Do You Want to Be Told What to Do?

Getting Work 13 Comments

Film Career Flowchart from Film Sourcing

Do you have a wild imagination and no shame? Are you skilled at cleaning up other people’s mess? Do you secretly want to direct?

If you’re able to answer those questions without a hint of hesitation, then choosing which path you follow in the film industry is about to get much easier — which is to say it’ll get slightly less hard.

The first time you step on a film set, it’s easy to get intimidated by all of the different positions and career possibilities: assistant directors, assistant assistant directors, script supervisors, prop masters, best boys, grips and electrics… the list goes on.

Luckily, someone has made a flowchart that’ll help when it comes time to ask yourself that complex question: “But, what do I want to do?”

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How to Get Producers to Beg You to Work

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How to Get Film Producers to Beg You to Work

It’s the phone call we all hope to get from a producer: “I really need you coming up. There’s nobody else we want.”

There’s something satisfying about being needed and wanted by a production, especially when it feels like you’re just another replaceable cog in the Hollywood machine.

But not everybody gets those calls. And even if you do, I bet they aren’t as frequent as you would hope. Most likely, you have to make concessions to get a job — on your day rate, on your accommodations, maybe even on the type of job you do.

And while that’s fine every once in awhile, it can get real old, real fast.

Instead, you want every phone call to be a producer begging you to come work for them — pleading that you’re the savior of the set. Well, you may not have them physically groveling at your feet, but here’s a few steps to get them to really want you nonetheless.

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Is the Camera Department Right for You?

Getting Work 26 Comments

It’s time to find out whether or not you have what it takes to make it in the camera department. While I got lucky when I fell into camera assisting, I want you to be aware of some of the demands you’ll be met with if you decide to pursue a career in camera.

In this video, I also take the time to announce a brand new, free eBook that I’m going to be releasing in the next couple of weeks. To sign up for instant delivery upon release, input your email in the form below or learn more about it here.

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Five Infographics About the Frantic World of Freelancing

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Five Infographics About the Frantic World of Freelancing

There’s a reason why a majority of the population chooses to work for somebody else. It’s easier, it’s simpler, it’s dependable. Freelancing — in any industry — is tough.

In the film industry, it doesn’t get any less brutal. You put in 17 hour days with little sleep, lug heavy equipment around all day, and then hope that a few days later somebody calls you up to do it all over again.

Thus is the world of freelance filmmaking — a frantic and emotional rollercoaster of hope and dismay.

And though there are many professions that embolden freelancers, the independence from a true employer unites them. So here are five infographics that beautifully deconstruct and examine what it means to freelance.

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What “Deadliest Catch” Can Teach You About Persistence

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What Deadliest Catch Can Teach You About Persistence

For those who have never caught an episode of Discovery Channel’s flagship show Deadliest Catch, it’s a reality series set deep within the world of Alaskan crab fishing.

For every 100,000 people that set out to do the job, about 300 never return mostly due to drowning or hypothermia. That’s a high-risk job, but not only is the danger very real, the physicality of the job is intense. The fishermen are often sloughed through 17 hour days of hauling bait, heavy “pots,” and operating complex machinery.

To live life as a crab fisherman is to live life on the edge and that’s not for everyone, which is evidenced by the shows high turnover of rookie fishermen referred to as “greenhorns.” The burnout rate among these greenhorns is inexplicably high. Many of them watch the show and believe they have the gusto to make it, but never do.

And here’s the real kicker: none of the seasoned crew really expect them to make it either.

Yet for as long as I’ve been watching the show, I will always remember one greenhorn in particular, Jason “Moi” Moilanen of the F/V Wizard.

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The Rollercoaster Ride of Landing a Film Crew Gig

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Intimidator 305 Rollercoaster at Kings Dominion photo credit: JonathanRobertWilson

You wait hours before you’re finally at the front of the line. But, really, you’ve been waiting longer than that — days, weeks, months even — just for this.

As you begin to realize the moment has arrived, your hands begin to tremble and your stomach starts to sing. You aren’t normally like this, but this time it’s different. It’s special because you want it more than anyone and you’d do anything to make it happen.

So you pick up the phone and you call the producer back, dialing each number slowly to delay the inevitable, but ready to pull out all the stops to help you actually get the gig.

Before you know it, the phone is ringing and it’s like you’re strapped in to a rollercoaster — one you’ve never been on before, one built to scare the hell out of you.

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The Deadly Dangers of the Double Dip

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The Deadly Double DipCreative Commons License photo credit: roboppy

You know the scenario all too well: you sit by the phone for days, maybe even weeks, waiting for a phone call asking if you’re available to work. Everytime an unknown phone number appears you get excited, only to be deflated by the realization it’s just Aunt Edna with a new cell phone.

Then, like water bursting from a dam, the calls flood in all at once. You fill up your next couple of weeks, hurridly penciling in gigs without thought, blinded by the excitement of work.

And then, whether by choice or by accident, you end up with “the double dip” — a stretch of work where you’re doing two different jobs on the same days.

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7 Difficulties Friends and Family Have With Your Film Job

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Angry Ann Difficulties of Film JobsCreative Commons License photo credit: joshjanssen

The freelance lifestyle is a tough sell to your friends and family who are used to traditional types of jobs. You know, the kind of jobs where you wear a suit and tie, shave every morning, smile at the boss, and, well, earn a steady paycheck.

To them, freelancing is the complete antithesis of that.

But to you, freelance filmmaking is full of opportunity to change your office each morning, work with different people, and arrive on set ready for a brand new experience everyday.

Spouses, best friends, parents — they all have their opinion on your job. Though they want the best for you and for you to be happy, but there are still obstacles in the way of their complete acceptance.

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5 Steps to Boost Your Professional Credibility

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5 Steps to Boost Your Professional Filmmaker CredibilityCreative Commons License photo credit: NASA

If you were an astronaut sitting atop a rocket, upon launch you’d be put through a whirlwind of 2.8 million pounds of force. This would help separate you from the Earth’s gravitational pull and travel from the ground into the upper strata of the atmosphere.

As a freelance filmmaker, you want to be the astronaut, but are stuck in the crowd watching the launches on TV, hoping one day to pull yourself from the gravitational field of inexperience and into the upper strata of the professional world.

To boost yourself into this realm involves, in part, establishing your professional credibility.

But how do you prove to those cutting the checks you’re skilled and worth the money? It’s tough, but with these five steps, you can start the countdown to blastoff.

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Warning: Sign That Deal Memo at Your Own Risk

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Warning: Sign that Deal Memo at Your Own Risk Creative Commons License photo credit: smoorenburg

Deal memos or crew contracts are the documents you’re asked to sign before a shoot. They are usually whipped up by the production company and form the official agreement between you and those hiring you.

In short, a deal memo is a contract of terms between you and whomever holds the money on the shoot. It addresses common parameters like your day rate, overtime pay, if meals are included, and other common conditions.

But like anything you slap your signature on, you want to know what you’re getting into with the deal memo and make sure you’re getting a fair deal.

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