During summers while in while in High School, I worked as granite counter top installer and a tile layer. While in college, I worked in many bars as a server, barback, and a bouncer (eat shit, I'm intimidating). I also volunteered at a senior citizens home on an activities council. And after that I worked at a hospital in the cardiac rehab department. There, I developed a proper exercise program for patients recovering from heart disease.
After graduation, I took my teaching degree home to take a job as a full time substitute. It was an easy choice because I was next in line for a full time teaching position in the Health Department. That, and my brother worked there as a History and P.E. teacher. He was also the head football coach and I wanted to coach with him.
Sometimes during the day when our classrooms were across the hall from one another we would pass notes back and forth like 5th graders. I'd send a kid with a note saying, "Run this across the hall to my brother, it's important." Inside the note it would read, "You're a dipshit." That lasted about 2 years and I loved it.
At the end of my illustrious teaching career I started writing again. My friend and I decided to move to LA with hopes of working in entertainment. When I arrived, I needed a job asap cause my bank account had less money than what was stashed in my piggy bank in 1st grade. It took me two days to find one. I got a job working for a landscape architect. We built decks, playgrounds, a trellis or two filled with flowers and planted wonderful landscapes all over Southern California. It was nice to work outside for a change. I held this gig for a year.
Afterward, I moved to Santa Barbara and helped my roommate pen a short film. Soon enough we shot it. He directed, I starred. We edited it together with the help of another good friend who was also involved in the writing process. Once we had a product we were proud of, we submitted it to a few film festivals. It was out first project, so we didn't expect anything, but to our surprise, it was accepted into three International Festivals right away. We toured around with it for a little while, pretending we were the next big thing. Really we were losers, but hey... Fake it til you make it.
During that time I got a gig as a handler for a Hip Hop Group performing at Sundance. My roommate's dad made a documentary about them and he asked me to come help out. It was a blast. Little did I know, a year later I would be hired on the project as an assistant and eventually become a producer.
Next, I got a job working for these GAZILLIONAIRES as a handyman. They paid me nicely to come to their house everyday and fix anything I could find a problem with. There was plenty to keep me busy all day, but I preferred bullshitting with the Butler. That's right, they had a butler. I wish I had my own Alfred. The house was huge. It was like The Getty... A gigantic structure filled with art and a lot of other shit. It was so big it had a gift wrapping room, which was bigger than my bedroom. The room was filled with everything you see in a aisle at CVS during the Holidays. It was heaven. This job lasted 4 months.
Following my "Tim the Tool Man" stint, I got a job working retail at a designer vinyl toy shop and gallery. And a few months later I left for New York to work on the previously mentioned Documentary. I was there for 6 months. When I came back, I picked up right where I left off at the toy shop. I still work there today. That was almost 4 years ago. Now I work there in a different capacity... Online and store manager. Nothing fancy. Just a job folks. A brother has to eat.
During my 4 years here, I've worked on numerous other projects. I've done many short films and 2 features. I audition when I can, but definitely need to get more involved. I'm on it.
The other day a friend of mine called asking if I knew anyone who could help him with some sound work on a TV show. My roommate couldn't do it, so I said "no." Ten seconds after he hung up I thought, "Fuck me, I'll do it. I need the money." I called him back and said, "What about me?" He said, "Okay."
I'd never worked with sound before, but I did know those guys are usually characters on SET. He hired me to be the BOOM OPERATOR for a popular show on USA. If you don't know what a Boom Operator does, he/she is the one closest to the actors. They hold a long, adjustable graphite stick with a microphone on the end of it over the actors heads (just out of frame) to pick up their conversations. It may sound silly, but it's important. Obviously I'd rather be in front of the camera, but I figured it would be good to get another perspective. Well that and working on a set is too much fun to pass up.
We show up at the stage and who's the first person I see? Tiffani Amber Thiessen. Yup... Kelly Capowski... In the flesh. I began having flashbacks of my childhood. Watching "SAVED BY THE BELL" everyday after school was my religion. And on Saturday Mornings I wouldn't leave the house until I had my Kelly fix. Man that chick was hot. I thought I would marry her years later on a cruise to Hawaii. Did I mention she is still hot? Well she is. I also missed the God Damn boat on marrying her, cause she was 8 months pregnant and married. Damn. She's still hot though and cool as hell. She was maybe the coolest actress I've encountered. She was always in good spirits and extremely friendly to the crew. If you know anything about movies or TV, you know there's nothing more important that a pleasant actor on SET. When they suck, the whole set sucks. And Capowski was flat out awesome.
My buddy and I had a blast on Set. We dicked around in between setups and had a solid manhang, but while we were working we were focused. There's a time to work and time to play and on a set there's time for both. It's the hurry up and wait game... During the wait... It's great talking into the microphone from across the set and just cracking on people. All you do is laugh in between takes and everybody around you wants to know what's so funny. Later when he was filling out the sound reports, which we forgot to do after the first two scenes, I watched him do so carefully. One of the producers was furious we didn't do it the first time. His concern was warranted. I sat down next to him and noticed where he filled in the title of the show he wrote... "BLUE COLLAR" on all the cards. I go, "Dude, what the fuck are you doing? The show is called "WHITE COLLAR" you fucking idiot!" He had to fill them all out again. We laughed for 20 minutes straight. I guess you had to be there.
My point is... Working in any capacity in the field of your liking can be beneficial and fun. It will give you a greater respect for the hard working people who make much less than you might. It takes a village to make a film or TV show work. So respect the CREW! GOOOOO BAYSIDE!!!
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