Advice

• Keep things moving
  For action sports, music, fashion, and other eye-candy oriented content, I think it's important to have movement in almost every shot. If the subject isn't moving, then the camera probably should be. For our climbing material we've devised new ways to keep the camera moving smoothly throughout a shot using elaborate rope-rigging. Even for handheld stuff, it can help to use small body-moves to give a slight sense of planes shifting to keep things dynamic.
• Be a tech geek
  Modern production flow often requires a shooter to be much more than just a camera man. If you are putting together your own low-budget project, you need to have a broad skill set to keep everything together, and even if you are working for a legitimate client, you may be expected to run camera, run sound, and deliver rough cuts by internet all on a tight schedule. The new cameras mostly record digitally onto cards, so you have to travel with laptop and hard drives, and spend your evenings downloading, organizing, and duplicating files. One of the biggest challenges is staying on top of constant changes in workflow, keeping up with the latest gear and software updates, and finding the hours to shoot all day long, then download / edit all night.
• Be realistic
  Define your goals for your project based on the resources available and on realistic expectations. If you're shooting something spectacular that's never been seen before, just do it solidly and get it out there, and it will make an impression. If you're shooting something that's already been covered to death, make sure you are bringing something new to the table or there's no point doing it. If you have a huge budget and serious skills, then up the ante and blow everyone away with production value. If you have no money and little experience, find something unique that can make your project stand out against bigger productions - maybe a spontaneity or authenticity that bigger productions inherently lack, maybe humor or personal intimacy. These days there is so much video content everywhere that you need something unique to stand out. Figure out what you can bring to the table that's fresh, and then milk it!

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