Tag: volunteer

The Atlanta Film Yard Sale and Building a Film Community

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Last Saturday was the Atlanta Film Community Yard Sale, and I’d like to gush about it a bit.

In a group chat, fellow camera department lady Erin Zellers made a slightly joking comment about us all getting together to have a yard sale. I did a similar event with Film Impact Georgia last year which was popular, so I heartily agreed and wanted to take part. Together, Erin, Tina Somphone and I started planning the event we had no idea would grow from a couple of folding tables on someone’s lawn to the event of the year.

The Venue

We started thinking along the lines of a traditional yard sale. Getting a group of film friends to sell their gear in one place. A lot of people seemed interested, and we realized we’d outgrow a front yard really fast. A studio rental was the ideal way to promote film in a place that shoots film while avoiding potential weather delays.

24ATL Studios, an LED Volumetric Wall Studio in Doraville, GA, took us up on our offer. Our challenge was coming up with the money for the rental. That’s where sponsorships came into play.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 24-studios-space-pic.png

Here’s a still from a short film I worked on at the studio.

Sponsors

Our sponsors ran the gamut from traditional film to grip gear to beverage companies.

  • Cinder Lighting and Grip
  • Kodak Film Lab Atlanta
  • Image Engine/Elemental
  • Guerilla Gear
  • Hammerhead Wheels
  • Atlanta Film Co.
  • Local 600
  • Plaza Theatre
  • J.R. Crickets (food truck)
  • Topo Chico
  • Fontis Water

Our sponsors provided us not just with money to rent the studio and provide for our attendees, but also gifted items as prizes and even held free giveaways. Several of them held demos at their booths if they attended, like Hammerhead Wheels giving people the opportunity to test out the wheels or Kodak with their film loading demonstrations. Image Engine and Elemental owner Marque showed the set of wheels that controlled the rig on his impressive camera car. Cinder gave away tons of free expendables to grateful attendees.

Vendors

In addition to our sponsors, we needed vendors to sell their goods! The goal was to have an event specifically catering to the film industry. Only film, photography or related gear would be allowed.

Our vendors were a mix of companies and individuals. We got a good selection of everything from digital cameras, lighting gear, sound equipment, Steadicam accessories, photo equipment and even a wardrobe seller. Next year we’d like to expand that and get some more variety in departments represented.

The Why of it All

The Atlanta Film Community Yard Sale put an emphasis on community.

This event provided a safe place for people to buy and sell their gear while putting them in touch with the companies they’d interact with in Atlanta’s Film Industry. It was also an excellent networking opportunity. So many friends and colleagues were present, but so many new faces were added too. Folks went to tables and learned about different lenses or compared favorite video monitors or went over the finer points of certain lighting equipment, getting to know their fellow filmmaking professionals and learning some things in the process.

What I was happy to see what not just the sponsor’s support, but all the film industry folks who came just to attend the event and talked about how much they enjoyed it and wanted another.

We had to contact a lot of people to get the word out about this event and also to garner the support we needed. All those supply runs and sponsorship pitches and flyer distributions illuminated what should have been obvious in the beginning – Film is a community, and we were here to help support it.

Much like an event being organized, the film industry thrives on those connections and friendships built along the way.

So long for now from the 3 Gworls.

From left, Tina Somphone, Erin Zellers, Bridget LaMonica.

5 Reasons For and Against Volunteering on a Film

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On your usual search for gigs and opportunities in the film industry, you might come across more than a few posts like this:

“Looking for camera operator. No budget, sorry, but we’ve got a great project!”

“Student film in need of actors. Unpaid. Copy/meal/credit.”

Depending on what stage you are in your film career, you might consider working free gigs. The thing is, not all these opportunities are created equally. Here’s a quick guide on how to decide whether to volunteer on someone’s set.

Why you might want to volunteer:

experience

  1. Completely new to film industry.
  2. Trying to move up a position.
  3. Working for a friend.
  4. It’s a good project.
  5. You need it for your reel.

If you’ve never worked on a film set before, volunteering on a few productions might be a good idea. You’ll get the experience you need while having less pressure since you’re not technically any sort of employee. Plus it’s very difficult to get yourself noticed as a production assistant in a very competitive job market without prior experience and/or a contact on the production.

Or maybe you’re already working on films, but you’ve really like to level up your skills. Maybe you’re a well-practiced 2nd AC looking to move up to 1st. Volunteering as a 1st on a project is helpful. Again, less pressure, but gaining experience.

Most of us are pretty cool for working on a friend’s project. Plus it’s a small world and people tend to like to do each other favors like this.

#4 and 5 go hand in hand. If this project looks like a good quality project, plus you’d like to add it to your reel? You’re still benefitting.

Why you shouldn’t volunteer:

exposure meme

  1. You have plenty of experience.
  2. The project sounds like a hot mess.
  3. The project asks above and beyond what they should get for free.
  4. Particular skills required. (Examples: DP must have drone/Steadicam. An actor needs to do a nude scene or stunts).
  5. “It’s only going to take four hours!” Trust me — it won’t.

You need to value yourself enough to be paid for your skills. You don’t need to do someone’s project “for exposure” especially since exposure means hardly anything. Anyone asking you to do something for exposure should be treated with caution.

A feature shooting in 4 days? All overnights? The previous crew bailed? The job poster is nasty about the unpaid situation IN the job post? These are all red flags and indicate a project best worth avoiding.

A project asking for an inordinate amount of equipment — a DP with a specific camera and lighting package, a specific drone – are also ones I say to avoid. I also keep seeing posts asking for makeup artists for free. Makeup artists are using up their materials to do your project. They at the very least need a kit fee to cover expendables.

Maybe it’s a gig that’s mashing too many jobs rolled into one (Camera PA/Media Manager). This happens on paid gigs too, which can still be a problem.

I’ve worked on enough films that I can tell you if a project says they only need you for a handful of hours…it’s likely not true, or they grossly underestimated how long it takes to put together a shoot. Always figure a 12 hour day in.

In Conclusion

Working for free is your decision. If you think it will benefit you in the long run with experience on a new skill or you want to help somebody out — that’s great. Not volunteering is also your decision. Weigh your pros and cons list on each unpaid gig you see and make the smartest decision for you.