (don’t shy away from a challenge and don’t be lazy)
Don’t take on jobs you know you are not good at!
While it cannot be denied that cinematography is a craft that requires a lot of work, perseverance and passion to be fully mastered – if you could ever really fully master it – it should not turn into a mammoth that is consuming both your bodily and mental health. Since working on set can be extremely vexing, one should be extra careful not to work on the fast track all the time.
My Application
For me personally, as a student filmmaker who lives abroad and away from family and friends, but who is also extremely passionate of filmmaking and prone to overachieving, I find myself being on the fast track almost all the time. I also find that keeping a healthy work-life balance really is extremely difficult, but I also realise that if I want to be able to persevere long enough, I need to make time-management a priority, which you can see in this example here:
For this, since the start of the academic year, I’ve decided that I will keep to a stricter routine that not only requires me to work continuously, but that also schedules and accounts for regular leisure time to recreate and gather energy and creativity for the next day/week/project. Since I am a chronic overachiever, I also realise that I am constantly overcommitting, leaving me almost no time for leisure, which has been proven to be incremental for keeping up mental and emotional capacities such as creativity, problem-solving skills and resilience.
Whilst it is obvious that such a schedule can never be kept up perfectly – God knows that my days right before principal photography or deadlines are far longer than that – I felt that it had nonetheless helped me tremendously in keeping my stress levels low while at the same time being able to create and keep up quality work and research. However, as of this semester and the changed timetables, I find myself struggling with my previous schedule. However, as I am actively trying to adapt it as I go along, it is still somewhat helpful.
References:
Anonymous (n.d.) Balance [online] Image taken from: https://blog.stareable.com/4-work-life-and-work-work-balance-mistakes-ive-made-as-an-indie-filmmaker-ff40041a4d5c [Accessed on 21 February 2019]
Castellini, B. (2018) 4 Work/Life and Work/Work Balance Mistakes I’ve Made As An Indie Filmmaker [online] https://blog.stareable.com/4-work-life-and-work-work-balance-mistakes-ive-made-as-an-indie-filmmaker-ff40041a4d5c [Accessed on 21 February 2019]
Cinematography All the Things Podcast (2017) Work Life Balance & Passion [online] https://anchor.fm/cinematographydb/episodes/Work-Life-Balance--Passion-e1081m [Accessed on 21 February 2019]
DSLRguide (2015) How Much Does Success in Filmmaking Cost? [online] Image taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=1oko4odUG-8 [Accessed on 21 February 2019]
Glücksdetektiv (2018) Entschleunigung – ein Lob auf den Müßiggang [The Pace of Grace – Idleness Be Praised] [online] https://www.gluecksdetektiv.de/entschleunigung-ein-lob-auf-den-muessiggang/#comments [Accessed on 21 February 2019]
Hurlburt, S. (2018) SIC PODCAST: EP 19 – MAINTAINING WORK/LIFE BALANCE [online] https://www.thehurlblog.com/sic-podcast-ep-19-maintaining-work-life-balance/ [Accessed on 21 February 2019]
V Renée (2015) The True Cost of the Filmmaking Life (Are You Ready to Pay It?) [online] https://nofilmschool.com/2015/10/true-cost-filmmaking-life-are-you-ready-pay-it [Accessed on 21 February 2019]