Being here on Stage32 has taught me a lot. It is not enough to say that you are talented, or exceptional, you have to show it. This means that you MUST take out the time to produce the work that will show that you are talented, or exceptional. If you do not, you will get stuck in the pot of those who do not want to pay you, or sign valid contract terms in order to secure some respect (credits, rights,etc.) for the work they expect you to do. This may be a great angle for those who have the financial time to do so, for the more you, and your name appear, the more people will know you. BUT that is if your name ever appears. For actors and actresses, your faces will appear no matter what, so this is good for some. BUT for those who create a product that hides you, it may not be a good idea. You risk having your work taken from you, and sold for profit (this happened 15 years ago with my Maquettes). As long as you are giving something for free with no strings of security attached, your work is considered great. When they are presented with a contract that will secure future work, or credits, or rights, then the view of your work suddenly becomes Hazy in their eyes. This is not just one experience I ran across on Stage32, this is about 8. Two of them expected me to do their work for them real quick in order to So Call prove myself. One person wanted to pay me $100 for a 10 minute action 3D animation short. This to me is not showing respect for the time, nor the art itself. Lesson learned. STOP... take out the time to produce my exceptional work, then market it. No more trying to volunteer to get my name out, or to network. Once my best work is done, and I put time into marketing, and networking, it will pay for itself. I loved some of the contacts I made here on Stage 32, but I no longer am sold on the volunteer part in hopes to network, and get my name out by helping make someone else dreams come true. I will only volunteer for myself when it comes to contract work, which will make my own dreams come true (volunteering = time = money I am not receiving but investing into myself, not someone else who will not work in my best interest). When I volunteer for myself, I will be able to produce my best work which will no doubt make me a lot of money. As a result of my getting paid, I will be able to hire and treat the people at Stage 32 with respect by helping their dreams come true by paying them the fee they deserve to get paid ( for I do not accept volunteers, I only accept hired talent). I will be back within a few months (April 2014, or sooner) to post actual decent paid contract work on the Stage 32 job board. Peace and Blessings, JoAnn