When I was first getting started on my current career path I had no contacts save for the two men and one woman who taught me my stuff. None of them knew anyone looking for a pretty green assistant editor, that's how I ended up at the network who shall not be named digitizing from midnight to 8am whenever they needed someone for about half the pay of my peers. Had I known then that the man who got me the interview was E!vil then perhaps I would have run the other way, but as it was I scraped and pasted together the pennies earned from the job for several months while I looked for something steady. I even ended up taking a temp job at one point, doing data entry for Juicy Couture, to make ends meet. This would occasionally even lead to my working for about 17 hours a day. Due to unusual nature of the network, being that it was coldly corporate, I felt like a number, a cog in the machine. In fact, cog might be overstating it. I was more of a widget.
My time there was not completely painful and useless. I garnered experience, but more importantly a comfortability with the machine I have to use every day. I learned a lot of trouble shooting, and I added the all important first line to my career resume. But when I left I vowed to myself that I would never return. I deserve better. So it was with great reservations and more than tinge of desperation for work that I began corresponding with a producer staffing a show for The Network. I advised him in setting up his production after I was recommended to him by a friend, and this correspondence eventually turned into a face to face interview. All the while I resisted, but I reassured myself with the knowledge that while I was headed down a path leading directly to The Network, I would in fact be working for T & B, freelancers. Even as my start date loomed I struggled to find other work, but once The Network has you in it's sights you can kiss your ass goodbye.
I approached my first day with a positive attitude. At least, I reasoned, the military fashion in which they run their post production will afford me the luxury of working only 9 hours a day. Due to their "over-efficiency" I can't stay late, it's just not possible. But this did little to supress the flashbacks I had while given my tour of the facility. From the very moment I "clocked in" I was confronted with red tape and beauracracy, something uncommon in post, where you just go to your supervisor and ask for what you need and VOILA! But here there is a process for everything, and after three days I have already lost hours of time to wild goose chases.
Still, I go on, and now at the start of day 3 I am settling into the routine of the place. I am learning to navigate the maze of red tape. I am interested to see how this will go- and at the very worst I can just look forward to my out date, May 12th. Meanwhile I have 5 weeks of work at a good rate and a regular schedule. It's almost like my beloved union. Now I just have to figure out breakfast- I only got one bite of omlette on the way here before my plate slid off the passenger seat.
