How Much Info Should be in a Job Post?

July 2nd, 2010

I have RSS feeds for the Mandy & Craigslist job posts for editors. (http://newyork.craigslist.org/search/tfr?query=editor&format=rss is a good start) They’re almost universally garbage, but I have gotten two good gigs out of Craigslist over the past 5 years, although the last one was 2 years ago. Of course there’s the usual crop of producers who are looking for super-experienced editors who are willing to work for “DVD copy of film & IMDb credit.” First of all, who do you think is going to make those DVD copies? Second of all, I understand that there are good reasons to work on a film without getting paid. I’m doing it on one film now because I was looking for something to keep myself occupied, and a friend had just shot a film. But IMDb credit is not a form of compensation. When I read that it makes me think that the filmmakers’ main goal is getting on IMDb, which is not a good reason to make a movie.

Anyway, my real beef with these ads is the lack of information. A common advertisement reads like this: “Feature film shot on the Red camera with name talent & award-winning director seeking editor.” The people who place these ads will be inundated with resumes from all kinds of people who are all wrong for the project. If they gave more information, the responses would be higher quality. Give us the name of the movie, the names of the actors, the name of the director. Maybe a logline or a link to your website. Is there some reason this information should be a secret?

Entry Filed under: Commentary