Alright, I think I've watched this endless COTH banter for long enough, so I
guess I'll go ahead and jump into the pool hip-deep...
My name is Greg Parsons and I sneaked out of ND in May '96 (and believe me, I
thank my upright-walking God nightly that I didn't flunk that 2-credit
Classical Guitar class spring semester senior year.) I'm currently living in
Phoenix with my hot-as-hell girlfriend (ok, I just made that up to sound cool)
and I'm working at a resort out here called The Phoenician in their
Audio/Visual Department. Yeah, the job kinda sucks--what's new--but it pays
well and this is already job #5 since graduation (for all you kiddies keeping
score at home) so I don't think I'll be going anywhere soon. But the job does
have its upsides. I get to carry a walkie talkie.
Oh, and I delivered a tape recorder to Paula Abdul (straight up!) the other
day. She tipped me a buck. Little mole-cheeky bitch.
Actually, for those of you still in school who are going to be looking for
jobs soon and have these HUGE plans to produce your own tv show, or write and
direct you're own Sundance-winning independent feature right out of school
(not that I personally have experienced failure at this)...there is an
unbelieveably large Audio/Visual industry out there that I didn't even know
existed before I got this job. Seriously, there are a ton of A/V and staging
companies out there who do all of the lighting/sound/video/multimedia stuff
for business conferences, concerts, banquets etc. It's great money, and you
can learn a lot, quickly, about lighting, mixing live audio, studio
cameras--most of the equipment is identical to what you'd find in a television
studio (We actually have an Avid suite in our hotel) But best of all, its
sooooo much easier to land a job in A/V without experience than in tv. And
knowing what I know now, I would much rather get paid to get experience than
do some schwag internship scrubbing some tv studio's floor (I swear to God I
actually had to do that once). Anyway, just know that you have options other
than the obvious when you get out of school. Stuff you can do for a year or
two (or freelance between jobs) that will actually pay the rent while you
write your screenplay.
Anyway, if any of you from the classes of '95, '96', or '97 are out there,
give me a shout and let me know what you're up to.
Greg Parsons '96
GParsons1@aol.com
P.S. Hey Chad and Sean, where's my cut of the film festival prize money for
Martin the Locksmith?