Camera operator

The Camera Operator is the second man on the totem of the four-man camera crew working on a feature-film for the cinema or filmed drama for television. This team is always headed by a Director of Photography (or Cinematographer). The Operator's duties embrace working to one degree or another with the Director, the DoP and the actors in devising camera setups - angles, lenses to use, etc - and choreographing the dynamics of camera tracking moves on dollies or cranes to best interpret the dramatic scene. When shooting, the Operator is solely responsible for both physically operating the camera (ie, 'pointing' it, while looking through the lens), and for the composition of any given framing throughout any given shot.