Career profile Videographer

Table of Contents

• What does a Videographer do?
• What is a typical salary for a Videographer?
• What personality traits are common among Videographers?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Videographers need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Videographer do?

Videographers operate television, video, or film camera to record images or scenes for television, video, or film productions.

What kind of tasks does a Videographer perform regularly?

Videographers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Compose and frame each shot, applying the technical aspects of light, lenses, film, filters, and camera settings to achieve the effects sought by directors.
• Operate television or motion picture cameras to record scenes for television broadcasts, advertising, or motion pictures.
• Adjust positions and controls of cameras, printers, and related equipment to change focus, exposure, and lighting.
• Confer with directors, sound and lighting technicians, electricians, and other crew members to discuss assignments and determine filming sequences, desired effects, camera movements, and lighting requirements.
• Operate zoom lenses, changing images according to specifications and rehearsal instructions.
• Observe sets or locations for potential problems and to determine filming and lighting requirements.
• Use cameras in any of several different camera mounts, such as stationary, track-mounted, or crane-mounted.
• Set up and perform live shots for broadcast.
• Test, clean, maintain, and repair broadcast equipment, including testing microphones, to ensure proper working condition.

The above responsibilities are specific to Videographers. More generally, Videographers are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Videographer salary?

What personality traits are common among Videographers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Videographer are usually higher in their Realistic and Artistic interests.

Videographers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Videographers typically have very strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Videographer tend to value Support, Relationships, and Independence.

Most importantly, Videographers moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Videographers moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Videographers moderately value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Videographers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Videographers, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Videographers need?

Videographers often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Videographers usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Videographers

• 1.3% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 8.4% completed high school or secondary school
• 18.0% completed some college coursework
• 8.1% earned a Associate's degree
• 54.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 9.4% earned a Master's degree
• 0.8% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Videographers

Important Abilities needed by Videographers

Videographers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Videographers need abilities such as visualization, near vision, and far vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Videographers, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Videographers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Videographers frequently use skills like active listening, reading comprehension, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Videographers, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.