Featured Film Article By John Gaskin (See bottom of page to sign-up for FREE weekly articles on 'Directing the Money')

Film Students - Insider Film Job Tips (Sept/08)

Let’s acknowledge that there are thousands of film school graduates anf undergrads every year from many different programs throughout North America and Europe. Finding work really is a daunting task that takes fortitude and perseverance. Fine. Now, how do you present yourself on top of the stack?

Film Students graduating from college take heart! I’m going to give you something that will put you, as a film school student, way out in front of the pack of film job-hungry students. (Hint: it’s not the usual tips of joining the Director’s Guild, etc. – it’s not what you think...that I know from experience).

There’s no need to be gloomy…yet. I’ve been in the film business for a long time (since 1985) and I can tell you that tons of film school graduates get work and I can tell you what that person in front of you (yes, that person who has your future in your hands) is looking for.

But first, how do you get to the interview to begin with? That’s where the perseverance comes in. Getting interviews for work in the film industry is very much a numbers game. It may be a little embarrassing to present your body in front of an extremely busy production office person with a resume that’s mostly being a Film Student and working in your dad’s store over summer breaks, but that’s what you’ve got to do. Again and again and…. You get the point.

How you present yourself to the interviewer is key. Let me relate the following story first.

I saw Clint Eastwood being interviewed recently on a PBS program. He said that student actors should be trained to go on stage in front of their peers (other actors) and do nothing but BE. He said they’ll be embarrassed about it at first, maybe fidget around and feel out of place, but after doing it for a while they’ll get comfortable not trying to be entertaining – to just ‘be’ in front of others.

Well, that’s the practice that you get by presenting yourself in front of others, cap in hand, asking for work in film & video productions. At first you may be nervous, fidget a bit, try to be someone you’re not. After a while you’ll just BE, and NOW you’re in business. Please be assured that working filmmakers, including most producers, don’t fit the image presented by Hollywood. We’re VERY practical people who very quickly say s__t when we’ve got a mouthful. Any pretension is spotted immediately; from a distance.

So, what do you say in those interviews that you’ve dug up with blood and sweat? Well, simply stated, you’ve got to be able to spot what the interviewer believes are his problems and you’ve got to present yourself as a solution to his problems.

When you’re on the internet you’re looking for a solution to your problem, right? If you want curly hair straightened, a particular kind of software, a tip from a film director, etc. etc. you want to go “Ah HA!”. If you land at a site that doesn’t offer that kind of a solution to your problem, you throw that web site away and look for another one.

So, ask yourself this question before every interview, “What are the problems that the (position interviewing) would have?” Then you say to yourself, “How can I present myself as a solution to that particular person’s problems?” You don’t need to get complicated about it. I’ll be telling you what types of problems most interviewers have in film production universally.

Mailing out letters is also a very effective way to get interviews, and even get a film job in some location out-of-town; not as effective as presenting yourself in person, but it still works. Mail your resume with a cover sheet to every Unit Production Manager, Producer, 1st Assistant Director and 2nd Assistant Director you can find on any list anywhere. Your letter needs to be HONEST and bright. You need to state on the cover sheet every way you can think of where you ARE a solution to his/her problems. Put yourself in that person’s environment when they’re in production. What are their real life problems?

I’ll tell you some common problems that I’ve witnessed many times on film productions:

Producer – Wants a ‘blue tooth’ cell phone and doesn’t know how to get reimbursed for it. (Producers are notorious for not wanting to appear like they don’t know something – he doesn’t know how to set it up either).

Director – Can’t remember the name of the last steadicam operator he worked
with (read as, doesn’t know the value of surfing on the net).

1st AD – can’t remember his hours worked when he’s trying to fill out his time-card at the end of the week. (1st AD’s like to feel that they’re not really union people, but the DGA insists on honest timecards for rest violation purposes).

2nd AD – she lost her receipts from her petty cash and is now short $50.

Production Office Coordinator – She’s harried beyond belief with preparing Production Reports, photocopying Call Sheets, is being asked to fill out PO’s (purchase orders) and she has computer problems. She needs an Office PA who can think on their feet and won’t faint at the thought of typing a full-blown Daily Production Report or writing up a PO.

UPM (Unit production Manager): Wants a Set PA (production assistant) who is NOT a Film School Student - She wants someone who doesn’t lose their petty cash, can take direction, knows how to prepare a timecard, doesn’t pout when they’re not ‘close to the camera’ and in general, doesn’t behave like a ‘student’.

They all sound pretty lame, huh? But…that’s the kind of problems working professionals want solutions to. I know it’s not the sexy stuff you went to film schools, at hefty tuition rates, to learn. So…go work somewhere else; or, just get with the program.

Here are some of the attributes that you need to put down on your resume that will blow most working filmmakers away (as long they’re true):
-You’re computer literate, especially with Word and Excel, and you’re ‘up’ on the technology of cell phones, computer hook-ups, cell phone walkies, etc.
-You’re familiar with how to fill out a timecard. (Timecards are an integral part of every working crew’s life).
-You know how to prepare a petty cash form and understand how a petty cash ‘float’ works. (The term ‘petty’ cash is used loosely in the world of film production; most of the film projects I’ve worked on use anywhere between $20,000 to $75,000 a week of ‘petty’ cash, depending on the size of the movie production. So, the control of that much cash is on everyone’s mind as a potential problem in their working life.)
-You’re savvy enough about business in general to understand how Purchase Orders and Check Requisitions work.

 

In my experience on over the 40+ film projects I’ve been on, not one film school student has graduated already knowing how to prepare a Deal Memo (that’s the first thing you do when you sign up for work on any film and video production anywhere in the world), how to ask for a Petty Cash Float, how to account for Petty Cash properly, how to fill out a Purchase Order or a Check Requisition, etc. All of those terms, or some of them, are probably unfamiliar to you, although I’m sure you kind of get the drift. They’re ALL common terms in every working filmmakers vocabulary – believe me!

You would positively blow away the UPM, 1st AD, Producer, and even the Film Director, if you dropped these terms casually in an interview.

Do you want to get the edge over the others looking for that film or video production job? Get a copy of my book and study Part IV. That particular section is dedicated to showing you real life examples – it’s a complete training guide to all of the forms mentioned above, as well as the Daily Production Report and the Call sheet.

See the Home Page for more information on what the book is about.

Throughout the book I've inserted some of the juicier real life pitfalls that I've personally witnessed, reported on, or unwittingly participated in.

See Story #8 for one such story.

If You Work In Film Production (or want to) This Book Is For You
This book started out as an effort to answer a question that Ron Howard had put to me back in 1993. (You can check out the question in Chapter 1). The purpose of the book expanded from that question into a way to help Directors understand that 'Talking Money' is a simple, but necessary, tool to use during the film production.

See the page about Direct the Money - Walk The Talk.

Many of my subscribers are international. To avoid shipping charges I made the book available as a digital download to your own computer. This EBook also allows me to offer you a reduced rate.

Download the EBook for only $22.50 - immediate access to a practical guide with173 pages of experience to help you make it in film.

An added aim of this book to give an insight into the world of Production Managing. To my knowledge and research, exposure to this type of information just isn't available anywhere else. This book is vital for film crew who want to become a Production Manager.

See Crew-It's Cool To Walk The Talk.

I've written a series of 7 articles summarizing the book for Film Directors, Producers, Film Crew and Film Students. Check them out:

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