It's certainly too early to really worry about this, but my recent attempts to break into entertainment lighting on a part time basis have not been fruitful. To recap, I don't think of "retirement" as not working, I think of it as doing something you can really love without regard to what it pays. I figured that, while I was not working, it might be a good time to start working that angle, even if it's still years before I can really run with it.
There were two gigs I was looking into. Disney predictably went nowhere, in no small part because I think their recruiting is heavily disconnected from the hiring managers. That's definitely the case in technology jobs, so I can only assume that's the case elsewhere. The other gig I had more of an "in," but that one didn't work out either. The way that I pitched it was that I own my own console, set up a lighting truss in the dining room, and by the way here's some plots I built in Vectorworks. That still makes me a beginner, and I totally get that there is so much to learn, but I'm a beginner with another decades-long career and life experience. I don't know if that's compelling, but given the opportunity to talk shop and technology, I think I could make a strong impression. I have no expectations about money or leading things.
As I said, it's likely too early to worry about this sort of thing, but also it's weird to think about starting over. My next thing is that I need to find some time to build out some shows. That's more creative than it is technical, but I also think it's attention-getting. I have a couple of acquaintance-mentors out on the Internets who I can probably bounce some things off of. I'd program some shows virtually, and maybe render them in some expensive software, then put them on YouTube. Programming isn't really the same as production operating, but I figure if you can do the former, it shows you can do the latter.
I just want to keep making things until I'm dead. I think when you stop trying to do stuff, that's the start of your end. While I can't avoid it, I don't want to rush toward it either. So dammit, I wanna do stuff that makes people happy.
No comments yet.