Doing a late jump on the should-I-work-for-free-question wagon, I was this insteresting post over at Reddit, which shows what seeking fro free work may seem from the other side. I hope this can spark an interesting debate.
It shows a somewhat cynical ad posted (just look at the email) over at the craigslist San Francisco Creative Services section. The crew posting the ad are super talented and seeking a job offer. Specifically a non paying one (click image for bigger view):
Professional film crew with pro gear looking to work for free (Bay rea) We are a pro team of l0. We all have masters degrees and many have Emmy and academy nominations. We have a sound stage, arri Alexa, over 100 zeis lenses, and over $250,000 work of production gear.
Among the reasons they count for motivations are:
- To add to and diversify our reels
- free pizza
- to build relationships
- the possibility of growing a relationship
The tongue in cheek ad says that:
… [they] believe these reasons are far more important than paying our bills or feeding our children. Frankly, we think its more important to help you with your zero budget project than it is to have a value put on our work. We love seeing ” N 0 pay” jobs here because really it’s about art, not money right? If our award winning team can help you with your zero budget masterpiece, please let us know
While it is not rare for creatives to work for free (I have both worked and hired for no payment on interesting projects), sometimes there is a mismatch between the level of work anticipated and the zero payment offered.
For me it works if everybody gets real value for the day. I’ll usually ask for folks less experienced people from me when seeking cheap help and assist where I can learn. What works for you?
[via Nickyjtjr]
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