This is bound to step on a few toes so here goes...

A crew buddy of mine who started sound mixing since 2003 told me this: When you have experience in the film industry and have worked enough, you are past the point of working for free. You are worth more than that. Set a rate for the first year, maybe $100/day, then increase it to $200/day the next year, etc.

This man has 14 credits as sound mixer and 3 credits as composer on IMDB
(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1894043/). All his gigs come from word of mouth and that includes music videos, commercials, etc. so there is no question that this man knows what he's talking about. And from working on a feature with him, I know that this guy is serious about his work.

So here's the problem: I seem to be living in the wrong part of the country. Almost every other gig I hear of on the websites that I use, including Craigslist and New England Film Inc. are offering "great opportunities" but no pay. I refuse to work on productions like that, but then again, that's almost all there is.

Is this a big joke? Do production companies and producers think that they can find people that are really good at what they do and are also willing to spend their time, gas money, and talent on something that offers nothing in return? Are there actually people out there that are willing to be taken advantage of by these cheapskates?

What could possibly stop this? Maybe once the rest of us stand up to all this no/lo/deferred crap and refuse to sell ourselves short, these companies will start producing monetary compensation. I think once we demand reasonable compensation, all this bull will stop. I'm not asking for us all to Unionize, I'm just asking for those that take their jobs seriously to step up and make the independent circuit a better field to work in. I say, "If you can't afford to pay, you can't afford to shoot." Is that wrong for me to say?