Manifesto of the Association of Camera Operators
(February 2010)
The Association of Camera Operators is a voluntary organisation, of professional feature film, commercials, and television drama camera operators, specialising in the art of camera operating. The primary aims of the Association are to inclusively celebrate and promote the technical and creative skills of the Camera Operator and also to enrich these skills by being at the forefront of developments in technology and production methods.
Staging of action, choreography of camera moves, composition and framing are all areas of expertise that the Camera Operator brings to the art of filmmaking along with the organisational and communication skills essential when dealing with cast and crew. We are proud of our role and the overriding benefit our skills bring to a production.
Our role and influence within the camera department makes our contribution to debates about new technology and workflow practices essential. We welcome the need to embrace new skills and ways of working and also recognise the need to give them a solid grounding in the creative and technical traditions of our craft and to ensure that they are applied in a beneficial and appropriate way.
The Association will provide a forum for the huge body of expertise that our skills represent and through our Association, with its website, seminars, training workshops and articles, show how the skills of the Camera Operator are central to the artistic and economic success of a production.
The ACO aims to promote a healthy work environment and culture: one where everyone is respected, welcome and included, and one free from discrimination, harassment, and intimidation for any reason.
The ACO requires the highest standards from its members in their general conduct. This includes a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and harassment and equal treatment regardless of an individual’s characteristics including age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, class or regional origin, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy and maternity (Protected Characteristics).
