Unemployment

Because almost everyone who actually works on the physical production of movies and tv shows is freelance, almost everyone spends time collecting Unemployment. It it just the nature of the business, because it is unusual to be able to line up one job to start exactly when a job ends. Sometimes people will leave a production early to take a new job that needs them right away. Don't expect that you will be employed on a full-time. This is a condition that is both good and bad. It's good if you can spend a couple weeks in between, but it's bad if you go for an extended period without steady employment. Most people will "Piece it Together" between jobs. When I was a Location Manager, I would take scouting jobs in-between, and now I do budgets and schedules.

And sometimes there are strikes or potential strikes by the unions. We have so many unions that comprise the industry--DGA, IATSE, TEAMSTERS, WGA and SAG. If one union goes on strike or even threatens to strike, it will set the flow of productions off course. Last year, the WGA went on strike, putting on hold all studio productions. Independent films, who did not have WGA writers were able to proceed. Last year, and it has been almost a year since, the Screen Actors Guild has been proposing that it go on strike,and even though they are not on strike the mere threat of a potential strike has put a wrench in what films are getting made. Studios especially will not take any risks in this business, which is just plain "good business." It would be foolish for them to commit millions to a production, only to have to pull the plug when SAG goes on strike. They have continued to keep the tv productions running because a strike would just mean they pull the plug on one episode, which is around 7 days of work. And they might even get a few days notice, which enables them to keep losses to a minimum. Independents were given waivers for a while by SAG, so that they could proceed with filming even if there was a strike. But now that is over. It's upsetting to many of us now, who are in the business and not in SAG. Everyone wants and needs to work to keep afloat, having long ago given up on saving money in the bank.

You can prepare for such occasions, by keeping up with other types of freelance employment. I have been a waiter at catering parties and I work as a rigger at night and on weekends. You need to find a way to support yourself and collecting unemployment is a great source of relief and income. There is no stigma in the production business about collecting unemployment and everyone does it. NJ offers $580/week and NY offers $405/week, if you have been making a healthy salary when you were employed. And although this won't pay for your lifestyle it does help stop the bleeding. You will find yourself doing other things like keeping the heat at 68 instead of 70, using the cell phone less, eating soup, not eating out, turning off the lights when you leave a room, selling old clothes, stopping the use of random ATM machines, and securing ways of accessing money/debt just in case you need to tap into it. You should get overdraft protection at your bank and build up your credit rank as best you can so that you get credit card offers (just in case).

It's hard to go on vacation when you should be on the hunt for employment, but it is a good time to spend more time with your family and regroup. Clean your house. Paint. Fix the leaky sink. Learning some basic plumbing skills, has saved me a few thousand over the years. Go to the library. Read. Watch movies. Go running. Blog.