Freelancing

What is freelancing?

A freelancer is a person who works on a series of projects each year. Freelancers need to find their own work, meaning that some energy must be committed to marketing and selling your experience and expertise through networking and having the tools to market yourself when you aren’t able to network in real time.

Many roles in film and television are freelance work as film and television productions are project-based with discrete workforce needs in terms of specialization and number of people. This means that freelancers are hired on-demand, to fulfill a specific need at a specific time and production companies hire by project and not into permanent roles.

There are exceptions – some film adjacent careers may offer permanent employment, some production companies and animation studios will have a core staff of management (such as finance, human resources and IT roles) that work across multiple projects.

Taking Care of Your Freelance Career

Freelance workers will want to consider their financial health and make a plan to manage the potential stress of income fluctuation. Unlike regular employment with a predictable paycheque, freelance workers will benefit from some upfront planning to manage their cash flow.  See this resource for tax advice for freelancers and consult professionals when establishing your plan.

Learn more about managing your financial health here

For those working in Animation studios, see your Human Resources professionals for health supports.   

For those freelancers working in Visual Effects and Post Production, check out these publicly available resources curated by Calltime: Mental Health.