them on the next thing. Work
begets work." Sometimes he
worked for free, just to meet
people and gain experience.
After working as a produc-
tion assistant on various music
videos, sometimes for 24 hours
straight without a break,
McClure decided it was time to
refocus his career goals. "That
is when I decided to do sound.
I knew it paid better and was a
lot easier. A lot of this town is
all about perception. You have
to create whoever you are and
so I just said `I'm a soundman,'
even though I'd only done
sound a little bit here and
there. I really wasn't that good
at it and didn't know all the things one should know." He worked for
free on his first projects, seizing the opportunity to gain sound experi-
ence. "You might not be getting paid, but you're working with the gear,
so it's on-the-job training."
McClure gained valuable experience running sound, and as a camera-
man when he was hired as a camera assistant for the second year of Real
World. "After the camera guys or sound guys went into overtime [which
the production did not want to pay], they would say `Okay, camera assis-
tant, you're shooting' or `You're doing sound.'"
Just as the Real World experience came to an end, the OJ Simpson trial
was heating up. The media demand for crew members was so great that
it created a shortage of cameramen and soundmen. McClure landed work
with American Journal and Inside Edition, working 10-hour days, five days
a week. "I went from being a PA, making a very minimum amount of
money and just barely scraping by, to full time, doubling my salary in
a year."
All along, McClure had been writing a script he hoped to one day
direct. The sudden increase in income provided an opportunity to
invest in himself and make his first film, Road Dogs. He continues
to work as a soundman, while writing and developing other projects
he plans to direct.
"There is a quote
about making bold
moves and great forces
will come to your aid--
I believe that. My first
bold move was to get in my car and move
from Georgia to Los Angeles, never having
left the South. You have to be bold in what
you want to do and go directly to it as much
as you can."--Detdrick McClure
"Be willing to work on things that
don't pay a lot or don't pay at all because
it's all about meeting people. It's all about
knowing people that can shape the different
aspects of your career."--Detdrick McClure
CAREER TIPS
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