Finding Audio Work - where do you look?

Question

Hey guys and gals, I was just curious to know where everyone looks for sound work online. Craigslist,Monster jobs, Linkdin, Mandy?

I just signed up with this site, www.elance.com Seems very legit, people post work they need done for various projects and people bid on the job. They have an elaborate mediation program too, in case any disputes arise during the payment process. Additionally they have a system in place, where by you can get paid after each milestone is reached and all the money is held in escrow, so you know the money is there before you begin work.

Perhaps those of you who are already more established and have years upon years of experience on us youngster, get all your work by word of mouth. But i was just curious to know how people in our field finds work to pay the bills.

Also how much would you credit your website/portfolio site, in landing you work? What role does it play? I'm redesigning mine at the moment and want to make it as nice as possible.

Again, I can't say how much of an amazing resource this site is. Thanks for your time! -Kevin

Answer 1

For sound to play an active role in film making you need to be involved before the shoot, so I tend to track films from their first funding - in my experience by the time a film is announced as to be green lit/shooting it has already been crewed & you are too late. It will depend where you live but here the main funding body publish a monthly newsletter which lists who has received script development funding, who has conditional production funding etc... This also applies to short films... Before films get funded they will need post production costing & budgets, which is often the stage I become involved.... Another source of potential projects is via mix facilities and film labs, as they are often contacted very early on for budget info and reccomendations of potential post crew.

Answer 2

In my (not extremely extensive) experience, a huge amount of finding work is knowing people. I did sound post for a short doco for a friend 7 years ago; last year she recommended me to a producer friend of hers, and i landed a $20k TV series. It can come from anywhere, you never know when a friend of a friend will meet someone at a party who needs a sound editor.

Having said that, i got my current studio job (initially) through someone responding to one of the 60 emails i sent out to various studios. That got me in the door, and being prepared to handle whatever they threw at me (in terms of work and various personalities) kept me there.

I guess my advice would be: keep throwing yourself at freelance gigs on mandy, craigslist, wherever you can find them (although beware of being exploited), and when you find good clients/producers/directors, stay in touch with them. It can take a while (i'm not even quite there yet!), but luckily this is a fun job. (Although NEVER let people use that as a reason to underpay you!)

In terms of websites, i'd say keep it simple. I actually don't even have one, but i'd say it's a good resource to have. I've seen a few out there that are a bit convoluted and seem to misrepresent the person's roles on various projects. If i was a potential client, i'd want to briefly read what your background is and hear a couple of samples of whatever work you have that's appropriate to my project. Personally, i wouldn't spend too much time prettying it up.

Ok, sorry if this was a bit rambly, my morning coffee seems to have been insufficient. Hope it helps!

Answer 3

We have a number of boards targeted towards film sound here in france that have job offers. Although most of the time it'll be people asking you to work for near to free...

I found my current job on my new employer's website, so I'll strongly advise you to start looking for the people you'd like to work for ans check them out, are if they are not offering something that you want.

I also found a gig earlier this year on gumtree, a great free ads site if you're in the UK. I got in touch with a guy who sent me the details of a gig happening right next too me that he knew of.

I'm booked for another gig this month, but I'll be working for free and it comes from one of the boards. But now that I have a foot in the industry and a salary, I think I will enjoy this gig even more!

Answer 4

Although I'm definitely amateur in this game, I did receive my first paid job this year. For what it's worth, it came about from someone hearing about me on Twitter from a friend, checking out my site and getting in touch via the site's contact page.

What the guys have said above is solid, solid advice too!

Answer 5

The 48Hr film fest and other similar competitions have done a lot for me. It's a great way to meet new directors and showcase your talent and personality in a high pressure situation. As had been said already, you never know when one of those relationships will pan out. Also, where I live, there are industry networking events which I attend regularly. Also also, no one has mentioned internships yet. For someone just starting out there are a lot of benefits to a studio internship even if you are mostly fetching coffee.

Answer 6

I've been lurking around Kickstarter.com and "scored" a doc and a feature so far. well they haven't been shot yet, but it's cool because i'm involved since script writing stage.

Also "met" people who are interested in working with me by "trolling" so to speak on vimeo.

Answer 7

This is an anecdote from an ex college of mine about sound designers web sites. If the website is too good then they have too much time on their hands which in turn means they are not working - Then the question is "why are they not working?" - Websites should be simple and functional, with links to your work and IMDB or what ever is most impressive about you :) I have spent a lot of time looking for composers websites online and there are a 2 things that really bug me about some websites. - 1. Flash 2. auto play - Flash takes time to load which means potential employers might just skip your site cause they can't be bothered waiting if they have a slow connection. Auto play is annoying if you are trying to sell a composer/designer to the producers and every time you navigate back to their home page it starts singing at you. (I really don't like the hollywood edge SFX page because of this!) As for getting work I think word of mouth and professional reputation are the key. Keep enthusiastic and motivated and it will all come together in the end :) edit - forgot to mention Linkedin is really important - it's often the first port of call to find out who someone is.

Answer 8

I am curious to know whether anybody here has used the web site Shooting People for getting sound jobs.

Answer 9

Google Alerts are super useful. I don't know if that's helpful to you or not, but I just set alerts on my favorite forums for "sound designer wanted" and things like that. Every day I follow up on one or two of them.

Of course, cold calls don't work nearly as well as if you come by recommendation, or if you're already a known entity. No matter how you find them.