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November Commentary from George Spiro Dibie Camera
Guild: Lighting the Way For 75 years, the Camera Guild has been committed to helping our members. Whether it was safety on the set, or the long hours and lousy conditions under which our predecessors had to work, the Guild was always there, lighting the way. It was not too long ago that cinematographers worked such long hours. They often had to sleep on cots on the set to make their morning call. We have come a long way since then. And we have achieved much by working together. We are proud that we have given our members not only a voice on the set, but a voice at the bargaining table. But those achievements are no longer enough. In an industry changing as quickly as ours, trying to keep up with the latest technology is one of our biggest challenges. I am proud to say that your Guild has risen to that challenge. In fact, I consider our ongoing training programs one of our crowning achievements. Four years ago the Guild began a concerted effort to train our members in the new digital and HD technology. We saw the changes taking place in our industry and realized our members were not prepared. Wanting to stay ahead of the curve, we took matters into our own hands. We began touring the country, conducting one to two workshops a month. We used our wonderful pool of talent within the Guild to help our members step into the future. Through our diligent efforts, we created knowledgeable workforces in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Wilmington, Orlando, Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston and more who were prepared to work in the new digital formats. And the work followed. Our foresight paid off. To date, we have trained hundreds of our members on the 24P and HD cameras. This year, 35 multi-camera shows are shooting in 24P, up from 19 shows last year and they are all manned by our members. When we started, even our own members were resistant to the workshops and trainings we proposed. They thought it would be a waste of time and money. But we knew that costs were going to drive the studios to the lowest bidder, and we had to prepare our members. We couldn’t have done it without all our wonderful members who have volunteered to train their fellow members on the new equipment. Nor could we have done it without all of the generous vendors who have donated their facilities and equipment to help train our members. But that is our job. Preparing our members for the future. Yes, things are changing quickly in this industry. But the Guild is there, lighting the way for our members. Our work is never done. The camera community we have created will become an increasingly instrumental force as we move into a new era of our industry where a sufficiently skilled and unified workforce will be the only way to survive. Happy 75th. As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions. Please e-mail them to me. George Spiro Dibie, ASC
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