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'Working from Anywhere' in the Film Industry By Christine Durst & Michael Haaren Oct. 25, 2012 Moving pictures, moving people, moving work: Long before the web brought us virtual jobs and gigs, the film industry pioneered “working from anywhere.” In many ways, it still does, now fueled by the web and its ever-evolving handmaidens, smartphones. In Edison’s time, film photographers would travel about, recording a boxing match or a politician’s speech or a farmhand chasing a greased pig at a county fair. The clip might appear in a traveling exhibit or a vaudeville show. This seemed to sow the DNA; most films are still shot on location (“working from anywhere”), whether their budgets are eight figures or three. Beginning in the 1920s, the studios tried to bring factory principles to bear, requiring creative types like writers to clock in and out. This reportedly led William Faulkner to ask a Fox producer if he could work from home. Thinking Faulkner meant Los Angeles, the producer agreed. Faulkner, probably with a smile on his face, called the office a few days later from his home in Oxford, Miss., 1,900 miles away. But Faulkner was onto something. Today, most screenwriters – aspiring and successful both – work from home. For more on the screenwriting sector, including contests, courses and how to sell scripts, see – MovieBytes Directory: www.moviebytes.com/directory.cfm – UCLA Extension Writers’ Program: www2.uclaextension.edu/writers/index.php – Done Deal Pro Forums: http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/ Film Screeners Also Work from Home One of the pillars of the film industry is film festivals, and thousands take place internationally each year. A “festival” may range from a few recent films shown in one theater, to hundreds being shown over the course of weeks across an entire city or region. Many festivals depend on “work-from-anywhere” screeners to do an initial triage of submitted films, which arrive from filmmakers around the world. The films themselves are often submitted digitally through an online service, Withoutabox, at www.withoutabox.com. To learn more about screeners generally, we spoke with Samantha Dols, Senior Director of Operations at the Washington West Film Festival (http://wwfilmfest.com), where co-columnist Michael is a volunteer advisor, in Reston, Va. Dols herself often works in transit, using her laptop and WiFi in cafes and other locations in meetings with festival advisors, volunteers, etc. She pointed out that Washington West has used screeners in such locations as Utah, Los Angeles, New York and the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia areas. As to screeners overall, she said they may be volunteers or paid. On the qualifications to become a screener, she added, “Among the screeners I have met, there seems to be one common quality – the sincere love of and appreciation for film. Many have gone to film school, volunteered with festivals, studied cinema in a historic and cultural context. Whatever their specific background may be, they all have some dynamic relationship with film that has developed and strengthened over time.” Research indicates that screeners are often hired through word-of-mouth, so if you’re interested, contact the film festivals directly. For more on festivals, see www.filmfestivals.com. Jobs and volunteer positions can also be found at http://findfestivaljobs.com. Filmmakers, too, have embraced virtual work. Breven Angaelica Warren, at www.angaelica.com, seems to epitomize the work-from-anywhere trend. She says, “Everything I organize is web-based or cell. I orchestrate from all over; on the road, families' homes, and various friends living rooms while camping in their homes on the go. I have had this fantasy of a retrofitted train car that I could pack everything into and have brought along from place to place.” (With special thanks to Jaclyn O’Grady, freelance festival coordinator, for her generous assistance as we researched this article.) ---- Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is Work at Home Now, a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2012 BY STAFFCENTRIX, DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM |
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