A freelancer is someone who works for themselves and is not committed to a long-term employer. Areas of freelance work include music, journalism, film, photography, illustration and event management. It is often believed that working for yourself offers numerous benefits to the individual, as it allows you to create a working life based on your personal skills, talents and intrigue. Freelancers can work on a variety of projects with exposure to many different variations of people, and the work often offers flexibility of location and schedule. In the arts and media sectors, working on projects of your own design offers a greater level of creative freedom than a conventional job would provide. However, to what extent are these things true and do they work for everyone? To answer this question, I interviewed a number of people in different areas of freelancing. Momoko Hill (see appendix 1) has been a marketing representative, event manager, and currently works as a manager for several music artists. He expressed that he works as a freelancer because; 'for me, the main reason for freelancing is freedom. I've heard a lot of people say that the best thing is to be able to get up and work from home in your pajamas, and that's true. There is much more freedom than an office job offers you. I especially love the creative freedom, of making your own decision and learning on your own.' He also noted the benefits of not having a boss; 'The freedom it gives you is a really great advantage. You are not always tied to a desk or a 9 to 5 schedule. You can do different projects and choose what you want to do. I'd rather handle things myself and make my own decisions, rather than have someone dictate things to me.' Freel...... middle of paper ......capabilities of the company you work for. Working on a film set will give you a good understanding of how a production team works and what kind of people and equipment are needed. This is knowledge that is difficult to acquire without practical experience and allows for greater levels of creativity. In conclusion, through my research I have found that freelancers and employees face very similar challenges and rewards. Both are facing instability in light of the current economic climate and require a lot of hard work and networking. Both offer you ability and creativity, albeit in various ways and to different degrees. This project has broadened my understanding of freelancing and also opened my eyes, as I initially thought that… In fact, it could be considered in many ways to bring a greater amount of control and creativity to your work.
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