Apart from IMDB, which tags a person with any work or credits that's ever been attributed them, what are your thoughts about people in this business who have too many hyphens in describing what they do in their online bio or business card?
I met a young women at a film event recently who presented herself as a professional "fonica", which here in Italy translates to an on-set sound mixer. When she handed me her business card it had producer-director-writer-editor-sound listed under her name. It left me wondering where her real passion lies. As I later thought about this I wondered if she was doing herself a disservice in trying to cover all her bases in networking and getting work?
What are other producer's thoughts on this? Would you feel comfortable with your doctor, lawyer or plumber having another highly technical somewhat related area of expertise listed on their calling card?
Dr. _____: Cardiologist-Podiatrist-Psychiatrist
Hi Joe - I, personally, don’t think a doctor’s specialty practice and a creatives multiple talents are a reasonable comparison. As the saying goes - it’s movie making, not brain surgery. I’ve worked with so many multi-talented creatives in my career and have been so fortunate in moments when a producer on a shoot can step in and do sound mixing in a pinch because it’s one of their skillsets. And not everyone starts at the top of the call sheet - often it’s specific work that gets you on set that leads to the other jobs - my best friend directs episodic TV and started as a script supervisor. Another fried is a WGA writer (we stand with the WGA!) but he also edits at a professional level and is an aces line producer who can do budgets - he has skills to pay the bills while his writing career makes its way. One skill doesn’t negate the other in this business to me. I think it’s a unique business with people who bring different professional skills to the table. Here’s a link to a Stage 32 webinar on multi-hyphenates that I think you’ll find really interesting: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Writer-Director-Producer-How-to-Build-Y...
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They are advertising deep skills in... nothing in particular. I only want people who focus on their area of expertise on my productions. Writer-director or writer-producer or producer-director are fine because these are often combined into the same job. Other technical skills are not, they are difference and not connected. This is different from having experience across the board which gives you a superior perspective at your own position.
I get it. The more you can do the more valuable you are in this industry. But, it's important to know what you are good at and not stretch yourself too thin. If people have examples of their work and it's good, then they have proven themselves.
For my 44 years, in addition to my working profession, I have been interested in music, drawing, 3d modeling, writing prose, scripts, a blog, and I am also interested in psychology and space-related sciences. I have some knowledge about computer technology, directing and comics. Which of these things makes me a bad writer not worth working with?
Arthur. I have to ask, why did you post this? Go with what Shadow said, focus on an area of expertise. Being diversified does not make you a bad writer, based on what you said you like, you are a literature artist, so make that your direction, and your selling point when talking with others.
Tim Braggdifferent craft requires different knowledge and skills that can be trained for years. almost all creativity is based on two common elements - conflict and contrast. plus, the set of skills in a creative specialty is not so great, compared to working professions.
When I was studying the material for the idea of a series about a psychiatric hospital, I had to read 4 thick books about major mental illnesses. I have enough material for 60-100 episodes. to understand how to write scripts, I needed to read only two or three thin books.
Therefore, yes, you don't want your psychiatrist to be a guru in a dozen more difficult professions. For a creative person, on the contrary, a broad outlook is a dignity.