Hey Jay I think my friend Van is trying to slyly make a
point about your use of the titles ME and Rigger. You are very unique in that you are doing lighting and rigging work for money outside of a school at 15 years old. That's VERY rare and commendable. As I've said, we wish you well and there are many regulars around here who would be happy to offer you advice on how to develop your business and skills. However does your experience really qualify you to use the terms ME and Rigger? Those are not terms that are used lightly in the industry. Your signature
line "Piss me off and you'll bow in the dark"... if you even SAY that in the real world you might have a hard time finding work. These things trigger a little red flag of concern for some of the old pros. Let me explain.
There are people around here who have worked in the industry for 20 or 30 years, up the ladder... THOUSANDS of gigs... to earn the title of ME. Personally I'm 38 and I began my life in tech theater in about 1979 in about 4th grade. In that time I've rigged a lot of things, some safely some not. I recently took a 30 hours in 3 days intensive rigging class... and even today, there's no way I would
call myself a rigger. Now my buddy "Whatrigger?" who hangs out here in CB on the other
hand has people put their life in his hands as he
flies them amazing distances up in the air every day... he
is a rigger. Me? I'm a rigging hack at best.
What's the
point of this? Well In the many years I've been working and teaching both high school and college tech students. I've found that there is often an ego problem that develops with good tech students. I know a student who declared himself a "lighting god" because he was the only one who knew how to program a
submaster... the "secret" was to press record +
bump button. On the other
hand a real "lighting god" is someone like my friend Derek here... who be along shortly with a list of at least a dozen consoles that are no longer in production that used record+
bump button to record a
submaster (2 points each, 3 points if they are from companies no longer in existence). The problem with this ego/
power trip is pros like Van and Derek worked their butts off to get to their positions, the last thing they want is to hire some young kid who thinks he knows everything. We strive around here on CB to help young techs develop their skills, knowledge, and professionalism (unlike every other website, you
will be hassled about spelling and grammar if it becomes a problem). Some of the things you've said come across as sounding like bragging and they set off some big red flags.
I barely know you so what I'm saying may or may not be true however, if I am perceiving a
bit of an ego there may be a reason for it. If you want to work in this industry. The most important thing you can do over the next 10-15 years is to learn to shut up, listen, and ask questions. If you come off as a know it all in this industry you will find out that guys like Van have connections with every theater in town. When you want a job he'll
call his buddy over at the neighboring theater. If he hears, "he's a smart guy who knows his stuff but he's a know it all"... you aren't getting the job. Van will hire the hard worker who listens and does what he's told over the know it all any day.
We had a little discussion similar to this a year or so back. A lot of high schools have this one best tech student in charge of everything and they
call that person the T.D. Well, TD is a job that it takes YEARS to become in the real world. Furthermore what a high school TD does have NOTHING to do with what a real TD does. We recommended that in all situations students refer to themselves as Student Technical Directors. It clearly says what you do but won't come off as an ego trip on a job application.
So, anyway to wrap up this far to long post... for your best interest I suggest you listen a little and take some of these terms more seriously. Take a look at the requirements to just apply to become a
certified rigger. It's not easy. Do some research on what pro ME's do. We have a few around here (like Derek) who would be glad to help you in that area. Most of all don't ever assume you know everything. The correct answer is always, "I have an idea of how to do that but how would you like me to do it?" Like I said, I barely know you... but there are warning signs there that make some of us uncomfortable. We like to teach around here. We like to encourage professionalism. We like to do more than just tell you how, we like to help you develop your skills to do it on your own in the big show for real. Please don't feel insulted or talked down to by this. We want you to stick around CB. We want you to have fun. We want you to have an amazing career so we can say, "I remember when..." But Along with that comes mentoring and a little uncomfortable prodding to keep you safe and help you become a person we would all be excited to hire.
Later!
