The Op

The Op

Dave Chameides, an A Cam/Steadicam op with 35 years experience, 2 Emmys, an SOC Operator of the Year award for his work on Ozark, and a seriously cool collection of international toothpicks, brings you The Op, a podcast about Operating and the Art of Visual Storytelling. Geared towards all storytellers (Operators, DPs, Directors, Writers, and beyond) both young and old, every week the Op will bring you a new interview with some of the best the film industry has to offer. Website and instagram: theop.io

Episodes

January 11, 2026 93 mins

Steadicam operator John "Buzz" Moyer, Actor Michael Kelly and drummer Gavin Harrison discuss what it takes to accomplish really intricate things while not letting them overwhelm you. A truly fascinating discussion about what it takes to not let your CPU get overloaded and to simply be in the moment.

Watch the video recording of this podcast here.

Watch Gavin's original CPU Theory video which was the genesis for this discussion.

To ...

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Join us as we discuss being one of the worlds first steadicam operators, shooting concerts in front of 100s of thousands of people, NCIS New Orleans, Monsters Ball, and so much more.

Jerry's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme M...

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December 21, 2025 77 mins

Join us as Clair and I discuss the need to stay out of the story, the challenges of extreme nature cinematography, Free Solo, Still: A Michael J Fox Movie, and so much more.

Claire's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Cha...

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December 14, 2025 119 mins

Michael and I discuss his operating over the years, working with John Cassavetes and Orson Welles, on Die Hard, Waterworld, and Snakes on A Plane, and so much more.

Mike's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

...

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December 7, 2025 97 mins

Albert and I discuss skipping school to make movies, making movies with Ridley, Braveheart, The Martian, and so much more.

Albert's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

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November 30, 2025 109 mins

James and I discuss the importance of Star Wars, Learning about cinematography in a closed book store, All Quiet on the Western Front, Patrick Melrose, and much much more.

James' IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles...

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November 23, 2025 116 mins

Nick and I discuss dancing on cruise ships, Stranger Things, Fall, Fear Street, and so much more.

Nicks IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

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November 16, 2025 125 mins

Jeffrey and I sit down and talk about how cool the Baltimore film community is, Starting out with John Waters and his crew, The Wire, Serial Mom, and much much more.

Jeffrey's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Pa...

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October 31, 2025 82 mins

Tune in as we talk about starting out cabling for college football, breaking into Steadicam, American Fiction, Snowfall, and so much more.

Xavier’s IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

 

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October 27, 2025 110 mins

Join us as we discuss growing up normal in Hollywood, the magical bond between the operator and the actor, Halloween, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and so much more.

Jamie's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles...

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October 10, 2025 150 mins

Veteran Camera Op Don Devine, discusses water color painting, Hoosiers, Barry, the joy of the silence after they call 'Roll Camera', and what it was like back in the day when you could actually hear the film moving through the camera.

 

For more on Don, his watercolors, and everything else we talked about in this episode, click here.

 

Please check us out on the web and instagram and like us if you enjoyed the episode.

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September 14, 2025 100 mins

Bill and I discuss working with puppets, bullet time, Bound, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and much much more.

Bill's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

 

 

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September 4, 2025 44 mins

David Emmerichs and Chris Haarhoff discuss the beginnings of the PRO Stabilizer, a device they were instrumental in creating, that propelled the art of Steadicam by leaps and bounds.

GPI PRO Systems Website 

David's IMDB

Chris' IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

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August 28, 2025 82 mins

Aaron and I discuss the amazing relationship between the on set dresser and the operator, Killers of the Flower Moon, Eddington, harmonica playing, and so much more.

Aaron's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Pape...

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August 21, 2025 69 mins

Torey and I discuss the job of the loader, the importance of being a people person, Megalopolis, Saturday Night, and so much more.

Torey's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

 

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Liza and I recorded a podcast about 6 months ago about her amazing career as a focus puller and right about that time she was poised to make the jump to operating. She was kind enough to come back on and share what that experience has been like, what the challenges were, and what it looks like to her moving forward. A great insight into the jump to operating from an amazing storyteller with a great career behind her and ahead of he...

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August 14, 2025 88 mins

Vince discusses jumping back and forth between A and B cam jobs, early steadicam work with a cable, Slow Horses, Paddington, and so much more.

Vince's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

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August 7, 2025 99 mins

Director Jonathan Kaplan discusses learning from Elia Kazan, having Martin Scorsese teach him at NYU, hanging up on Roger Corman, The Accused, ER,  and much, much more.

Jonathan's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on our website and on instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charle...

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July 31, 2025 90 mins

Tony and I talk about what a camera operator looks for, working on almost every Star Wars movie, A Bridge Too Far, Superman, and so much more.

Tony's IMDB

To see pictures and things we discussed in todays episode check out the podcast page of The Op.

Please check us out on the web and instagram and like us and review us if you enjoyed the episode.

Theme Music - Tatyana Richaud

Theme Mix - Charles Papert

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A friend pointed out that most people starting out are not going to jump into camera (if that is their goal) and instead will probably start out as PAs on whatever show they can get on. So today we are talking to Lauren Senger (Key PA), Jeff Sweeney (Key PA) and Ana Pellar (First Team PA) about the dos and don'ts, what to do the moment you park your car on day one, and much much more. Take a peak into the world of the PA and find o...

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