I'm sitting in the Toyota Service department as my car is worked on. I can't work on my development stuff so I thought I should write something for my blog.
It's no surprise that I can't seem to update this blog regularly. I can't even maintain a consistent Twitter feed. That must sound odd to anyone who has heard me interviewed because I will go on and on for freakin' hours talking about all sorts of crap.
I did so recently when I was interviewed by Steve Huellet at The Animation Guild, Local 839. I broke
their record for length of interview. You can listen to it here. While you're there, listen to the rest because there's some great history and insights contained in those oral histories.
I checked in after my interview was posted. Someone in the comments called me a "diplomat," I guess that was for not trashing various execs or FolksWhoHaveWrongedMe. In reality, I'M STILL IN THE BUSINESS. I may find myself working for or with those people again. Or even more likely, I might be up for a job where someone who is in a position to hire me asks a friend, "Say, you worked with Tad Stones. What was that like?"
And that person might not have an important position but is just someone who shared space with me. Or you, when you're looking for a job. There was a Big Name Guy of the 70s and 80s who really changed the comic industry with his work... buuuuuuut he's known to be a bit of a jerk. A young artist showed him his portfolio at a convention to get some constructive input but Big Name Guy sort of put on a show for his friends by trashing the artist. There was nothing constructive about it.
FLASH FORWARD! That young artist is a storyboard artist for a major director. Big Name Guy has submitted his work for a storyboard position -- really, really good work. The director turns to the young artist, "You know comics. What's the story on this guy?"
"I don't know. I only met him once and he treated me like a dick." And with that, the portfolio of wonderful art was put on the reject pile. And there is nothing unfair about that. The young artist wasn't being malicious or anything. He just spoke his first impression of Big Name Guy.
In film and television, it's not just about the quality of your work. It's about working in the trenches with someone. These are highly collaborative mediums and it's hard collaborating with an assbite.
So don't be one.