Freelancers as practical artists (aka the Hollywood model)
Posted by fnre in Untagged on Mar 29, 2011
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Disclaimer: I know this largely only relates to those of us who are in the creative fields.
I few minutes of reflection made me think about what is it that makes freelancing attract an unlikely large numbers of people either in the creative trades and/or see there place in their own trade as being a creative solutions person.
I came to realize that while we are familiar with the Hollow "A List"culture. Namely the idea that it is all about how much your last picture grossed. This does not completely explained why people are entertainers. What I mean is what is that special spark that makes people that are so far away from the Hollywood A list that they will likely never make a dime from their entertaining. Why does this group that knows they will never be stars still put up with all the craziness that a star driven industry produces?
I think the main reason is they realize that even though everyone can enjoy the trade as a hobby it takes a special someone to make a living at it. For example there are likely 10 times more people who know PHP then those who do it for a living (btw while not attempting to insult anyone PHP is usually the first language used by people who have discovered there is more to programming the just saying "if x then y" and therefore is the lowest commonality that all professional programmers have [or very close to one]).
So we have already eliminated 90% of the the people who are not professionals. I know while this likely not as true for writing, graphics or any other trade that involves totally free-form thinking. An other 90% will likely for what ever reason not wish to put their own personal hide on the line for their art/trade. So that leaves the special 1% that makes up the invisible cast (and unlike Hollywood there is no real competition for visibility because we are like the 1000's of actors who make their livings on "scale" and never want to be stars). So examining why freelancing is so appealing to this general world outlook would be quite interesting.
