NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

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neeters_guy
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NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by neeters_guy »

I saw this video on Animation Nation and thought it might be of interest here.

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nileshpatel
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by nileshpatel »

I totally agree with stephen. I never work for free and even i will charge for test. :D
Nilesh Patel
Snap Animation Studio
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DK
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by DK »

Everyone on this forum should watch that once a day first thing in the morning!
Brilliant!

Thanks for posting!

D.K
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AmigaMan
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by AmigaMan »

I uploaded some background art to YouTube a while back. I must get one message a month from someone asking if they can use it. One was from a school teacher wanting to use it in a game for the school. I replied that surely there was someone out of the whole school that was capable of painting an image of a kitchen for her!?

Neeters_guy, thanks for posting that.
chucky
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by chucky »

Ha yes , this has been going around like a case of 'Sydney 2012' .
Problem is the offer to pay 'later' normally comes after the invoice.... :|
'Once we get the funding... which should be within the next twelve years.....didn't we mention that?" WTF?
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DK
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by DK »

LOL. I had it happen to me yesteday!!! After I watched this video I wrote an email to the offending party and pressed send :)
Damn that felt good!

D.K
chucky
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by chucky »

Hmmm, I can chuckle only out of a perverse satisfaction from 'knowing'.
But it's still funny... :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :wink:
Unfortunately Ozzie producers consider it a matter of professional pride that they never pay artists unless they absolutely have to.
It wasn't always the way I remember a time before Disney and Hanna Barbara closed ( leaving sooo many talented hard workers with twiddling thumbs)and outsourcing became order of the day , when artists made very good money, on time.
In the late eighties when I was a spring chicken I could ( with my eyes literally closed), earn in a few hours what people now are 'offering' for a weeks worth of hard high quality work.
What has this place come to?
At least we can trust sport and politics... :wink:
Last edited by chucky on Thu May 30, 2013 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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3deeguy
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by 3deeguy »

Wow..I just subscribed to his YouTube channel. Thanks for posting.
Cheers, Larry
EHEBrandon
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by EHEBrandon »

Subbed to him as well! I agree with everything he said! I know I don't work for free. Only when it came to charity and me and some friends creating a project... Besides that I don't work for free at all. Everyone needs to watch this!
ruscular3d
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by ruscular3d »

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Greenlaw
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Re: NO MORE WORK FOR FREE!

Post by Greenlaw »

This is so true. If you're a young person serious about a career as an artist or animator, you should never, ever work for free. Such requests are often followed by a promise that you will get more work later but, trust me, it will not happens. If the project or production gets a green light, the client will likely go with another artist or studio that's professional enough to insist on payment. And if the client does come back to you, he will be a pain in the @ss because he will not respect you.

If your time and experience is worth anything to you, insist on getting paid for it. Otherwise, you're just hurting yourself. Do you really want to be known as 'the guy who works for free'? That will be your reference after taking on that assignment without pay.

Now, it may be a different thing to donate your time to a cause or a charity you personally believe in, but don't give it away to a business that will directly profit from your effort. It's not an opportunity, it's called exploitation.

If you agree to do an unpaid test as part of a bid for a job, that's sometimes necessary if you don't have an appropriate reel piece to show you can do the work. But in that situation, be sure to watermark the work and don't give up any assets used to create the piece--if they ask for it before awarding the job, that should raise a flag. And always get an agreement in writing.

Anyway, that's my two-and-a-half cents on the subject. In my 18 or so years working as an artist/animator in Los Angeles, I've been very fortunate to create artwork and animatons for companies and clients that did value my time and work, but I've seen many young artists get totally exploited by less scrupulous businesses and studios. Just remember, if you want to work in the business, you need to think like a business.

G.
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