No free work! Stop giving away your art

Date: 2010-05-02, 10:14AM PDT

No one will work for free or low rate. In the entertainment business everyone is valuable and essential to the project. Without the knowledge and experience of professionals you will have a HOLE in your project and It will not be finished until you find an expert to fill the gap.

Interns have to work for pay as well or apply it for school credit. The employer has to have contact with the college so that the student can apply his or her internship to the college and receive credit.
No free work! Stop giving away your art
All worker (non-student) must be paid starting with industry rate or higher for their time. Flat rates, unless negotiated in the right way and not adding up to be $4 per hour should be fair.

All artist must know their self worth. If you don't know it, then no one else will. You will become white american slaves. It has already happened and it needs to stop. If the project can't pay, the project will sit until the project can raise some funds. No one is working for charity. Most of the projects out there are not even worth putting on reels because of the production value. It's a waste of time. I know that everyone has to make money some how but if we put an end to this abuse, well then clients will have no other option but to pay a respectable and fair rate for his or her project to be executed.

Take a stand now or this industry will forever be compromised and it will become a non respected career. A JOKE

Location: Ca
Compensation: $$$

---------------------
I will not work for free: I agree
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:08AM PDT

I agree with the blogger. I will take a stand. We don't have to waste our time flagging non-paying jobs, just don't apply. It's time that we all take a stand and ignore SLAVERY GIGS. We all have reels and If we didn't we would get the job anyway. And if I hear, "it coming out of my own pocket" I am going to slap-a-biatch, Because it's not going to come out of my pocket to fund or to give charity to your project so that you can come up and I could care less if the next job you will keep me in mind if I'm a good slave for you.

I'm taking a stand! Now !!!and so should all of the artist! We are artist and not slaves. They need our services just like we need DWP or Edison and we all pay their rate.

Location: LA
Compensation: $$$$

-----------------------
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:18AM PDT

No free work: sweet dude I will stop too. I will take a stand.

Location: Orange county
Compensation: $$$

-----------------------
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:21AM PDT

I'm a 15 year artist and I will not be a slave Pay me for what I am worth

Location: santa monica
Compensation: $$$$$

----------------------
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:25AM PDT

No slavery No free work. Pay for services rendered (world wide)

----------------------
EVEN PAID GIGS RARELY LEAD TO MORE WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date: 2010-05-02, 10:28AM PDT

I've been working in camera for 13 years and rarely does a paying gig lead to more work! Why would someone not paying you have work for you later WITH money!

Stop working for free!

Hollywood is circling the drain.
Don't get shit on!

Location: HOLLYFREE
Compensation: Pay, what is that!

----------------------------
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:35AM PDT

Yes, Let Negotiate: starting at $60 per/hour This will keep the money people on a time clock and a schedule.

Location: every man take a stand
Compensation: $60 per/hour

-----------------------------
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:58AM PDT

"CHEAP WORK IS NEVER GOOD, AND GOOD WORK IS NEVER CHEAP".

EVERY single posting here is correct!! NEVER NEVER NEVER, (let me repeat that) NEVER take work for free or for a discount. I have done that, as I needed the cash, and they will often work you to death! OH... we're short handed, can you help out with that? OK, so then, they should pay you for that job too!! BUT... they don't!!

Your services and time have value. Don't short change yourself for that. Each job has a price. A rate that should be paid. When you accept no money, or less money, it validates that "work for nothing". It makes it so people won't EVER offer money. If one can get away with it, so will EVERYONE!! Do you really think that someone who won't pay now will pay later? NOPE.. doesn't EVER work that way.

PLEASE.. up and coming artists. We all know we are DESPERATE for work. I haven't worked in nearly a year. BUT, I will NEVER take cheap work, or free work. It devalues my position that I have spent years creating. It devalues you too. IF you want to work for crap.. Go stand in front of Home Depot.

Location: Hollyweird
Compensation: Your sanity & your pocket

---------------------------------
No work for free! Stop wasting your time!
Date: 2010-05-02, 10:59AM PDT

I agree with everybody here. Work has to be paid!

