It occurs to me that I haven’t had particularly good luck in the past with securing paid freelance gigs. I’ve only had one real paying freelance job, which was so undercharged it may as well have been pro bono, and I had one potential client gasp in horror at my price and hire me on as part-time office help instead.
Hopefully my upcoming client meeting goes more smoothly…
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Oh, yeah… Director. I remember you! You were fun! A royal pain in the ass to troubleshoot sometimes, but fun nonetheless.
After some heart-to-hearts with Sheryl and Aaron, I responded to the e-mail regarding a potential freelance gig. I explained what I know, what I can do, and what I’ve still got up my sleeve. I got to feeling pretty good about myself, too; even if this person doesn’t care for the two Shockwave presentations I uploaded (the ResNet CD and my Director portfolio), at least my portfolio was worth a second look. Even if he was just hoping I was somebody who knew somebody, and not necessarily the person he wants, I’m OK with that.
It’s been a while since I did any real Director work. Honestly, it’s hard to make multimedia presentations without… well… media. A website, sure, I can pull content out of my ass for that. Video and audio and other content that doesn’t suck and won’t get me sued? That’s a little harder.
Anyway, I sat down with my two Director source files (thank god I managed to save those) to clean them up and make them internet-friendly.
It took all goddamned evening.
Part of it was remembering the nuances of how Director looks for linked files, and part of it was fixing little things like typos (I can’t believe it!) and formatting errors and anti-aliasing inconsistencies and general last-minute crap that I didn’t get to do to the actual presentations back in the day.
I can see how my design style has changed in just the past four years. I can also see the elements that form the core of my current style. Simplicity. Clean lines. I think I’ve improved a little over time, though; I can see the things I would do differently now.
Even if this gig doesn’t work out, I won’t be upset. If I do get a callback from this gentleman, I’ll actually be a little surprised, as it would be on the merits of work I did four years ago as a college Senior. I’d love to have an opportunity to do some real work for real money, but just being contacted about it at all was quite an ego boost for me.
I needed that.
Faced with the very real possibility of multimedia contract work, I find myself completely unprepared to offer up any additional information to a potential employer about my skill set, capabilities, freelance/contract pricing, or my local network of other impassioned designers.
I find myself excited, but about to choke. I feel inadequate, but I know I am not.
My emphasis in VCT was multimedia; how, then, am I now mainly a web designer, having not created any true interactive content since graduation? I feel like I’ve dropped the ball. I feel like a has-been. Again, I know I am not.
The message in question had been sitting in my inbox for nearly 36 hours before I even checked that account; now I’m bordering on rudeness, not answering within 48 hours. I have to say *something*.
But what?
Friday night was the BG Relay For Life at City Park in Bowling Green. Around 6:45pm, the Sky Team gathered at our campsite for a team photo. Had I realized that the team photo wouldn’t actually be posed, I might have taken a little more initiative to assist in posing people… but, especially as a first-year team member, and as I didn’t know the person heading up the photo, I didn’t feel it was my job to get the people in back to move up front where they could be seen.
College. RCC. The ResNet Software Installer CD-ROM.
Me: I totally almost have this working! Just one more… aw, shit.
Jamie: Come on. Let’s take a break.
Me: Just a minute. I’ve almost got it.
Jamie: You’ve been working on that for five hours. Take a break. Now.
Me: *rubs eyes* OK…
[We walk downstairs from the Server Room in Kreischer Quad, and go outside to the smoking area]
Me: It’s dark out. When did that happen?
Jamie: *drags off a freshly-lit cigarette* Couple hours ago.
Fast forward seven years. Current job. Arrowhead Park, Maumee. Cube farm.
Me: It’s only 3:00?
Scott: Yup. Hour and a half to go.
Me: Two hours for me.
Scott: Yep. Hey, can you cover phones for me from 4:30 to 5:00?
Me: I suppose.
[We stare blankly out the window at the squirrels]
I remember being engrossed by my work. Sure, it was good-paying for a college gig, but it also taught me a lot, and I found it interesting.
Maybe that’s the difference between college and the workforce (I refuse to say “real life”). In college, you do what you want, mainly, but you still complain about it. In the workforce, you do what you have to, but you still complain about it.