…here’s one of those BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS I may have hinted at in the past.
As of April 1, I am stepping down as film section editor for the New Times chain. The volume of reviews from me will be the same, but will be on a freelance basis.
The decision to step down was mine, in order to free up some time for my other film-related activities. Readers of this site know about The Dogsauce Brothers, and about Rainbowhead. More pressing is a project that could potentially be pretty major, but any public comment would be premature at this point.
Anyway, I’ve been inspired my many of my closest friends who have made similar leaps of faith with their careers. Not all of them are yet on financially stable ground, but they strike me as happy, and I’m always happier when I’m around them in that creative atmosphere.
In the meantime, if anyone would like to put me on TV, or the radio, or in a movie or something, I’m open.
New Times has always been very good to me, and I’m proud to be associated with them.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Good luck to you–hope we can hear about it soon.
Awesome! I just quit my longtime projectionist job last month and have been roughing it on sporadic film/video/music video assignments…and I couldn’t be happier (or poorer, but who cares).
BTW, if you still need people to help you shoot your film this summer…I was thinking of heading to LA for a few months this summer and would love to lend a hand…
Whether or not I’ll be shooting Dogsauce by the summer depends in large part on the progress of the unnamed project, which has to come first…but it’d be great if you could come kick it with the gang nonetheless.
Wow — good for you, Luke. Can’t wait to hear what this mystery project is. Whatever it is, though, congratulations, and good luck…
good luck!
Good Luck! I wish (and pray) that you go from strength to strength – you are an intelligent and talented guy with a lot to offer. Can I just ask you something? Has your coming birthday influenced your decision to launch out at this time? I guess I am seeking wisdom on how to discern when to make leaps of faith myself.
For Hariet, and others:
The upcoming birthday was undoubtedly a factor, but not the only one. The last time I made such a leap was when I was working at an internet toy company that I will not name because if they still exist they don’t deserve the publicity. I was unemployed for a few months, then answered an ad in New Times. This isn’t quite the same, as I’m not quitting altogether, just scaling back.
The New Times LA closing was a big part, too, even though tha happened a year and a half ago now. There’s a big difference between working in an office full of really cool people, versus sitting at home emailing them occasionally. I feel like this last year and a half has been bonus time — I was insanely fortunate not to lose my job when all my colleagues did.
But like I said in the post, I’ve been very influenced by my close friends. Jaye, who had her own zine and website before I did, made the decision to quit her day job last year to focus on creative endeavors, and wound up recording songs for a movie. Lucky McKee spent a long time living at home, making movies for the sake of making movies, before he hit the semi-big time. And Kevin Ford just makes movies all the time because it’s what he does — he hasn’t yet gotten rich doing it, but he always seems so fulfilled. Two weeks on a movie set in Montreal reminded me all over again what it is I want to do — I learned more from that than in 4 years of film school. I wish USC and other connected institutions would simply take their students onto real sets.
Almost as important, though, is that I have money in the bank at the moment and can last for a while.
As to how to discern when it’s right for you, all I can suggest is introspection. Look at your life as honestly as you can. Think not specifically about the job, perhaps, but how other aspects of your life have been, and how that connects to career, etc. If you can’t take the chance at 30, when can you? When you have a mortage? Do you want to look back and wonder if it would have paid off had you tried sooner? Hariet, I have no idea how old you are, but even if you’re not 30, ask yourself how much time you want to wait before you do take the chance.
There are many things I love about the journalism game, but ultimately I want more. I know people envy this job, and I don’t think I take it for granted. But it’s time for even bigger challenges.
Thank you LYT. I value your openess about how you came to your decision. You’ve helped more than you can ever know.
I still have some hurdles every now and then, but this past year in particular, I’ve taken the biggest personal, creative, and professional leaps ahead in my entire life. (On a side note, the Internet company I worked for before shut its doors permanently about a month after I was out of there, so it was Fate anyway, that a change was due). I worked since I was 15 years old and this is the first time I’ve ever had the freedom and choice to dedicate all of my time to cultivating and nurturing my personal Bliss.
Today, I realized that my album is 70% done… I’d been so busy re-examining myself, having a great time and taking steps to make sure that life is fulfilling everyday, that I hadn’t realized that I’d actually gotten some work done in the process! My time has not been wasted, nor will yours be. Even the little obstacles every now and then are welcome, as it reminds me of how much worse things used to be and that I survived it. Nothing is impossible any longer.
Hariet and anyone else… be realistic to make sure you’re not going to suffer big time in the immediate future, but if you’re doing okay, and can make the leap… the rewards sometimes outweigh the risks. The more time you have to yourself to work on your passion and share it with others, the closer you are to your goal. Even if you aren’t in a position to leave just yet, do as I did… Even while working like a dog, I still worked on my passion in small moments at night and on the weekends. I scored my first movie while working a full time office job… when I got paid for that a year later… that’s what gave me the freedom to leave my job and survive for a little while until the next music job came along. Realistically, even now, I may have to go and get another day job to get by for a while, but the past year was completely worth the risk, has set forth in motion things that may yet pay off again… and three, now that I know what this independence feels like and that it can work if you work hard enough… it can only get better, if you pay attention to what it was that worked and/or didn’t work. That information can only be used for good in the future. Even if I have to get another day job, I know it’s only going to be temporary. That’s something I never had the luxury of even dreaming about before. Even though they are still baby steps, and I have this little hurdle at the moment, I have and know that I will continue to make a living doing what I love, because the time I had during this leap… allowed me the confidence and freedom to explore and in turn, has given me greater confidence and freedom. I had more time to share my work with others and to be able to take time to interact with new people, who I discovered are excited and awaiting new work. When I became my own audience and gave myself the chance, I was able to find another audience who has been nothing but phenomenal in their support. Carpe Diem!
Go get ‘em Luke. I’m here and look forward to witnessing this new era firsthand.
LYT on the prowl again. Don’t forget your friends on your way up the ladder.
There is a fab connection here – which I’ll repeat on the message board because this is an old blog now…
I was a movie projectionist (hiya Ghostboy) when I took the leap and went freelance as a sound recordist in Cardiff, it was 1981 and channel 4 meant work was expamnding.
It worked and for eight years I travelled and filmed, but somehow never made the big movie I dreamed of – but my mate Chris Monger did, (The man who went up a hill and came down a mountain…+ more, you couldnt have got more different from his original art/horror film style).
While filming “Crime Pays” with Monger in Ireland I invited my Sister and her son (who lived fairly nearby) onto the set, and Chris ended up putting my sister in shot briefly, while her son absorbed the behind the scenes action/lack of it.
That boy was Luke and it just may have been where the idea of going into the movies big time came from…