Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
Operate television, video, or film camera to record images or scenes for television, video, or film productions.
- Median pay
- $74,990
- Doing it now
- 32,600
- By 2035
- Up 1.3%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
2,500 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Operate television or motion picture cameras to record scenes for television broadcasts, advertising, or motion pictures.
- Compose and frame each shot, applying the technical aspects of light, lenses, film, filters, and camera settings to achieve the effects sought by directors.
- Operate zoom lenses, changing images according to specifications and rehearsal instructions.
- Use cameras in any of several different camera mounts, such as stationary, track-mounted, or crane-mounted.
- Adjust positions and controls of cameras, printers, and related equipment to change focus, exposure, and lighting.
- Confer with directors, sound and lighting technicians, electricians, and other crew members to discuss assignments and determine filming sequences, desired effects, camera movements, and lighting requirements.
- Observe sets or locations for potential problems and to determine filming and lighting requirements.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Film/Video and Photographic ArtsSee 425 colleges that teach it
- Audiovisual Communications Technologies/TechniciansSee 64 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Creative and expressive
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $74,990 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.