What are your side hustles?

[Policar]

it's good work if you can get it. i only work six months out of the year, which honestly is enough as far as I'm concerned. i never did any real networking. my first freelance gig many years ago was with a company that had a lot of young producers my age. over the years I've remained pals with those guys and gals as they moved on to other companies. and they just bring me in as needed.

Makes sense, thanks. Keeping in touch is still networking, and arguably a more useful version of it. It does seem like a cool gig.

 

[Zak Forsman]

yeah, you're right. I guess I have too strict a definition of networking. i tend to think of it as something done solely on a professional level. but in my case, these are people i've become friends with, often getting together outside of work for birthdays, poker games, lunch, etc.

 

[BrandonT]

Lately? Day-trading...

I'd like to hear more about that. Does it work well for you? I've built up a healthy amount in my checking account lately, and I do not foresee it dropping below 5 digits again at any point (unless I make investments). So I've been considering something like this-- but very cautiously. I know that I need to get my long term investment strategy figured out, and I'm working toward that. But I'm talking about short term income like you're talking about.

Are you talking about adding additonal work from other/new clients in addition to the work you do for your primary clients or are you talking about something like a part-time job(waiter, paper route, etc.) to bring in extra income during the slow period?

I don't do anything except shoot. I'm a freelancer and have been my entire career. My opinion is that if you're going to do this, you have to do this and only this. .....

I am talking about additional professional level sources of income, outside of video and audio production. Most likely freelance; where you set your schedule; and/or passive income. I am NOT talking about a part time hourly job in a restaurant, office, retail, etc. I completely agree that you cannot do this for a living too seriously while also having a part time job. However, I also completely reject that you cannot be 100% dedicated to your video production career while also having other streams of income.

A side note to the main question...tell us about teaching at a university. How is that? What are the students like? What do you require them to do? What does it cover (lighting, editing, sound)? How many nights a week? Sounds very cool.

I was really fortunate with this position. Basically, it is a hybrid/ co-op type of course. Except our first meeting, it's 100% field work. I lead my students to broadcast local sports in a multicam setup. So it covers everything from setting up and breaking down all gear (Tricaster, three cams, audio for two announcers and one field reporter, and wiring to all cams) for every single broadcast. To proper camera operation. Directing the broadcast and crew for the students who I see can handle the position. Announcing for the students who have the talent ambition. Etc. I'm not technically an adjunct, but that's more or less what my position is like. In practice, I'm more like a producer and director to my students.

Most of my students absolutely love the course. I normally have one per semester who already has extensive experience and can take over directing, etc. It's a combination of experience and having that mindset and temperament of a good producer. And I'll also normally have one student who has a hard time wrapping their head around some aspects of it or who might be a bit lazy. But almost never anyone who causes any kind of disruption or drama.

Normally 1 night a week. So approximately 12 broadcasts per semester. It's a public university, so my pay is actually public record. So I'm happy to give more details if anyone wants to message me. But I started out like a normal adjunct at my institution, which is $2,100 per class, per semester. So $4,200 per year. After three years, I politely made my case as to why I could not continue working at that rate in a written request. I was occasionally missing 2 - 4 day freelance jobs that a broadcast would interrupt. And those jobs would have been possibly as much as or more than what I would make for the entire semester. So in my request, I based what my pay should be on what the day rate would be for this type of work (producing and directing a broadcast and crew to these specifications, on an ongoing/ retainer basis). And my supervisor recognized what I was bringing to the communications program and was able and happy to agree to my new pay request. Like I said, my income there is public record. I'm not going to put that on the forum, but if you'd like to hear more specifics, PM me and I'd be happy to be completely transparent.



Anyone else have anything?

 

[cyclone]

my pay is actually public record.

Thanks for being so informative. Sounds like a blast. I was a Teaching Assistant at UCLA in the Film Department for a couple of years and loved it while I was working on my MFA. (Got paid pretty much nothing!)

 

[Imamacuser]

You could always mow lawns, you'ed be stuck in the hot sun, but people need their grass cut at least once a week this time of year.

 

[HorseFilms]

Awesome. I like originality. Would like to hear sometime.

Thankfully, I know someone with professional-level video and audio equipment. I'll get some footage out there soon.

 

[Andrius Simutis]

At the moment, film and video is my side hustle.
It's been my 80hr a week job a lot, but right now I'm hardly doing any of it. I also work in the snowboard/skateboard/surf industry for an overseas distributor, I do post production, consult for a couple companies, and when the weather's nice and I feel like getting outside I even do carpentry jobs. I'm a little stumped when people ask what I do for a living, so lately I just say that I've monetized my hobbies. I think a lot of people would go nuts juggling that many things, but I love it. I don't get bored or burned out doing the same thing every day.

 

[Josh Bass]

Your life sounds amazing. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't want to really do any of the things you do, but the monetizing your hobbies part, yessir.

 

[BrandonT]

You could always mow lawns, you'ed be stuck in the hot sun, but people need their grass cut at least once a week this time of year.

Fortunately I do well enough that I don't even have to consider that. Between the 110F heat index and the constant sinus infections I would have.

At the moment, film and video is my side hustle.
It's been my 80hr a week job a lot, but right now I'm hardly doing any of it. I also work in the snowboard/skateboard/surf industry for an overseas distributor, I do post production, consult for a couple companies, and when the weather's nice and I feel like getting outside I even do carpentry jobs. I'm a little stumped when people ask what I do for a living, so lately I just say that I've monetized my hobbies. I think a lot of people would go nuts juggling that many things, but I love it. I don't get bored or burned out doing the same thing every day.

Monetized your hobbies. I absolutely love that!