Umemployment

STIPIMM: “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” by Irving Berlin

Last Tuesday, I walked out of the offices of H&R Block for the last time this season, officially unemployed. It is the first time in almost 10 years (since July 1996) that I have been without employment, without income, and without prospect (not counting the transitional phase of this past summer). (The biking documentary is still on, but it’s been delayed for a couple of reasons, which I shan’t go into here.)

I’ve been looking for jobs pretty much every day on the usual sources online. And there have been a variety of things that I’ve gotten nibbles from those hunts. But for my two months of searching (actually, I’ve been searching since October, but who’s counting), I’ve gotten absolutely no nibbles from the kind of jobs I’m looking for: long-term, decent paying, and film/video-related.

What about the Avid software job I interviewed at? Not long-term; it was a two- to three-month contract job. And besides, I didn’t get it – it’s a large company, with lots of internal moving around; i.e., if I wanted to get a job there, it would have to be all the way at the bottom working up.

I interviewed at another place last month that was looking for editors, but they were only paying $10/hour (one of those lame places that hopes that the passion you have for the work will stifle the hunger you have at not being able to pay for food). There are a couple of other things that wanted me for various things, but don’t want to pay me much or anything. I’m past the point of working just for experience or deferrals.

Everything else... no go. No responses for teaching jobs. No calls for interviews for openings at production houses. I haven’t even been called back for grunt A/V kinds of places.

In somewhat of desperation, I’m going to a meeting at a freelance booking agency that books gigs for professional film folk in the Boston area. I’m trying to be hopeful, but I’m realistically pessimistic for two reasons: 1) I’ll probably end up only able to get jobs at the bottom end of the totem pole; and 2) god only knows how many people are in line for booking.

Truth is, Boston is just not a good town for my kind of work. I slowly came to this realization over the past few months, and as much as I try not to get glum about it, it’s very true. Not a lot of films get made in Boston, and it’s not just because it’s cold: a combination of local ordinances, fees and permits (including paying for police service that, gee, comes free in other localities), mixed in with a corrupt web of unions, makes it a very inhospitable place for both film and video production, be it narrative, documentary or whatever. David Mamet is one of the only filmmakers who likes to regularly brave the system and make movies around here (e.g., “Spartan” and “State and Main”), but that’s about it.

Bridget broke my heart the other day when she told me that “you should look for the kind of jobs you want for a month, and then look for the jobs you’d settle for after that.” Truth is, I’ve been looking and applying for both of those since December, and the latter category ain’t looking too hot so far either.

And again, I will make the exhortation to all readers that any comments that include anything about "something will come along" or "if one door closes, another one opens" or anything similar, will either be promptly deleted or openly mocked.