Had a talk from sound editor Dean Humphreys. He had a lot of useful things to say about working in the industry some things we’re quite obvious other things were really quite surprising. A lot of what he talked about was how to get along with people, how to make the right connections and how to make sure you keep yourself working. Two of the most important things he mentioned was to practice good time management and to be a team player. He talked at length about how if you’re not early you’re late. For me I thought 15 mins early was fine but he said anything under around 45 minutes early was late because although you might start at 9am there are still a lot of things that need doing before you can start work at 9. Being Early shows you’re committed and passionate and that alone will make you stand out from some people. Dean kept coming back to being a team player and how if you’re not one you will not work in the industry for very long. When things are difficult don’t complain about being tired just carry on and keep working because everyone is going to be as tired as you are. Also compromising is important, although you might believe you are right and the other person is completely wrong, just go along with it at the end of the day they are paying you to do the work. If you do find that you are right, don’t gloat about it just carry on, there’s no point in riling someone up and making them dislike you when you don’t know how long you’re going to have to be working with that person. Winding people up, being rude and getting into arguments will quickly give you a bad name in the industry. One last thing on being a team player is be polite to everyone, from the receptionist to the director although they have very different jobs they both have their own networks and you never know where you’re next opportunity will come from.
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