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Brian Rose

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Almost one year ago, I got fired from my job at a production company. I had little savings, having just finished college, hardly any gear of my own, and not enough experience (I believed) to compete with all the other freelancers working in my city. I was in pretty bad shape. Never self-destructive, but there were a few nights in bed when I prayed that I wouldn't wake up the next morning.

 

I wrote about my fears and anxieties on this board, and the replies were a real lifeline. It helped to see how many people who I respected and admired for their skills were once like me, and survived.

 

I've managed to do the same. It's been hard. For every good gig, there are five that are bad, or worse, boring. When camera work is hard to come by, I make extra transferring people's old tapes to DVD. Tedious as hell, and I hate doing it, but it's money.

 

Do I wish things were better? Sure. Can't help looking at friends who are traveling, buying houses, enjoying life, and alternately hating them for their success, or myself for not doing better.

 

But it's all got my resolve redoubled. Next year I WILL shoot my next documentary, even if I have to go into debt to do it. Because I refuse to do the work I've been doing longer than I have to. Life's too short, and I'm determined to make just one film that will matter.

 

So that's where I'm at. Now, I'd like to flip it around. How are all of YOU doing this past, challenging year?

 

And if I haven't said it enough before, thanks to everyone on this wonderful, lifesaving forum!

 

BR

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My sons wonder why I forbid them to follow me into the film business. Luckily neither shows any interest at this stage.

 

Too late for me now, I'm stuck. I really wanted to be an oceanographer too bad you need math and science for that :(

 

2010 was a slow year, and yet I may be on the verge of my biggest break though to date. Of course I will say nothing until the ink is dry on the contracts.

 

R,

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Before the last six months, things were utterly dismal, even for the UK. Last five or six months have looked up considerably.

 

We all end up taking the poop end stuff more often than we'd like, but personally I consider it a success every day I don't have to get the 5.12am train to an office job in the city with a lot of the people I went to school with.

 

P

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Before the last six months, things were utterly dismal,

 

I second that, but lately I’ve landed some really cool jobs directing “pitch spec commercials” for Leo Burnett. Basically they shoot a low budget, high concept, commercial and pitch it to a potential client. They pay well and I get good commercials for my director’s reel. So, I’m changing my “occupation” to director…

 

Also, I finally finished my three year in the making, no-budget feature, “Fireproof Gloves” and just started sending it to festivals. I’ll post a trailer here soon.

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and just started sending it to festivals. I’ll post a trailer here soon.

 

I hope it goes well and they don't rip you off buddy.

 

R,

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Work-wise, this was a decent year... I did the "Ride-Along" FOX pilot in the spring, that Texas golfing indie movie with Robert Duvall in the summer, and then went back to Season Three of "United States of Tara". Only hitch was that I had to arrange to replace myself on the show after four episodes/weeks because of a commitment I made to shoot the next Polish Brothers movie this fall... which then got pushed. So this week I left the TV series for basically nothing, losing 8 more weeks of paid work. My own decision really, they had to interview and book a replacement DP six weeks ago and the movie officially got pushed only two weeks ago. But now I've proven to the TV series that I am replaceable...

 

But financially, this year was on par with last year so I can't complain too much.

 

I don't know, however, if I'm any closer to my long-term goal of shooting bigger and more significant features, I seem to be in a TV-Indie Feature zone, career-wise.

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This year is worse than last for me, and last year was bad. Amazingly, I have managed to scrape by without having to get a regular 9-5 job yet. Things do not look promising this winter, which is always the slowest time for me. So who knows . . .

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We all end up taking the poop end stuff more often than we'd like, but personally I consider it a success every day I don't have to get the 5.12am train to an office job in the city with a lot of the people I went to school with.

 

P

 

Absolutely second that sentiment!

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So this week I left the TV series for basically nothing, losing 8 more weeks of paid work. My own decision really, they had to interview and book a replacement DP six weeks ago and the movie officially got pushed only two weeks ago. But now I've proven to the TV series that I am replaceable...

 

 

You could've been a jerk and tried to weasel your way back into shooting those eight weeks. . .

 

 

 

Your mileage may vary, but I've always heard that it is GOOD to be in demand. It proves to production that you have a lot of other work coming in, and they were lucky to have you when they did.

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I just dropped my (very well paid) job at a TV production company. Moneywise this may have been the worst decision in my 15 year media-career but i just couldn't stand it anymore. The documentaries the company produces are just other's formats beaten to death: The longer ones basically BBC-ripoffs with stereotype protagonists and most of all bad storytelling. My job was mostly the production of CGI which also were mostly ripoffs from animations that already existed but were too expensive to license.

