Are production companies hiring or not right now due to the economic problems in the world. I ask because I just finished my demo reel and wanted to send it out, but I'm wondering whether there is a point since jobs are being lost at a huge rate. A friend of mine in the production business said there is no point to send out cold demo reels right now and only to answer want ads for jobs.
Are production companies hiring right now?
- Thread starter cb1
- Start date
Unless it's more of an expense than you can comfortably absorb, send out those reels, cold. Even if no one hires you off your reel right now, reels are generally archived and your stuff might bring you in for consideration some time from now.
Production (in the LA market; don't know where you're at) is seriously depressed but there is still work to be done.
Production (in the LA market; don't know where you're at) is seriously depressed but there is still work to be done.
Scott F
Pug Life
Just making a general statement here regarding reels. They have a tendency to sit around and when you least expect it, you get a phone call. Could be months or years later. When you are waiting for that response it seems like an eternity, but such is life.
So I say, yeah, send 'em out. I'm not sure what level or skillset you have, I'm just speaking in terms of personal experience.
So I say, yeah, send 'em out. I'm not sure what level or skillset you have, I'm just speaking in terms of personal experience.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Do people actually send out physical reels anymore? Almost all of the editors and graphics people I have hired in the past 3-4 years just had on-line reels? I can say at our office, we never archive them unless they are so kick ass amazing that we have to, which is very few of them.
Can anyone else chime in here, do you keep reels when they are sent?
Dan
Can anyone else chime in here, do you keep reels when they are sent?
Dan
grinner
Carbonite Member
No.
Shelf space is good and offices cannot grow. Even the reels I like and hire make it to the trash. The ones with ugly lables go there before watching them.
Hirers don't have time to weed though stacks of reels and thats what they have when they advertise a position. I toss the resumes aside and then read them if I liked the reel. I am far more impressed with a great reel made in premiere than an ok reel cut on a Smoke*.
That lable catches my eye, I give the reel an audition. Thats what it is to me. They have about ten seconds before I grab their resume or toss the disc. I have never watched an entire reel.
ever.
More and more, as you mentioned, there is no need for a stamp. It's far more convenient for artists to post their reels online but man I have to say as a hirer, it's far more convenient for me too. Click. done. No openeing an envelope, no filling up my trash can.
Shelf space is good and offices cannot grow. Even the reels I like and hire make it to the trash. The ones with ugly lables go there before watching them.
Hirers don't have time to weed though stacks of reels and thats what they have when they advertise a position. I toss the resumes aside and then read them if I liked the reel. I am far more impressed with a great reel made in premiere than an ok reel cut on a Smoke*.
That lable catches my eye, I give the reel an audition. Thats what it is to me. They have about ten seconds before I grab their resume or toss the disc. I have never watched an entire reel.
ever.
More and more, as you mentioned, there is no need for a stamp. It's far more convenient for artists to post their reels online but man I have to say as a hirer, it's far more convenient for me too. Click. done. No openeing an envelope, no filling up my trash can.
mjmcneese
Veteran
YES!
In the Central Ohio market there are still loads of corporate and live-TV production things going on...I'm sure it's not much different in other large cities. That's not to say that they're hiring for skills, but more for some freshness to get more sales going.
Good friend of mine just hired a do-it-all type employee. Right now he's working on getting some sales made.
It's definitely NOT a time to sit around and whine about how bad things are. A lot of people are bailing on the industry right now. So, why not make yourself the cream that rises to the top when this is all over?!
Send your demos out!
In the Central Ohio market there are still loads of corporate and live-TV production things going on...I'm sure it's not much different in other large cities. That's not to say that they're hiring for skills, but more for some freshness to get more sales going.
Good friend of mine just hired a do-it-all type employee. Right now he's working on getting some sales made.
It's definitely NOT a time to sit around and whine about how bad things are. A lot of people are bailing on the industry right now. So, why not make yourself the cream that rises to the top when this is all over?!
Send your demos out!
When I was at Digital Domain they kept a library of the reels that I guess they felt were worth keeping. Although I expect they were winnowed every so often in the interest of conserving space.
Don't know how long they stuck with that policy, though.