Your work day as video operator

With every voyage that ends a new one begins. New passengers arrive and the work on a new travel documentary starts.

You will be there with the camera to capture the atmosphere and the new guests as they arrive at the ship and check-in and when they get their board cards and climb the gangway to the ship. Impressions of the first port are always important, after all, this is where the voyage begins for the passengers.

The embarkation is the first impression that the guest has of the cruise, that is why it is really important to make sure that the film shots and the cutting are of the highest standard. It only happens once a voyage!

Once the passengers are on board and you have enough material for the opening sequence your next stop is the editing room. Your job every day is to produce a finished and cut sequence that reflects the events of the day. The finished daily sequences are then shown on the on board TV channel where the guests can view the current days film and the complete version of the film so far.

When you accompany the tours you have to be at the start point 15 minutes before the tour begins so that you are sure that the tour does not leave without you. You will be informed about the time, the bus number and the meeting point by the team manager or the tour guide. This will give you enough time to check your equipment again, present yourself to the guests and explain what you will be doing on the tour.

There are approximately 20 different tours arranged in every port. Selected tours will be accompanied by you and your colleagues.

It is important that you let the passengers board the bus first. Firstly, it is polite and secondly it offers you the chance to film the guests before the tour. During the stops equipped with your camera and tripod, your tasks are: Firstly, you need scenes of the port, the highlights of the tour and the landscape. It is also important that you get some shots of the passengers enjoying the tour, the film has a more relaxed and personal feel with people shots between the landscapes.

Don´t forget, your job is to document the voyage. A logical story line should hold the scenes together like a thread. On tour, for example, you should show that the passengers get onto the bus, the bus travels to a point of interest, the passengers leave the bus and view / photograph the point of interest, they return to the bus etc.. You are the conceptual creator, camera man, director and cutter – all in one person.

The tours are usually about 5 hours long returning to the ship by about 1 pm. Some tours take all day and return to the ship late in the afternoon. When you get back to the ship you will have time to have a shower and a meal.

Your next task is to review the video you have taken and cut a sequence for your film so that you can present the days highlights as quickly as possible in the on-board TV channel. Even though it is important to work fast you have to be sure that your product is professional and up to standard. Black frames, uneven sound mixing or rough cutting are all things that can easily be avoided and have no place in a professional film.

Apart from your other work in preparing the film you will also be responsible for writing an information text for the voice-over of the film. One of our team will record the text for you to add to the film. The text should be informative and interesting about the ports, the tours and the events on board and cut to fit in with the film scenes. Information is available in the brochures, from the tour office or in the internet.

The video operator will also support the team and help in the photo shop. You should always be open and friendly to the passengers and ready to help them and answer their questions.