Today I was asked to work for free...

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dmitrizigany

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I applied for a job as camera man for a music video and included the link to my vimeo page. Here's the reply I got:

"Hello Dxxxx,

I've forgot to mention that I can't pay any money because it's a No-Budget-production. If you are still interested I would like to meet you. Also I want to say that the story has to do a lot with God. Your projects seem to be more dark. I hope this is no problem for you.

Look forward to hear from you!
Mxxxx"

I answered with this:

"Dear Mxxxx,

My normal rate for this kind of work is a low €150 per day. I’m however no stranger to work for free for close friends or on projects that are of particular interest to me. But as God is involved, I would be willing to do the work for free if you agree to donate €300 to a non-religious, non-profit organization. I recommend National Geographic. But am open to other choices if they meet aforementioned criteria.

Here’s some quick links:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/about/
https://donate.nationalgeographic.org/Page.aspx?pid=184

Best regards,
Dxxxx"
 
I wonder what else they forgot to mention. I can see how minor details like no pay might slip by. But there might be some big details they forgot as well.
 
To me there's only two kinds of work. Either I get paid or I put my time and knowledge into projects I feel can bring me other things of value without money involved. If someone asked me to just work for free I would turn it down. I have no problem helping a friend if I find it rewarding but someone I don't know would have to hire me for money.
 
That's the way I feel too. If it's an interesting, fun project that I would enjoy doing and would be good for my portfolio, then I have no problem doing it for free. Or helping a friend. With friends you tend to get favours of som kind back eventually.
 
the only way now I do stuff for cheap or free is if the person who is approaching me is bringing so much to the table that it would either be a super fun shoot or a really great, very hard to come by piece for my portfolio. And even then, I think it over and try to negotiate some level of pay or compensation. I usually end up doing one project a year pro bono and pick it carefully, but so far they have been great for getting me future jobs and higher paid work.

Problem is, most of the the time that people want free work they are also crappy projects due to their lack of budget. So it's a rare thing, but there are exceptions.
 
Pretty much the same thing everyone else says. I have a friend whose last few projects ive dp'd, but other than that i havent really done any freebies in more than 10 years (when i was getting started). Im all for doin projects for free if they seem cool (in theory, in reality i have my own stuff to work on when im not working for pay), but one reason i havent done much is becausebif you dont know the people involved really well, its so hard to tell what projects are going to be a waste of time/garbage until youre already mired in them. Even if you took the time to vet a script and knew that other pro crew were involved, theres every chance that it could awry during production, not get finished in post, etc. Hell, ive had quite a few PAID things that never saw the light of day!
 
filmguy123 said:
Problem is, most of the the time that people want free work they are also crappy projects due to their lack of budget. So it's a rare thing, but there are exceptions.
Click to expand...

This is SO true!

I'm a self-producer. I raise the money how ever I can, kickstarter, indie gogo, fund raisers, even my own cash. I don't expect people to work for free. Maybe I'll barter but that doesn't always work out satisfactorily either. I know what it means to stretch a budget and I'm in for all sorts of projects with very different levels of budget but there is no such thing as no budget. Someone is paying for food and transportation.

My favorite was one I was returning a favor for. I get an email addressed to me and the director. One of the actors was thanking "us" for the check he didn't expect. Look, I'm an actor too, so I want all actors to get paid on all projects but I'm not going to schlep my stuff, work with their friends as crew, and myself for free if anyone is getting paid.

The freebees are pretty much done now. Even if I were to do a project for a friend they still have to cover expenses so it's never no budget for me. I may give an actor a great rate on a reel shoot but it's going to be something.
 
I've done a lot of work for free.
After hundreds of thousands of dollars of free work I now look at this harder. There is a difference between a poor person with a good cause and a rich person who seeks to take advantage.

Don't you guys enjoy all the offers to work for free?..... but if the tables were turned the other party takes DEEP OFFENSE to any such thought.
I also get asked too frequently to do 5 and 6 figure jobs for 3 and 4 figure pay.
:laugh:
 
Regarding my figures, this is Berlin so low fares in general, but I just made something up to show him it would cost him twice because of the religious content, which to me is worse that the request to work for free ;)
 
As soon as someone brings up religion in a business discussion, run! It always means they aren't going to pay you if they are buying from you, or the are going to charge you double if they are selling to you.
 
To bad he didn't buy a vial of PETER POPPOF's miracle water, he would have been blessed with millions to pay his help:)
 
Gillvane said:
As soon as someone brings up religion in a business discussion, run! It always means they aren't going to pay you if they are buying from you, or the are going to charge you double if they are selling to you.
Click to expand...

Funny, my escape words are "zombie," "rap," "sizzle/teaser," and the moment anybody promises a lot more paying work to come.

I've done plenty of free work for church and other aid organizations, at least in cases where nobody involved in the production has any chance of profiting from it.
 
On reflection, most of the free work I've done has been for non-profit theaters. Promos and such. But just because there is no budget for paying for promos, or in the case of a community theater, no money to pay for actors, there is always a budget for lighting designer, lighting running crew, wardrobe, and where relevant musical director and other posts for some like director.

So non-profit doesn't mean no budget. They pay rent, they have donors, they have a budget. You're just not in it. It doesn't mean that it's not a good idea to help them but working for free is a gift to them, an in kind contribution. I have tried. It's tough to get an in kind contribution as a tax deduction but that might mitigate costs, right? Anyone ever successful with that?
 
I work on projects now and then for no charge. They are either related to my political beliefs or in support of a cause that is for the greater good. I am not alone and many many in our community regardless of country do this. We have often sponsored the efforts of fellow DVXUsers in this goal. And though we may not charge for our work, we are certainly not working for nothing....
That being said, no one should be asked to work for nothing. Even work study should be rewarded with something,as well as considerable and considerate time with an individual helping them assess and gain from the experience.
The wonderful thing about this era of our industry is also the most difficult: it is now accessible to everyone. What irks me most is something I hear from my younger friends often. Rarely do these job or productions ever mention upfront that they have no funds. Often they require a reel and rarely provide a sample of the artists previous work.
I think that if someone wants you to make a music video, they should go find so e money for you. I don't care if you have an Alexa or a 7d, you have invested in yourself and your craft and should be paid something for your work. There is way too much pro bono work being done and way too many bad examples of crap work on YouTube and Vimeo etc. We may have a new Visual Literacy in our time and I applauded that and perhaps reminding people that what we do is a business,craft,and art will help.
 
Today Mxxxx got back to me:


"Two things more we need: a monitor for the camera for me as the director and when we film outside we need enough rechargeable batteries that last around 8 hours."


That's all he wrote. Should I take it as he agreed to my terms? ;)
 
If that's all he wrote, then he is dodging your terms...hoping you'll just dive in and forget about any follow up on them. Walk away. Nothing smells right about this gig, but I get the sense you already knew that (winky face icon). Often times, our first impression is the correct one.

Free work is for friends and personal projects only I say. Strangers who ask for it, and without being upfront at that, are like street beggars with a script. Get close enough and they stink like wet ashtray and malt liquor.

Cheers,
Craig
 
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