One thing about working with smaller companies, or sometimes even bigger ones, is how when people are tight on a budget they try to find every way possible to cut corners. But sometimes people tend to ask others to do things for free with the pitch that they will gain good experience. To make it awkward, they actually offer to pay everyone else. So in some sense it can seem a little exploitative where it’s almost as if one is taking advantage of a new person.
So what if you found out that a businesses created a budget to compensate everyone else with a fair market rate but for this one particular category they feel they can in a sense just get it for free? If you were that person who was being asked to do so would you reject it or simply go with it assuming you actually did need experience?
This is usually a mixed bag in terms of opinions as some say it’s exploitative whereas others say many people work for free or virtually nothing when they start out. I tend to feel if everyone was in a sense working for free then that’s fine. But to single out specific people feels wrong. Here are actual examples I have heard of. A small production spends thousands to rent gear and resources while paying all the technical people a regular fee. When it comes to actually editing the work they ask someone to do it for free for experience. Do you think that is right?
In those cases I would probably avoid it as it doesn’t really seem fair or appropriate. It comes across more as it’s not that you can’t afford it but rather they just want to cut cost while thinking about themselves only.