David Chameides of The West Wing shared the secret to being a successful Steadicam operator – and it wasn't what I expected!

You might think that the Society of British Cinematographers would be a little cautious about letting people into their annual event who don't actually have BSC after their name, but one of the invited speakers sharing secrets about camera operating was David Chameides SOC, the American Steadicam operator known for his work on Aaron Sorkin masterpieces The West Wing and Studio 60, among much else.

Alongside fellow Steadicam operators Zoe Goodwin, Danny Bishop, and Colin MacDonnell, he shared some insights into the realities of being a camera operator with cinematographer Katie Swain and host Ed Moore, and it was fascinating to discover the little aspects of the role which many of us aspire to, and which is central to TV and film, yet is often seen as merely technical.

I knew that a good operator was expected to understand the script they were working on, but my experiences on professional sets have almost all involved operating the drones, which tends to be for a few planned shots discussed in advance with the Director or AD.

These operators, however, reminded me that storytelling was about more than the establishing shot. Steadicams and camera operators need to be able to follow the action as it happens, and to do that, it's essential to be able to anticipate it, so you need the script:

"Because if you don't know what story you're telling, you can't tell the story"

That means memorizing dialog and learning cues but there is another solution too…

"By the time I do the wander I have words written all down my arm, because I look down in order, and it reminds me when that word says something, I'm gonna probably have to go this way"

The other thing this reminded me, of course, is that in a few days there will be a ton of chances to see events like this at The Photography and Video Show, which runs from March 14-17 at the Birmingham NEC. Turns out you learn things from listening to and meeting photographers in real life, so now, if you don't mind, I'm off to browse the events programme (and yes, that is the right spelling, because the show is in the UK!)