Making Ends Meet
Lately the employment status has been a roller coaster ride. Hired, laid off, hired again, hours waned until getting laid off again. For now, I’m freelancing whenever I can. My current project lies in a five-song E.P. for a friend of mine. He’s asked me to mix/master his music, so I dutifully obliged. Hopefully I’ll get around to posting a sample of his work, it really is amazing. Mix up some Dashboard Confessional with Copeland, add a little Damien Rice and you’ll get the picture. I would post a link to his stuff, but he’s just getting started - not much to show for it right now. Later, my friends… later. Should have the E.P. mixed by Christmas, and a full length album by the middle of January. Mastering song 4/5 on the E.P. today should be fun!
Cheers.
Beware of the Craigslist Scammers!
Trolling through Craigslist looking for a job has been nothing short of educational. I have found a couple solid leads, but for the most part, scam city. Instead of keeping these nuggest to myself, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure these slimeballs fail to ensnare anyone who happens by my blog. Remember people, if it sounds fishy, google it! If it’s too good to be true, it probably is, so I say again: GOOGLE IT!
Here’s a diddy I got from “Caleb Gregg” - gregg.caleb8153@gmail.com:
“I saw your resume on cl and i have a job oppertunity for you. Im
looking for REAL people who can bring a great talent and mental
toughness to the workplace.I want you to fill out our application (its simple, just confirm your
phone number) and someone from our main desk will call you to schedule
a interview. The site you can visit to confirm your number is:http://consumerdatallc.com/sms/”
Do NOT fill in and submit your information. They WILL NOT call you back as they promise. They will simply sell your information to 3rd party advertisers in order to spam your mailbox and inbox.
Another popular spam email you will inevitably receive upon placing your resume on Craigslist is the dubious “Mail Dispatcher Wanted” email. Here, the potential hirer will say something like,
“I own a small shipping business and I tend to operate a high cost of operation and I want to cut down my expenses by employing someone in each state of USA.someone who will be getting mails in bulk and open the bulk mail and dispatch them in units to there final destinations in there respective states…”
Blah blah blah, they will toss some numbers at you, say that you might have to pay for some postage sometime. These emails are littered with typos, usually come from the U.K. It has SCAM written all over it. They’re after your information, nothing more. Names of interest: “Deacon Smith John, Deligth Consult UK” Hehe, the poor guy can’t even spell “Delight” properly. His email address is even misspelled! Also, beware of “Louis Milan.” He will want you to contact him via Yahoo IM at terryduck@yahoo.com. Do no such thing!
Much thanks to Scam.com and their forum members. They’re usually first on the list when googling fishy emails. Always go through them first when doing background checks on a company or job offer. And never, EVER send your information to a prospective employer. If they are unwilling to give you a straight answer about the exact nature of their business, they have no interest in giving you a job. They want only your information, and like snakes, will wiggle their way in and out of conversation topics until either 1.) You leave the conversation, or 2.) You fold and give them information. If you choose the latter, be sure it’s fake. ;) The more time these scumbags are following blind leads, the less time they can spend preying on more gullible victims.
On The Hunt
Finding a job in audio is, to put it plainly, tiresome. In this economy, it’s downright dire. If I don’t have some sort of job to walk into a week from today, I’ll be filing for unemployment. No fun at all. Hunting for my next career move is a daunting task involving countless hours spent trolling through Craigslist and a few other places of interest. It’s a pain. Fortunately for you, I’m going to show you just a few less mainstream websites that have been prime hunting grounds for me, and may come to serve you well if you find yourself in the same depressing boat as myself.
Craigslist is surely the most eclectic job hunting forum out there, and while the glitz and glamor may not match up to CarreerBuilder.com or others, its effectiveness and speed is unmatched. I have scored a few odd-jobs from Craigslist in the Film/TV/Radio section - voice overs and such, but nothing full time as of yet. Still, I lie in wait, hoping for opportunity to strike.
Though a bit underpopulated in job offers, Mandy.com has some pretty sweet gigs typically aimed at professionals with experience (or at least the up-and-coming hard workers that have a few small gigs under their belt).
Media-Match provides opportunities for some sweet film jobs mainly aimed at those living in California or New York. Of course, if you live in the Midwest, you’re a long shot from landing a respectable Film/TV gig anyway.
If Games are your pleasure, and employment is your vice, then Gamasutra will be right up your alley. Unfortunately for us typical audio guys, you’re usually going to want to tack on a ton of programming experience with your sound skills. For the uber computer nerd who loves audio, you may have just found your dream job.
Some other sites I feel I should mention, but really don’t care to deliver a synopsis for each one:
Looking for a Sound Designer?
Ah, freelance. It’s a brave new world, and with today’s economy, freelancing is becoming quite the fall back. Since I’m getting laid off from my 9-5 at the end of this month, I need some way to make rent! Freelancing is looking pretty tasty right about now. So if you’re new here and looking for an audio guru, take a gander at the column on the right there and click on to read more about me. You’ll find a link to my reel there - or click here to check it out. Plenty of sound design goodness to taste test.
Let me know what you think, and if you want to get in contact with me, the email’s there too. And if you’re also unemployed and looking for work, best of luck to you. We’re in the same boat.
Chris is an award-winning sound designer in the independent film industry. He strives to capture the attention of people in his line of expertise who have money because he has none! Thanks to the current economy, he is a recently laid-off producer for a nationally syndicated radio program, moonlighting as an artist of audible excellence. Starting immediately, he is searching for his next source of income. If you are looking for a sound designer in any way, whether it be for your film, website, whatever - check out his reel and send him an email now!
Click here to check out some of my resume and view my REEL!
For a full resume and a list of references, please send an email to christopher.steven.wright@gmail.com
Sound Design in Watchmen
Sound Design in Watchmen, I’m sure, proved to be a daunting task. I feel sorry for the Dialogue Editor’s job of having to match Rosarch’s masked performance on set with ADR in post production. This is just a quick post because the boys over at FilmSound Daily did an excellent job summing it all up.
