Haven’t posted here in a while, but would love to hear some responses. How do you regulate your life within this industry? As a young filmmaker I’m noticing habits developing where I drop everything for the films I work on. At the same time every day I grow more and more fearful about placing real stakes in the game outside of one off gigs. Would love to hear other people’s thoughts and experiences on this.
industry How do you regulate your life within the industry?
- Thread starter luckytimesTV
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This is a tough industry for freelancers. You have to take work to survive. On the other hand, if you’re in the US, the industry is in the tank right now and there’s not a lot of work out there.
That said, you have to manage yourself as a small business. That means marketing yourself and booking enough work to pay your bills and to net a profit for the year. Projects like feature films and TV/streaming series require full dedication for weeks or months at a time. It’s tough to strike a balance between work and everything else. Worse, as the industry joke goes, the most sure-fire way to guarantee that work comes calling, is to book a non-refundable vacation.
I know how many days I need to work each month (average) to cover my bases. Anything above that is gravy. I do my best to hit above that line, though it doesn’t always work month by month. Again, that’s an average, so end-of-year totals are what matter as long as the bills are paid monthly.
You can hesitate and try to take only a little work here and there. The risk you take, though, is not booking enough work to get more work. The more you turn down, the less you’re offered. It’s a leap of faith. You just have to be willing to block off the time you need outside of production, but you also need to be willing to cancel plans if that can’t-say-no project comes calling.
That said, you have to manage yourself as a small business. That means marketing yourself and booking enough work to pay your bills and to net a profit for the year. Projects like feature films and TV/streaming series require full dedication for weeks or months at a time. It’s tough to strike a balance between work and everything else. Worse, as the industry joke goes, the most sure-fire way to guarantee that work comes calling, is to book a non-refundable vacation.
I know how many days I need to work each month (average) to cover my bases. Anything above that is gravy. I do my best to hit above that line, though it doesn’t always work month by month. Again, that’s an average, so end-of-year totals are what matter as long as the bills are paid monthly.
You can hesitate and try to take only a little work here and there. The risk you take, though, is not booking enough work to get more work. The more you turn down, the less you’re offered. It’s a leap of faith. You just have to be willing to block off the time you need outside of production, but you also need to be willing to cancel plans if that can’t-say-no project comes calling.