Increase Your Earning Power In A Bad Economy: Part 4 of 5 Part Series

Ideas to help earn extra money with skills from your hobby or academic major

In the poor economic climate, many students are scrambling to earn extra cash at every possible chance. Rather than relying solely on a minimum wage, part-time retail or fast food job, look within at your own skills and branch out by freelancing or creating your own mini-business. Here are some lists of academic majors and skills you may have and suggested activities to get your creative juices flowing, who knows one may even become your next pay-check opportunity.

Major: Communication Arts - Film/TV Production
Skills: Videography, Film Editing, Producing

Film and edit event videos
Film and edit training videos
Film and edit You Tube videos for people
Teach people basic filming and editing skills
Produce independent films and TV shows
Give hands-on lessons to public access TV show crews on how to use good filing techniques and make quality shows
Create your our public access show to teach others how to create a professional looking show

Media That Matters Film Festival

Media That Matters Film Festival is a film festival that features "short films that inspire action" according to their website. Their website further explains, "The Media That Matters Film Festival is the premier showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Media That Matters engages diverse audiences and inspires them to take action. From gay rights to global warming, the jury-selected collection represents the work of a diverse group of independent filmmakers, many of whom are under 21. The films are equally diverse in style and content, with documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental work and everything else in between. What all the films have in common is that they spark debate and action in 12 minutes or less."

Media That Matters Film Festival
http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org

Drew Barrymore's Production Company: Flower Films- A Beautiful Place to Work

Drew Barrymore was the cover girl on the April 2008 issue of Domino Magazine (the soon to be defunct publication that always featured a chic, cute mix of home decor and practical lifestyle articles). Inside the magazine they featured the office of Drew's production company, Flower Films. It was beautifully decorated! This is the kind of stylish place that any lady would want to live in. I thought to myself it would be nice to work their just because of the fantastic decor, the kitchen (serene green and blue) and the powder room (bright cheery sunshine yellow and cream) were the most colorful common spaces. That was the nicest production company office space I've seen.

Links to Flower Films Office Photos, Drew's Office
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2008/04/drew_barrymore_office

The Kitchen
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2008/04/drew_barrymore_office?slide=10

The Powder Room
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2008/04/drew_barrymore_office?slide=11

NBC Universal East & West Coast Internships

NBC Universal is one of the major TV networks with many channels in its portfolio of holdings. Among these holdings are a treasure trove of internship possibilities that are just waiting for students. Two of the many internship programs they have include their East Coast and West Coast programs. (As of today their website says that they are currently hiring for summer internships.) Apply soon before they are filled!

The East Coast internships are located in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in the following areas:
News & Journalism
Production & Entertainment
Sports & Olympics
Advertising & Promotions
Graphic Arts/Digital Media /iVillage
Sales & Marketing
Corporate (Finance, HR, Publicity etc.)

NBC Universal East Coast Internship Program Info Page
http://www.nbcunicareers.com/internships/coasts.shtml


Their West Coast internships are in Universal City and Burbank, California in the following areas:
Broadcast & Journalism
Marketing
Publicity
Digital Media & Technology
Corporate Internships (HR, Finance, Legal, etc.)
Fine Arts & Graphic Arts
Telemundo & Mun2 (Spanish Language networks)
TV Production, Development, & Programming
Film Production & Development
Focus Features/Rogue Pictures

NBC Universal: West Coast Internship Program Info Page
http://www.nbcunicareers.com/internships/coasts.shtml

MonkeySee.com Filmmaker Program

There's an interesting website called http://www.monkeysee.com/. It has a vast How-To video library that is completely free to view. Topics range from careers and education to health and fitness. All the videos that are on the site are independently produced for the experts that appear in them. It allows people with a film production background to create videos with a nice pay rate per project. The pay ranges from $200-$500 for simple video creations and up to $2,000 for more complex videos. In this poor economy, this site can offer opportunities to earn a little pocket change or a serous income for highly motivated videographers. Aside from earning money from the videos, a filmmaker would also be able to build their professional network as they work with all sorts of different experts, which may even lead to a full-time job for the lucky ones.

MonkeySee.com Filmmaker Program
http://www.monkeysee.com/filmmaker/become