Over the last year i wanted to make a step up in my career and wanted to DP or direct for television. That didn't work as my aspiration is too high and my ideas to weird for the producers surrounding me. I totally believe in the greatness of classic auteur cinema but since television is probably the least innovative media and the worst media platform today i just wanted to drop out. TV is gonna die anyway. Let's see what the future brings. Good luck to every single one on this site.

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2010 has been an interesting year for me. I started the year with a full time job designing and animating for a pretty big post production company in the Phoenix area. After a while I was feeling something missing and realized that I needed to get myself back on the production side of things. After leaving my job, I quickly realized that work was pretty hard to come by and your confidence in your skills quickly disappears when you don't practice often... Not to mention how hard it was when all of my old buddies from the production side moved to LA.

 

Now I'm kind of finding myself in a limbo where I want to work more than anything in the world, but can't find a team of people to work with.

I've had to make due by picking up animation gigs just to pay the bills, but I can't stop day dreaming about getting on set... I guess all there is to do is keep learning and hope I meet the right people to do something cool... Only time will tell I suppose

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Took a 9-5. Hate myself for it; but still shooting on the side, when I can. Energies are low these days, but I'm surviving and saving till things turn 'round, and I eventually move out to the west cost. So it goes.

 

Ouch. i'm thinking about bartending. What do you do when shoots come up? This year has actually been my best so far, lots more jobs. But they are still not as frequent as I'd like them to be. Maybe 1-2 a month. I am really contemplating moving into a bigger market, Chicago or LA. Was just 2nd/loading on a spot shot on film and it definitely gave me the film bug again. My state basically has no film incentives so there are few to no mutli-million dollar features being shot here and one's in nearby states usually require the entire crew to be a resident of that state.

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Almost one year ago, I got fired from my job at a production company. I had little savings, having just finished college, hardly any gear of my own, and not enough experience (I believed) to compete with all the other freelancers working in my city. I was in pretty bad shape. Never self-destructive, but there were a few nights in bed when I prayed that I wouldn't wake up the next morning.

 

I wrote about my fears and anxieties on this board, and the replies were a real lifeline. It helped to see how many people who I respected and admired for their skills were once like me, and survived.

 

I've managed to do the same. It's been hard. For every good gig, there are five that are bad, or worse, boring. When camera work is hard to come by, I make extra transferring people's old tapes to DVD. Tedious as hell, and I hate doing it, but it's money.

 

Do I wish things were better? Sure. Can't help looking at friends who are traveling, buying houses, enjoying life, and alternately hating them for their success, or myself for not doing better.

 

But it's all got my resolve redoubled. Next year I WILL shoot my next documentary, even if I have to go into debt to do it. Because I refuse to do the work I've been doing longer than I have to. Life's too short, and I'm determined to make just one film that will matter.

 

So that's where I'm at. Now, I'd like to flip it around. How are all of YOU doing this past, challenging year?

 

And if I haven't said it enough before, thanks to everyone on this wonderful, lifesaving forum!

 

BR

I had two regular jobs in 2008. One paid well, but I didn't like it, the other I liked, didn't pay well, but promised to expand. The expansion never happened, and I was fired for reporting my supervisor who was stealing from the till; I tried to get my other job back which was actually promised to me but then denied, found another job, but was drained of my resources after I hooked up with a director who was on a national news program a couple of times. He made lots of hints at a salary position, but then gave me impossible tasks to achieve, hence I didn't get hired, and because of this I'm on the brink of losing my house. (ever try to ship cannisters of film locked up in his bedroom/office without a key?)

 

I've been through a ton of other stuff which the proprietors on this board know about, but are probably a bit too intimidated to respond to. Needless to say my reputation is permanently ruined wherever I go. I have no money, my bills are past due, and everywhere I go I simply have no freedom left, and everytime I go on a job interview people are too intimidated by my 6' height coupled with my 230lbs of weight; pretty average by today's standards actually, which means there's something else bothering them.

 

All the while I've tried to ignore all that and get a film produced. But, I can't, because I'm not allowed to for various reasons. Just ask the people who run this BBS.

 

And, where the actions were my own, the circumstances presented were created artificially, and done so without due process of law, and done without my consent. Heck, I even saw a lawyer about it.

 

So, remember, no matter how bad you have it, there's always somebody worse off than yourself.

 

Be thankful you're not out on the street babbling to yourself and living in a cardboard box.

 

Then again, maybe death is preferable. I don't know for certain, but I highly doubt it, and prefer to live for the time being.

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