If you hear any news about the economy recovering let me tell you that the news source you are getting that from is full of shit. That being said on July 1 2011, there will be a flood of new applicants filing to the unemployment offices across the country. No, I do not have a crystal ball. But if I did it would be shattered. I am one of the many directly effected by the Federal Budget cuts. When O’bama told the nation that he will be cutting funding for community action programs, a program near and dear to his heart, the very next day the non-profit I work for had a meeting about laying off 6 out of 19 positions. I knew right away I was one to be “let go.” That was not paranoia, it was a realistic assessment and understanding that the arts or video production is not the number one priority for job training program especially since it is near impossible to place our students with anyone in Greensboro. There is simply not enough media jobs available in the market. Plus it is an uphill battle that they would be competing against seasoned professionals for any freelance work…not going to happen. The past couple of months the non-profit has enacted a furlough program where all employees have to take one day off each week. No, that is not something to celebrate since it also meant a 20% pay cut.
The one thing is I respect how WRLP has handled the transition. They gave the 6 of us plenty of time (4 months) to look for other work, allowed me to leave for a week for a freelance shooter gig as well as taking time off for interviews. I have been submitting resumes across the country and am available to work anywhere in the world. I had a very good opportunity to work nearby and had 2 interviews and they went with another candidate. I have no time to whine or complain about why I wasn’t selected for that position for the second time in 2 years (passive aggression). But I continue to look for full time employment. While I do that I’m also looking for freelance work to help supplement my income.
You will be seeing changes in the format of FCProducer as I customize the website to be a more professional outlet for my freelance opportunities. I will be creating a new Youtube channel specifically for FCProducer and will be adding more tutorials, reviews and interviews with other amazing filmmakers as well. It is all about using social media websites to cross promote my skills to the world. I will also be accepting requests for new tutorials…anything my FCPeeps would like to see?