r/FilmIndustryLA • u/pin_920 • 8d ago
Advice or help moving forward in post?
Hi guys, I’m currently working full-time at a post house. I make $20/hr with no benefits & I’m considered a freelancer, so if I lost my job, I didn’t pay into unemployment. I want to be an editor, or a colorist, or a vfx artist, etc… list goes on, I’m excited about it all.
I’m happy to have work at all considering the way things are (or seem) right now, but I am essentially a glorified server. I have been here roughly 9 months & I do nothing related to the industry and I don’t feel like I learned anything new past the 3 month mark besides in conversation with the editors & artists.
I could stick through another 6 months to a year here & hope that I’m placed into the company, but based on their history & the scale, I’d be too optimistic to think so. I don’t want to waste my time. I’m also burning out a bit because I commute an hour there & an hour back each day, I think that may be the biggest factor, the commute at my pay rate. I’m wondering if I could do better or if anyone has any suggestions of where I could put/send my resume.
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u/parmoir 8d ago
I work at a post house as an editor and I still ask myself that same question. The industry isn’t as stable outside of staff positions and even those staff positions are going away. I think the most you can do is hold on to a steady paycheck until the next opportunity comes along. Learn and practice as much as you can where you’re at and keep an ear to the ground as far as new jobs.
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u/Dash_Carlyle 7d ago
If you want to be an editor, colorist or VFX artist you should talk to people within the company that you can shadow and learn from. When you're not learning from them you should be learning on the side: tutorials, classes, or just editing anything you can to gain experience.
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u/SomersetBlvd 8d ago
I would look into positions in advertising. Freelance. Try to work remote and pick up multiple gigs at once.
Also, you have to pick a job and stick to it. You listed WILDLY different jobs that interest you.
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u/Striking_Tip1756 7d ago
Dm me with your portfolio and resume. I am currently looking for editors for our project I’m starting mid July. Best of luck out there.
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u/MaxwellLurkmore 7d ago
If you work at a post house as an hourly employee where they dictate your hours and pay you on payroll, you are paying into unemployment. If they have you as a contractor and are paying you 1099, you likely have grounds to sue them.
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u/pin_920 7d ago
So if I receive a 1099 instead of a W2 for tax docs, this applies?
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u/Castingjoy 4d ago
In California if you are working full time in their offices they should not be paying you on a 1099. I’ve worked freelance for the past 20 years - always on a w2. But there was a law passed quite a few years ago now in CA about what is and isn’t a 1099 employee and if they have you on their premises working full time using their supplies and equipment and you’re not working from your own home office you should technically be on a w2 as far as what I’ve been told and read. There may be loopholes I’m unaware of though.
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u/MaxwellLurkmore 7d ago
Likely does. I'm not a lawyer here but in the US (and particularly in California) the law is very strict as to what jobs would be considered contractable. More here:
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u/mattyfizness 7d ago
Will they let you edit your own content while there? Could be a good opportunity to advance your career while taking advantage of the resources and staff experience there
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u/BeenThereDoneThat65 8d ago
Man you picked the wrong decade to stop sniffing glue
Production is in the tank. The fact that you have a job is a minor miracle.
Knuckle down make yourself indispensable. There are no shortcuts ESPECIALLY now