ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

7 years, 2 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

I've heard it said that film is a competitive industry. The people who usually say it in a derisive way are those who wish to take advantage of film students, or would be students, with rubbish courses and worthless seminars and go-nowhere "opportunities" to "break in." In India, software is a competitive industry. I remember making a joke on LinkedIn (about a vacuum app), and then all these hungry IT grads asked me for jobs, thinking it was a real project and the characters in the joke were real people. Had I known I'd have that reaction, I would have kept my keyboard shut.

Sports are also a competitive industry. We'll get to that later.

We live in a world where people are desperate for work. Schools get free volunteers, for-profit supermarkets and restaurants in my town, where unemployment is officially next to zero, still get free "work taster" volunteers around christmas time, hoping it will lead to full time work or even part time paid work. Why? They think they can't get work otherwise. It's a competitive job market, they think. How do I know this? These people ask for career advice, what to put on their CV... And no, I'm not giving anyone away, it's so common it could make you cry.

There are people off the grid, off the statistics, not always officially "unemployed." Do you think it's wrong for shops to misuse them during the busy Christmas season? I mean, if you're competent enough to be trusted at the tills and with food, then surely, you're worth at least an apprentice wage, right?

But, as to the work-trials in other industries, Mid and North Wales is not alone. You hear politicians complaining about this all over the country.

Using the "film is a competitive industry" excuse to mistreat anyone is hypocritical and just plain wrong. If you're working on projects for your personal benefit, whether it be building a shed or making a short film, or making a blog, understand the rights of professionals to say no.

I recently saw, in the past couple of months, in Aberystwyth, two jobs that paid 35k a year, in the creative industries (camera work and all, you don't need your own equipment). These weren't super-high level jobs either, I didn't get them, but no, you didn't need an award winning career or even an IMDB page to apply. They just recognise filmmaking as skilled work.

What is the hardest job to fill in the UK? Not supermarket cashier. It's a football coach. Division 3 or so, I suppose, from the pay. It pays more than supermarket cashier, but requires more time commitment and confidence than most people are willing to invest in for a career that doesn't seem "professional." So, it goes unfilled for the longest time. But, if you're really nice, you can find a qualified person willing to take a paycut to coach "the beautiful game" for a small team.

And, more people want to play or coach football than make films. More people in Britain would quit their jobs to be a football coach than to be a filmmaker. However, teaching phys ed pays better. Being a personal trainer pays better.

Just like advertising and corporate filmmaking pay better than any of the "competitive" jobs you fail to fill.

There are volunteer football coaches, and volunteer filmmakers, and volunteer everythings. To recruit a volunteer is not easy.

(For me in the past, it has been easier to land a film job than a desk job. Why? Probably because film jobs are temporary. If you hire a lousy extra, you've just wasted one day's wages. If you hire a lousy secretary, they might cause you a year's salary while you go through arbitration. But, yeah, sometimes it can be hard to land any job. Hang in there.)

Attitude is important, whether you're driving a football, a camera, or a business.

Okay, I've said what has to be said. Have a good weekend, and if I don't write here again, a good career and a good life.

Happy Shooting,
Vasco