Fun?

Date: 2009-12-15, 9:29AM PST

Why do all the folks who think that crew members should work for free advertise their projects as "fun" or "great crew to work with"?

First off, how is working for free on someone else's commercial project fun?

And since you're advertising for crew members, how in the world do you already know that you're gonna have a "great crew" around you?

You haven't hired em yet genius, they might be the worst group of people assembled since the Manson family or the last Bush adminstration.

I work for a living, I enjoy my work, I have fun at my job, I also get paid for what I do which allows me to have even more fun by being able to pay my bills and support a family. Having a lot of laughs hanging out on a set filled with people who haven't yet realized that working for free devalues themselves isn't my idea of a fun time.

And that whole copy, credit, meals thing, those things are or should be given to people who get paid for their work, not in place of payment.

Boasting about feeding me isn't going to impress me and sending me a copy of what will inevitably end up being a piece of crap personal film doesn't pay my mortgage and besides, you should be doing those things on top of paying for your workers.

And on a personal note, not one of the various low budget producer types that begged people to work for free or at a ridiculously low day rate has EVER sent me a copy of the final project. And as for "credit" why in gods name would I want my name associated with the kind of stuff that is being produced by these bottom feeders?

Location: Pasadena
Compensation: Invaluable experience and knowledge

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About having fun... (Pasadena)

Date: 2009-12-15, 2:38PM PST

Well it didn't take too long for the bottom feeders to flag it off, and that's ok, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Thanks for all the good comments via email.

Remember, people who think it's perfectly acceptable to pay nothing for using the talents of others to make a buck are not your friends.

For those of you new to the Hollywood game, remember this too, there won't ever be "next time we'll pay you" jobs, the liars who tell you that will simply move on to the next gullible person who thinks that working for free will help themselves, it doesn't, it hurts you and it hurts others in your field who may have spent thousands of their own dollars and years of their lives learning their craft. When you work for free you're telling the world that you're worthless.

Is that really how you think of yourself? Making films and television shows is a business, not a hobby.

Are there people creating beautiful pieces of art using the process? Absolutely and they're all getting paid to do so.

If you simply have to work for free, find a real charity and donate your time, you'll feel better about yourself and you'll be helping people in actual need, not bottom feeders who call themselves "producers".

Happy Holidays.

Location: Pasadena
Compensation: Invaluable advice

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Seriously Guys (Not the issue)

Date: 2009-12-15, 4:53PM PST

THE ISSUES
=========================
Working for free is not the issue here.

Yeah, we all work for free on occasion. You can make valuable connections, potentially get paid future work, etc.

I help my friends out all the time. The problem is these blood-thirsty, predatory producers stalking CL for fresh meat.

I have been RUTHLESSLY exploited by such people in the past, and for what?

These "shorts" and "dorito's commercials" are useless to us. Most of the shorts, and none of the music videos and commercials even make it onto IMDB so the credit is worthless. Rarely do you ever see a copy. And I know the fundees out there don't mind spending days of their free time for a couple of slices of Little Caesar's but the rest of us are desperately scraping by on the few gigs we can muster every month.

Now let's talk about the "fun" aspect. Though producers will never understand it as they don't come within arm's length of real work, gripping for a 12 hour unpaid day is in no way "fun". Rewarding, yes. But lugging sandbags and c-stands up and down a hill is labor, WORK not play, plain and simple. The same is true for other departments.

And they want to use your gear for free? Do you know how much that stuff is worth? How much people paid for it? If these guys really can't afford $100 a day do you think they'll reimburse you if something gets broken? They won't, I learned that the hard way. And something is GOING to get broken when they're taking every tom dick and inexperienced rich kid willing to work for sheer <3 of "art".

The same goes for makeup artist's kit fees. They live and die by their expensive makeup kits and these cheapskates expect MUA's to not only donate their time but their expensive property toward some dubious passion project?! It's outrageous.

As for these internships, why will a company ever start paying someone when they can get people to work for free? A friend of mine worked for MTV and at the end of her 6 month internship they didn't hire a single one of the 20 interns but instead got a new batch.

The real bottom feeders, the ones you'll see on here occasionally, are even worse. They will abuse you until you quit, and then you've not only wasted your time but haven't got so much as a recommendation out of it.

These are the issues I see at play, and why I flag the living hell out of anything that doesn't pay a decent wage.

Location: Not the issue