I hate those ads that say something along these lines:

- need someone with (insert expensive equipment of choice) that is qualified to use this expensive equipment,
that has many years of experience for.... differed payment and/or low budget and/or free.

Why would I want to put thousands of dollars of my equipment and my qualified time for nothing or a vague promise of something.

STAND TALL AND DON'T APPLY FOR BS JOBS!

I have seen so many people angry on CL about it I might just make a group !

---------------------------------
I work for Free on occasion
Date: 2010-05-02, 11:03AM PDT

and it frequently leads to paying work. For example, several years ago, I cut a pilot for a kid for free that was working with Russell Simmons. The pilot didn't get picked up (which wasn't a surprise to me) but a few months later, someone asked Simmons for a referral for an editor on a similar project, and he sent them my way. That was a feature film project that was picked up by IFP. The producers then hired me to cut three more projects over the course of the next two years.

This industry is all about making connections. And if you do good work, even non-paid work leads to paying gigs. When my business gets slow, I always look around for a good project that has working people attached - student films don't make the cut and neither do most projects by first time directors. And the right project always leads to more work.

The simple fact of the matter is that never in the history of the world have most artistic ventures had sufficient funding to hire an adequate staff. Work in 99 seat theatre in LA, and you're probably working for free. Indies are the same. No one makes money off of either. If you only want to work in Full Equity production with a union paycheck for everyone, then you'll face a lot more competition even if you're as good as it gets and impeccably professional. Demanding a full paycheck out of most indies will never work. If you can't pitch in, don't do it. That simple.

Location: sfv

-----------------------------
Agreed: no free work and why? I turn jobs at $150 a day - too low (Los Angeles)
Date: 2010-05-02, 11:14AM PDT

I'm a DP and worth a hell of a lot more than free, or even $150. By the time you have 12 hours in a shoot and it runs long you are working for $8-$10 per hour as a professional... no way!
The trick is to not apply or accept those chumpy jobs. You are the reason CL is bombarded with this crap because until now you agree to work for free or next to nothing.

Hold out and get some real money or don't work on these shoots! Find some other type of work until the industry recovers! I had to do this at one point in my career and I am now only working decent or well-paid gigs.

And a stipened or deferred pay...what a joke. Have you ever known anyone to get paid on a deferred basis - no because a free crew can't give the film good enough production value to be bought. Never think you will be paid because some new filmmaker is blinded and thinks they will get distribution. Most of the time you can tell half way through the day that the project isn't going anywhere.

Best of luck crew guys and stay strong - let's weed out the bullshiters who aren't paying people what they are worth. Can I get an AMEN!

Location: Los Angeles

-----------------------------
agreed: no more free work for flagging producers
Date: 2010-05-02, 12:19PM PDT

I'm a DP and worth a hell of a lot more than free, or even $150. By the time you have 12 hours in a shoot and it runs long you are working for $8-$10 per hour as a professional... no way!
The trick is to not apply or accept those chumpy jobs. You are the reason CL is bombarded with this crap because until now you agree to work for free or next to nothing.

Hold out and get some real money or don't work on these shoots! Find some other type of work until the industry recovers! I had to do this at one point in my career and I am now only working decent or well-paid gigs.

And a stipened or deferred pay...what a joke. Have you ever known anyone to get paid on a deferred basis - no because a free crew can't give the film good enough production value to be bought. Never think you will be paid because some new filmmaker is blinded and thinks they will get distribution. Most of the time you can tell half way through the day that the project isn't going anywhere.

Best of luck crew guys and stay strong - let's weed out the bullshiters who aren't paying people what they are worth. Can I get an AMEN!

Flaggers - keep hating and I will repost until your broke!

See some comments from others who agree:

Im a sound mixer and absolutely agree. Producers will continue to rob people blind if we keep taking these dead end jobs...
Best,

Justin

I used to get good gigs on CL. Now everyone has run out and bought a 3 chip HD camera and has saturated the market with cheap work making it difficult for real DPs to get good rates. In a sense the invention of the HD camera is to blame for this but what can we do? I actually sold my 16mm system because hardly anyone shoots 16mm anymore.

-Danny