Having any luck with Mandy or Craigslist?

Michael B. McGee

Michael B. McGee

Well-known member
so, i've been getting email alerts from Indeed.com informing me when DP/Cam Op jobs become available. most are from Mandy and Craigslist. my question is: has anyone had success with these sites? i mean has a project from either of these two websites, offering at best copy/meal/credit, panned out to anything? i've yet to get hired onto one of these projects, maybe a blessing in disguise, and the more i think about it the more i think i'm wasting my time looking for gigs on these two sites. It seems like ProductionHub and Media Match are pretty legitimate websites for finding bona-fide jobs. i'm sure at least the people here in Los Angeles don't want to share what websites they've had success with. so, basically i'm just wondering if anyone has had much luck working on Mandy and/or Craigslist projects. Did any of the projects win any notoriety and did it lead to paying jobs with decent rates?

-Mike
 
In my opinion if you are looking on sites like that (which is not a bad thing) then all it says is you need to network more and obtain more for a reel. These websites can be a starting point.
 
I have casted multiple times off of craigslist and it ended up great, I have also found jobs for some companies off of craigslist which have been fine, not life changing but again, it adds stuff to my reel, adds stuff to my website, and helps me network with more people
 
I also found a job off mandy (not paying) and went to two production meetings but then decided the main person (who I think was directing) was crazy and very unrealistic, and bowed out. I didn't even really have an assigned job though so I didn't feel bad.
 
I have found a several ok gigs off of both, Mandy tending to be more professional... for lack of better terms. With CraigsList, I had to wade through a lot of garbage, but still, work is work. Not great, but you just filter out the "Great opportunity to be a slave to my bullshit vision and get a copy and credit for weeks of useless toiling" posts. And believe me, there are more of those than there are fish in the sea. Networking is a good way to expand, but sometime you need to take the Bull by the horns, and be a salesman. By this, I mean you need to make the job. Sell the idea to people, they need you to shoot a project for them! This works pretty well with good bands. Before I left Florida, I was working with a good working band to take their music and build a story around it. I had a pretty good Cinderella musical going, until internal friction hit them.
 
I have been hired multiple times off of Craigslist. That's how I got a recent job working as a shooter with for an established wedding video company, among other gigs. That's also how I got my first paid PA job, which has led to others with the same company. That's rare, though, I just got lucky that the person with hiring power didn't really know what she was doing.
 
Capt Quirk said:
... I had to wade through a lot of garbage, but still, work is work. Not great, but you just filter out the "Great opportunity to be a slave to my bullshit vision and get a copy and credit for weeks of useless toiling" posts. .
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yeah, i've seen a lot of posts mentioning the opportunity to work with a "great visionary". i really do hope that these posts are from kids that don't know any better. there is a lot of b*ll$h#t in their posts and not enough important, professional info.
.....well, if straight male porn stars have to start out doing guy on guy then i guess we've got it made only having to deal with self- grandiose visionaries.

...what are the odds of winning the Mega-Lotto again?????
 
I got a three year staff job at a cable network from Craigslist several years ago. And I'm working on a well paying cable reality show right now I got off Craigslit. I wouldn't rely on it but it's worth checking,
 
I agree with Battuta. You have to sort things out well, but there is gold in all the sand there. And sometimes, you contact some decent people, who aren't trying to screw people over. The person that caused me to start Indie Arms was due to a film posting on Craigslist (I was a Cam-Op w/my HVX on his film and got asked to fill in for the "missing" armorer), and now he is a partner in my company, and a really good friend.

Heck, just this morning, I received an email, stating they had filled a position I applied for, but was very apologetic and had high praise for my resume and experience. Most people don't do that. Didn't get the job, but that "personal" touch gives you hope and takes some of the sting out.
 
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I scan craigslist from time to time but over the last few years my experience has been with complete and total nutbags who have delusional ideas about filmmaking and life too probably. Crazies all over. Furthermore I don't understand how so many people can post stuff like 'looking for DP' 'looking for sound guy, contact us now, no budget'. Wow, way to sell your project...

As others have said though there are probably some good legit postings...and I'm sure there some good oppertunities for those who bring a good spade and a helmet.
 
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thetvirus513 said:
In my opinion if you are looking on sites like that (which is not a bad thing) then all it says is you need to network more and obtain more for a reel. These websites can be a starting point.
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I know a guy who does gaff work for a living, in his 40s, has dozens upon dozens of feature films and TV series under his belt, and he still uses Mandy frequently. That's how I met him, was a project he found there.
 
I was recently offered a PA gig from CL. The director/producer seemed like a good guy, but I couldn't reasonably take time off of my day job to work an unpaid gig. My only wish is that I would have been told up front that there was no pay. Instead I got, "We just finished reworking the budget. We want to offer you the job, but unfortunately we can't pay." Eh, if I had more free time, I would have done it.
 
djbobbyrhodes said:
I was recently offered a PA gig from CL. The director/producer seemed like a good guy, but I couldn't reasonably take time off of my day job to work an unpaid gig. My only wish is that I would have been told up front that there was no pay. Instead I got, "We just finished reworking the budget. We want to offer you the job, but unfortunately we can't pay." Eh, if I had more free time, I would have done it.
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They always wait until last to talk about how they can't pay you. I wouldn't work for free anymore, even if it were interesting. It shows a lack of respect for the people working for you. Unless it were a project I really believed in, or one done by a person I really trusted... neither of which will you find on CL.
 
pulp said:
They always wait until last to talk about how they can't pay you. I wouldn't work for free anymore, even if it were interesting. It shows a lack of respect for the people working for you. Unless it were a project I really believed in, or one done by a person I really trusted... neither of which will you find on CL.
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More work for me, LOL. Gotta put the financial thing up front. If the listing says no pay, believe it or not, I have had several posters use that as a screener. It was actually paid, but they wanted to sort people out. Weird way to do it, but, its their way to do it.

And just because it's on CL, does not mean it can't be gold.
 
I've gotten a handful of paying gigs from each, full or close to full rate (less so with CL).

The ratio on CL is pretty low, though. Gotta wade through lots of garbage, and make many, many replies.

A friend of mine just got a 15 week Avid edit gig from CL.
 
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