They just see the glamour and the $$$, and don’t know about the ridiculous hours and working conditions (when you’re actually working).
When I did film school, our first lecture was 9 hours long. We watched a bunch of experimental films. The second lecture was 7 hours long, watching more (but completely different) experimental films. We started with 300 students, and by the third week we were down to half that. Only a handful of us ever worked professionally and I only know two that are still working (I left a few years ago). It’s a brutal industry.
Hello fellow film industry abandoner! I never went to film school, but I did briefly join the editors union in LA prior to the industry imploding shortly after lockdowns in LA. I switched to contract commercial work and, while it’s been far more soul-sucking, at least it pays the bills. I no longer live in an industry city, so I’ve been trying to find my footing in a career that doesn’t treat (and pay) a former union editor like a youtube editor (no hate on youtube editors, that work seems extremely tedious and they deserve to be paid more). But maybe I’ll just break down and become an electrician if my client work ever slows down.
I worked in the industry for 30 years. Longer if you include the acting stuff I did as a kid. I’m too old for all the shit, especially now with AI threatening every part of the industry, but who knows I might be dragged back in. It’s happened before, but I’m happy with what I’m doing now.
They just see the glamour and the $$$, and don’t know about the ridiculous hours and working conditions (when you’re actually working).
When I did film school, our first lecture was 9 hours long. We watched a bunch of experimental films. The second lecture was 7 hours long, watching more (but completely different) experimental films. We started with 300 students, and by the third week we were down to half that. Only a handful of us ever worked professionally and I only know two that are still working (I left a few years ago). It’s a brutal industry.
Hello fellow film industry abandoner! I never went to film school, but I did briefly join the editors union in LA prior to the industry imploding shortly after lockdowns in LA. I switched to contract commercial work and, while it’s been far more soul-sucking, at least it pays the bills. I no longer live in an industry city, so I’ve been trying to find my footing in a career that doesn’t treat (and pay) a former union editor like a youtube editor (no hate on youtube editors, that work seems extremely tedious and they deserve to be paid more). But maybe I’ll just break down and become an electrician if my client work ever slows down.
I worked in the industry for 30 years. Longer if you include the acting stuff I did as a kid. I’m too old for all the shit, especially now with AI threatening every part of the industry, but who knows I might be dragged back in. It’s happened before, but I’m happy with what I’m doing now.