AI exposure: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
Operate television, video, or film camera to record images or scenes for television, video, or film productions.
Reading this score
computedAt 29.6% of weighted task load, Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film sits at the 52th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 56.2% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 21 tasks it averages 1.57 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Write new scripts for broadcasts, at 86.7%. The least is Set up cameras, optical printers, and related equipment to produce photographs and special..., at 0.0%. A gap of 86.7% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 38.5% across the group's 40 roles, with 28 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 21 tasks, 11 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 10 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.90 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.57 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.90 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.43 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.50 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.05 | 0-3 |
Task by task
21 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write new scripts for broadcasts. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 3.48 | exposed |
| Stay current with new technologies in the field by reading trade magazines. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 2.72 | exposed |
| Design graphics for studio productions. | 65.0% | 10.0% | 25.0% | 3.42 | exposed |
| Edit video for broadcast productions, including non-linear editing. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.72 | exposed |
| Compose and frame each shot, applying the technical aspects of light, lenses, film, filters, and camera settings to achieve the effects sought by directors. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.79 | exposed |
| Read charts and compute ratios to determine variables such as lighting, shutter angles, filter factors, and camera distances. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.91 | exposed |
| View films to resolve problems of exposure control, subject and camera movement, changes in subject distance, and related variables. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.06 | exposed |
| 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. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.45 | exposed |
| Set up and perform live shots for broadcast. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.16 | exposed |
| Read and analyze work orders and specifications to determine locations of subject material, work procedures, sequences of operations, and machine setups. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.27 | exposed |
| Set up and operate electric news gathering (ENG) microwave vehicles to gather and edit raw footage on location to send to television affiliates for broadcast. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.59 | exposed |
| Assemble studio sets and select and arrange cameras, film stock, audio, or lighting equipment to be used during filming. | 15.8% | 9.2% | 75.0% | 4.31 | untouched |
| Operate television or motion picture cameras to record scenes for television broadcasts, advertising, or motion pictures. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.73 | untouched |
| Operate zoom lenses, changing images according to specifications and rehearsal instructions. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.39 | untouched |
| Use cameras in any of several different camera mounts, such as stationary, track-mounted, or crane-mounted. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.14 | untouched |
| Test, clean, maintain, and repair broadcast equipment, including testing microphones, to ensure proper working condition. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.06 | untouched |
| Observe sets or locations for potential problems and to determine filming and lighting requirements. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.33 | untouched |
| Instruct camera operators regarding camera setups, angles, distances, movement, and variables and cues for starting and stopping filming. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.59 | untouched |
| Direct studio productions. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.02 | untouched |
| Adjust positions and controls of cameras, printers, and related equipment to change focus, exposure, and lighting. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.47 | untouched |
| Set up cameras, optical printers, and related equipment to produce photographs and special effects. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.98 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.