Comments on: JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF NONE, MOST, ALL?

By: The Editblog » It’s a Boy again Linkage: December 2011

The Editblog » It’s a Boy again Linkage: December 2011 — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:40:19 +0000

[…] Jack of All Trades discussion is always one worth having these […]

By: BradBell

BradBell — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:25:00 +0000

It’s like film, isn’t it? Get hit with black text on white in a film and you go blind. User studies confirm it. White text on black is easier on the eyes (factoring in contrast in both cases). But browsers used to be stupid and couldn’t print properly, and the the print metaphor never went away and everyone insists that black text on white is correct for no apparent reason.

I used to be a web designer. It was a personal issue of note. Now I don’t care anymore 😉

By: pt

pt — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:47:00 +0000

i’m no web designer, but the light text on the dark background never easy on a dp’s eyes. been meaning to teach myself AEffects and put a stop to the witchcraft antics.

By: Neil Smythe

Neil Smythe — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:02:00 +0000

Really interesting as I’m yet another who stresses about the number of hats I’m trying to wear. 10 years ago I thought I’d be a tv producer forever, but over the last 3 years or so I’ve come round to the notion that I need to be all things to all people to survive. It may indeed be that I’m not doing as much producing as I should be because I’m busy sticking fingers in other pies, but like it or not I only see the industry (I’m talking UK TV in particular) relying more and more on all-rounders rather than specialists. Unless you’re working at the very top, you’re always going to be faced with dwindling budgets and the easiest way to cope with them is to get less people to do more.
As much as it does worry me that I’m not able to concentrate on one discipline I do find that having a variety of skills helps me when I revert to producing. Knowing how I’d shoot, direct or edit a particular piece makes working with crew and editors much smoother.

By: Price Jaccobi

Price Jaccobi — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:44:00 +0000

I think the dangerous part of being perceived as a multi-hyphenate is

1. they doubt one person can be multi-skilled since most struggle with even one
2. they doubt your ability to get a long with others, assume it’s the reason you wear so many hats

This is where pseudonyms come in I guess.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:25:00 +0000

Great post. I was laughing to myself reading it because I’ve taken a similar road. I think it’s actually a good thing to have worn many hats, because it gives me the knowledge of the responsibilities inherent in that role and that knowledge is key in effectively directing a small crew, and bringing a project from inception to completion.

For the bread and butter work I do (corporate video work) I still find myself wearing largely every hat (minus the producer, production assistant and script supervisor roles–if I can fill them).

I write, storyboard, plan the shoot, light it, shoot it, direct it and edit it. Is it important to have specialists in some of these positions? Yes! The final product looks good but having a professional lighting and audio person would make the end result even better and moreover, my life so much easier.

I cannot wait for the day when the budget is bigger and I have found a few trusted and talented people to fill some specialized roles. In a perfect world I would have on set with me a dedicated sound person, lighting person and someone waiting in the wings to do some fantastic titling and colour correction. I’m not fantastic at everything, but moreover I just don’t want to wear all the hats, it makes the process too stressful. What I am most interested in is telling a story, the gear knowledge I need to know and roles I must play in order to do that, is totally sidebar.

Thanks for the post.

By: Koo

Koo — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:53:00 +0000

First of all: I would totally hire you as a voiceover guy. I’m off to buy some Nivea for Men right now because there’s a swanky English voice in my ear telling me it’s brilliant.

I read this whole post nodding my head because I feel the same way… but I think it’s a logical thing you’ve done, which is:

1) When you’re young and you don’t have connections, a proper team, or a proper budget, you’re going to get the project done any way possible. And more often than not the only way to do something right is to DIY. So you learn all these different things to have the most quality control… even if it means sleepless nights and carpal tunnel.

2) Then you start getting recognized for your work, you start building a team, and you find the right people that are specialized. You start handing off the tasks you don’t like (the thing I hate the most: the audio mix). Then you become what you always wanted to be (a director).

Was it circuitous route to get there? Maybe, but more often than not, a necessary one. And I believe that folks like you should be able to better direct BECAUSE you’ve done most of the individual tasks involved in making a movie. You know how to talk to the different departments because you’ve been in their shoes.

Looking forward to your short, Skid.

By: El Skid

El Skid — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:22:00 +0000

Starting out you have to be open to doing a bunch of things. Experience is the most valuable yardstick to measure your progress with. Good or bad, all experiences are important. A little bit of chutzpah when you’re starting out is also a very good thing. I love it when I see DSLR filmmakers telling me they just want to be a DoP. I think it’s so positive and gives them much needed focus. Sometimes all this crap is just marketing, but we’re all playing a value for money game now and additional assets, whether they’re skills or equipment, can often sweeten the deal. Never easy.

By: Jeremy Widen

Jeremy Widen — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:06:00 +0000

I would love to just have “script supervisor” on my list, but as someone who’s just starting out, I’m finding a lot more work being able to say “camera op/ AC” or “editor” or whatever else I happen to need to be called that day. Do you think it would be advantageous for someone starting out to specialize, or to be a jack-of-all-trades?

By: Jeremy Widen

Jeremy Widen — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:06:00 +0000