Make Film Great Again: Living the Dream so Others Don’t Have To
It’s now the start of 2025 and as expected, film work here in British Columbia has drastically slowed compared to the already low stats from last year. Whilst a small number of active film workers are experiencing “We Happy Few” the majority of others are playing “The Hunger Games”. And even still, there are those who have long left the industry all together or have made the decision to semi-retire and only work just enough to qualify for union benefits. What then does the future hold for film and the world entertainment industry in general? Here at Dave News, I answer the questions nobody thinks to ask & probably no one cares to know… and definitely no one’s gonna read.
So, let’s start at the very begging… as in my post graduation class after film school. There our lecturer described her decades working in film, the great and not so great experiences, and her final words of wisdom to those of us who wanted a career in the film industry. In summary, her focus was to instill in us the need to maintain our physical health in the time intensive industry as well as keeping a work life balance. She emphasized the fact that stats indicate working in film can and will shorten your lifespan simply due to the insane work hours… thus also negatively affecting any chances of you have a normal social or family life. Though the excitement and felling of accomplishment along with the great pay was what kept her in the film industry for so long. My take away was that she looked like an 80yr old whilst only reaching the retirement age of 65… so yeah, message taken.
Then, let’s progress on to the middle of my film career where I made member to the DGC (Directors Guild of Canada). I was faced with 3 choices; stay in the DGC and try to move up the assistant director’s route, go to work in the IATSE 891 sound department (what I went to school for) or take an easier path through Teamsters 155 film security. The decision was made after I took an Assistant Director course. Our instructor was a production manager who started work all the way at the bottom as a production assistant and worked her way up to director. The course was very detailed in the core duties of the various departments in film and the level of professionalism required. My take away from her course was the vital importance of giving 100% effort in your job as well as keeping protocol and good networking with those above you. AND most importantly, stay out of politics (though it’s something many over-zealous film peeps utterly failed to do to their own detriment). Thus, the easiest choice was the best choice for me.
Now to current day, the final “lessons” are taught to me by senior coworkers who have survived & thrived through the many ups and downs after decades in the film industry. Besides the obligatory “don’t ever get married” advice… the actual meat of their insights have everything to do with personal finances. This kept me grounded no matter how abundant the work and great the pay was… through the incredible boom that coincided with the start of my career right up till the downturn that started over a year ago. Be frugal with your expenses, pay off debts and invest in assets that will make you money passively. Humility must be applied on all aspects of work because you never know who you’ll end up needing future show references from once your production ends. Do your job and do it well… knowing that the industry can & will revert to its cyclical characteristics, and that you must have a plan B once that happens.
So, onto my 15th year in the industry and now onto the next stage of life that me and those who have been adequately prepared must address. And that is the actual living life part… in my department at least, I’ve done 100+hr weeks, 7 days (8 shifts when it was still legal to do double sleepless shifts) to the average 60hr week. None of which allows much of any life outside of work. Only this past year have work slowed enough for me and my like-minded cohorts to allow us contemplate what it feels like to have spare time to actual enjoy the fruit of one’s labour (aside from the dearly needed yearly vacations). Though just having the privilege to have these thoughts is a blessing when I consider the dozens of co-worker friends that have prematurely passed away from health problems these recent years. That and the fact that there’s also a large segment of film industry workers who were not fortunate enough to have started early enough to enjoy the heydays… those who must find work in other sectors after hedging their futures onto film.
Nevertheless, AI might make this entire discussion moot one day soon, and actual human labour in the entertainment industry will go the way of the dodo. Which begs the question… did you make the necessary right choices while working in the film industry (or any industry in that matter) to build up your resources so that you can flourish in the future instead of being saddled by debt and always looking for the next gig to pay the bills? The path of a Stable Genius is not as boring nor ludicrous as it seems once you see the success that the practices of high ambition tempered with thoughtful prudence brings. Well, that and having travelled for many years and seeing my young friends abroad go from graduating high school to getting married to having kids to seeing their kids go to high school… all the while I spent a decade and a half living through “Ground Hog Day”. Anyhow, why am I even thinking about this?!? It’s high time to get the heck outta Dodge… and start living.
