making it in the film industry

1. How to make it in the movie/
film/ TV industry
Monell S.

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movie/film/ TV industry
There are so m any areas of the m ovie and TV business that there is alm ost
som ething for everyone.
C inematographers work on set all d ay surround ed by hund red s of people
while ed itors work largely alone in a d ark room long after the prod uction has
"wrapped ."
From pre- to post-prod uction there is a job to fit alm ost every personality and
skill set. K now what you're good at and where you fit in.
If you've stud ied art, then you m ight consid er prod uction d esign. If you've
spent hours splicing together your own vid eos on your hom e com puter, then
go for ed iting. But in the beginning, you should get whatever you can.

3. Be aware
 Be aware that while a few positions in the ind ustry are extrem ely lucrative,
m any m ore are less so.
 Writers, actors and d irectors are som etim es paid obscene am ounts of
m oney while grips, ed itors, and the m any people who fill out the various
d epartm ents on a film or TV series such as costum e, props, art,
photography, etc.
 G et paid m uch m ore m od estly and work very hard . H ours on the set are
long and grueling. People d o the work because they love it and can im agine
d oing nothing else.

4. Prepare
 When it com es d own to it, the tim e were you finally have the
opportunity to show what you have to som eone really im portant in the
m ovie ind ustry your going to want to have everything on hand so your
prepared and you d on`t waist there tim e which leaves a bad im pression.
 Be organized and have best work on hand . For exam ple if you want to
be a top m ake up artist , you will want photos and want good quality in
those photos to im press them
 If you want to be a m ovie d irector you want to have a professional and
again organized way of showing what you know about cam era angles
and have a strong story to go with it.

5. Business
 The business is truly all about who you know. M ost ind ustry
jobs are freelance, therefore, the m ost im portant aspect of
getting a job, be it your first or your hund red and first, is who
you know.
 G et noticed to be in this ind ustry you can not be quite and shy
you need to be d eterm ined and well d riven to get to your goal.

6. Work
 Your ego is not your friend . While it is certainly ad visable to get as m uch training
as you can before you go looking for work, the best way to learn is in on the job.
 In the beginning, get any job you can. AN Y JO B. It will be lousy pay and long
hours, but this is how you start learning and m eeting people. A fam ous m ovie
prod ucer started out as a prod uction assistant on horror m ovies.
 He spent his tim e on the set working hard and asking sm art questions. H e then
prod uced his first low-bud get horror m ovie and prom ptly got a job on another
m ovie as a d olly grip for pennies a d ay. H e d id n't turn d own the job because it was
beneath him . H e took whatever jobs he could find and it paid off.

7. Jobs/internships
 Find out what types of jobs exist in the ind ustry and which ones you are
best suited for. If you d o not live in L os Angeles, N ew York, Vancouver or
Toronto, get a sense of what kind of ind ustry exists in your area. If there is
none, consid er relocating.
 production assistants are not paid m uch but it is a great way to learn m any
aspects of the way a production works. You m ight be asked to run from
props to hair to ed iting to an actor's trailer all within a day's work also
interning is a good way to get a sense of what the job is like before you
fallow through with it as a career.
 Write a strong resum e that prom otes your strengths without being
unrealistic. There are m any crossover skills from other field s so be honest
about your past experience.

8. contacts
 If you get an im portant num ber that can help you reach your goal in the
ind ustry your going to want to have that num ber in 2 d ifferent places.
 The possibility that you loose your phone and you would n’t get the
num ber back right away can be trouble som e . H ave a notebook with
nam es and num bers of contacts and m ake sure to keep track of these
item s.
 When you go on interviews, keep track of the answers to your
questions and if your being interviewed keep track of what there
looking for.

9. Follow Up
 Know the business. Go to m ovies. Watch TV. Read the trad es. L earn as m uch
as you can about the workings of film and TV prod uction before you arrive on
set for your first d ay of work. K now the d ifference between a D irector of
Photography and an Assistant D irector.
 Take classes at your local continuing stud ies program . You can m eet people
this way and begin to build up a network.
 •Be professional and presentable. The m ovie business tend s to be m ore casual
than m ost, but that d oesn't m ean you can be sloppy. D ress to im press . T he
only one who gets to be the worst d ressed person in the room is the d irector.
 •Be nice to EVERYBO D Y . M ore than in other ind ustries, tod ay's lackey is
tom orrow's show runner or O scar-nom inated d irector. Sucking up d oesn't help.
K eep your d ignity and self-respect. Be helpful and d eterm ined , without
groveling or begging. Your boundaries might be tested but in the end they
will be respected.

10. Acting
 If your jum ping straight into the ind ustry yet you’ve never been in front of a
real cam era or on a film ing site your going to want practice.
 For exam ple, I took a year of acting at John Robert powers acting school ,were
you get the opportunity to read scripts, learn about if you m ess up while
film ing d on’t say sorry. K eep read ing and following the scene norm ally have
the tim e no one notices the m istake.
 Talk into a cam era and act out scenes in front of other stud ents. Also tongue
twisters is a great thing to practice “sally sells sea shells by the sea shore” the
faster you can say tongue twister with out m essing up the easier it gets to read a
script.
 While taking this program you get opportunity's to perform in front of huge
d irectors and talent agents like, IPO P, D isney channel and nickelod eon. O ften
tim es even agents looking for actors from up com ing m ovies

11. Trends
 Study trend s, what's hot the coolest places to eat ,what to were and hairstyles.
This gives you and opportunity to be up to d ate and m any tim es you can be in
the sam e place as a celebrity because trend s are everything.
 Your not going to want to show up in shoes with holes or stains on your shirt
this is not im pressive and it m akes you look unapproachable. If m oney is an
issue ,were going to go back to one of the first steps . GET A JO B! AN Y
JO B!
 Do not wear tons of jewelry. If you’re an assistant or who ever you work for
has you m oving around a lot your not going to want all that extra weight on
your bod y to slow you d own and wearing a lot of jewelry can look to flashy.
Instead try wearing flashy shoes this is a great way to be d iscreet while still
rocking hot trend s.

12. Sleep & health
 The m ovie ind ustry is fast paced and your going to want all the sleep
you can get. A lot of the tim es you'll have to work late and / stud y late
or
so if you d on’t get the opportunity to sleep m uch m ost the tim e your
going to want to grab a coffee or energy d rink to keep you up.
 I would recom m end eating healthy instead of d rinking over 3 energy
d rinks a d ay, try eating a healthy m eal. Vegetables and fruit have
vitam ins which keep your energy up and your im m une system .
 Your not going to want to be slow , groggy or call in sick while
working. To m any sick d ays can lead to getting fired and that is never
a good thing so try to keep your health and working balanced while
having a busy sched ule.

13. Equipment
 K now the equipm ent and what it d ose, how the pieces contrast. You
want to research about cam era and lighting filters and want to know
what each m ood light gives off and how to m ake a scene intense to get
your point across.
 In a d ram a you would want L ight that is d im and m akes a scene look
d ark this gives it a d ram atic effect.
 If it is a scene of love you want to have a lot of light and often tim es
this will m ake the actor look like there glowing this showing a scene of
harm ony.

14. Music
 Pay attention to what type of m usic each film category uses. L ighting,
acting, equipm ent and m usic is what m akes a film . Som e tim es there
are silent film .
 Silent film s often intensify one of the other 3 things for exam ple no
m usic in a silent d ram atic film you would want to have intense light
and em otion in your actor.
 You d o not want to put the wrong m usic in the wrong m ovie for
exam ple if it was a happy m ovie you would not want the “Jaws”
sound track playing the hole tim e.

15. How to make it in the movie/film/
TV industry.