Mathew Craft
8 Tips To Grow Your Social Media Presence.

Social media is omnipresent in the modern age. If you’re reading this, you’re probably here because of a social media post. You can - and, some might say, you have to - use social media to your advantage to get ahead in today’s age, especially if you’re in a highly competitive business.

Stuck at Home
John Wrigley
Five Things To Do If You're a Filmmaker In ...

If you’re like me, and just about everybody in this business, you’re reeling from cancelled productions and a general inability to work. But there is an upside to all this. You know how you’re always saying, “boy, if I only had more hours in the day…” Well, now you do! If you’re one of the countless entertainment workers in quarantine, here’s ways to make productive use of your time

As anyone who’s turned on a TV, or spoken to anyone, or gone outside in the past four months knows, these are trying times. In particular, those in the entertainment industry are suffering as they face a difficult and uncertain future due to COVID-19’s stranglehold on the ability to gather - something vital for any entertainment worker. When money is tight, creators are often asked to work for a form of payment called “exposure”, and by “payment”, I mean, “not really payment.” 

I kid. In all actuality, exposure can be extremely valuable - often more valuable than money. So when is it a smart move to work for free?

The Cons

There are cons to working for free, besides the obvious lack of pay, that many creators don’t even think about. 

  1. It can set an expectation of free labor for other clients, who might feel they’re being slighted. “Why are you charging me? You provided the same service for my cousin’s roommate for free!” People always talk.

  2. It can damage your reputation to other potential clients. It can make you appear cheap, or worse, desperate.

  3. It depletes the value of your creative market on the whole. This one is more broad, but it’s true. The more creators who work for free, the less money the rest of the industry can charge.

The Pros (there actually are a couple)

Sounds like you should never work for free, right? Most of the time, I’d agree. However, there are some ways that free labor can be beneficial.

  1. It can allow you to make connections with people you otherwise wouldn’t. Many would say that any organization that doesn’t pay isn’t worth rubbing elbows with anyway. But in my experience, this just isn’t the case. When you’re first starting out, and haven’t found a way to make yourself lucrative, you’re probably going to work with a lot of people in the same boat. It’s a tough industry. My first IMDb credit, my first time on a professional film set, and my first three film festival awards were all obtained with unpaid gigs. I’m much better off for having taken them.

  2. It can be a sacrifice you make for a cause you really care about. Affecting positive change often means being willing to volunteer your time and energy. Just make sure you have your own bills paid too.


So the bottom line is, there’s only one case when you should work for exposure: when you’re gaining something that outweighs the time (and potentially, reputation) lost. Determine if what you’ll learn, who you’ll meet, or what hurdle you’ll cross is valuable enough to warrant free work. Or, determine if the project is truly for an altruistic cause that’s worth some donated time and effort. If you decide the pros really do outweigh the cons, go for it, but whatever you do - don’t make a habit of it.

Does COVID-19 Signal the End For Movie Theaters?

Even before the COVID-19 crisis hit, there was much speculation about the uncertain economic future of movie theaters. Many argued that cinemas are facing irrelevance in the age of streaming and home theaters. Now, with theaters across the country being shut down, and many distributors (including Universal and Warner Brothers) opting to skip a theatrical release entirely in favor of a “home premiere”, many are wondering - does this prove that movie theaters have become obsolete?

Top Programs For Filmmakers on a Budget.

Top Programs For Filmmakers on a Budget.

For someone just entering the film playing field, it can be overwhelming to look up pricing online for the software alone. But if you want to break into filmmaking without breaking your budget, there are several free-to-affordable options for filmmaking software. This article isn’t sponsored by any of these programs; these are just my personal favorites of the free and affordable software I’ve tried.

Six Hacks to Stop Procrastinating

Ah, the curse of being an artist: Gifted with the privilege of pursuing our dreams and doing what we love, but forever doomed to dread it and put it off. It’s so cruel it almost sounds mythical. But if you’re an artist, you procrastinate. In the age of quarantine, it can be especially difficult to keep yourself productive, despite the fact that many of us are enjoying more free time than we’ve had in years. Here are six hacks to beat procrastination and start pounding out those projects you’ve only been dreaming about.