Thinking of becoming a professional cameraman or camerawoman in the film industry? Then you have to know what exactly do you plan for this career in the near future. The term “cameraman” can apply both to the actual camera operator and to the cinematographer. Between the two, it is the cinematographer that takes more responsibility with his job duties, therefore, gets compensated more than a camera operator. The cinematographer is ultimately responsible for each shot of a film, and must be competent in areas such as lighting, color palettes, the use of perspective, and many other complex concepts. A common misconception is that in order to be a skilled cinematographer, one must be taught by a traditional film school since it involves a lot of technical demands; however, a lot of applauded cinematographers in the film industry had never actually attended film school. Most of them harnessed their expertise from the “indie” film scene and then proceeded on to get mainstream success. Spike Jonze, highly praised director of “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation” actually taught himself the art of cinematography as a teenager by conducting experiments in filming his fellow skateboarders. He has helmed the camera on many projects, intermittently doing double duty as director as well. This goes to show that formal training at a traditional film school is not obligatory if one wishes to be either a cinematographer or a cameraman. Certainly traditional film schools will give you some access to the equipment of the craft, and some technical training, but the kind of experience you get when you actually work on an real film set is irreplaceable compared to this stuff, “Ivory Tower” approach to the art and craft. If you want a real head start, you should find an alternative or non-traditional film program that places less emphasis on book learning but instead emphasize on street smarts. These programs can get you out working on a film set from day one, discovering as you go. There are even some programs that support one-on-one mentoring relationship with an experienced cinematographer or cameraman, that may be very helpful not just as a source of knowledge, and also as a source of connections since after the program, your tutor will probably have a lots of contacts in the film industry that may turn out to be helpful when you set out there on your own.