The Future of Film Crews in America

I'm starting this blog for those of you, like me who have or are currently experiencing the accelerated pace of which the rapidly changing landscape of crew-life.

The transition to HD is for all intents and purposes is complete and film shoots are few and far between for the average crew-member. This, and an expanding world-market has meant that there are a zillion tiny productions out there shooting all sorts of product, whether it be for the cinema, tv, commercials, web... There is still a demand for professional and capable crew.

The problem I've experienced is that in an already rocky economy our salaries continue to shrink as producers churn out low/micro budget content in a market they rewards speed and economy. In short, I make a fraction of what I did five years ago. New kids might not feel this as they have come up in a system which puts little value on the lowly crew-member, and yes I'm even talking about DP's. Many producers have come to think any schmo with an HD camera is a capable technician and between reality TV and the general lowering of the "quality-bar" in recent years, paying nothing for crap makes more sense to them than paying even a little more for quality work. Before you take issue with what I've just said, let me qualify it all by saying that I am generalizing and merely venting ( Isn't that what blogs are for?)

I will post here as regularly as permits, even when working in the hopes that something positive will come out of it.