Excalibur Web edition: "Breaking into the film industry isn’t as easy and glamorous as it seems.
After high school, I took a rather different route in life.
I had no plans, no real ambition and I sure as hell wasn’t planning on heading back to school again. “Lost” is a good word to describe this feeling."
12 comments:
I think it is important to constantly remind everyone in the school of drama how important connections are. After working on this film as an intern this semester, every single person I've met got their job on this film either through a friend's recommendation, or because they had worked with the people before. It is such an important part of finding work and I feel like not enough emphasis is put on it.
I love hearing stories like this from professional stagehands, especially those in the unions who we usually get fairly little contact with. (It's a shame that 'Humble Nailbanger' seems to have let their hosting expire.) Often we talk about stagehands in terms of budgeting or union contracts and the like, but it's important to remember that there is an involved and difficult process that brings them to the career they end up with. The issue of job stability is certainly a big recurring theme. Even for a well-respected, well-connected stagehand, a job isn't guaranteed day-to-day. I don't remember where, but I remember reading a post once about the challenges of finding enough work while TV studios would close for weeks at a time. When we hear about the challenges of IATSE contracts, it's worth thinking about just how unusual these jobs are.
No matter who I have talked to everyone brings up how important connections are. It is all about the people you know. I think Megan has the right idea in that students do not realize how influential other people's opinions are. I'm not saying that people should meet people just to meet them, but everyone should be very aware of how they act in any professional setting. You never know who will be there.
When I first read this article, I hadn't focused on where it was being written from. So when he said there were two ways to break in: nepotism or joining a Canadian union, i was a bit taken aback. But the article really highlighted two things for me. One, as others have said, how important connections really are, and that its okay/good to go to a friend of a friend of a friend. whatever gets you there. Also, I didn't realize how many US movies were made in Canada. It was just not something i had thought of much.
I agree with Megan, that connections are everything in this industry. Every person working on the set is referred by the friend of a friend who met so and so in the Bahamas on another shoot and got along great etc. Learning people skills and bonding with the people with whom you work is the difference between having constant work and scrambling from gig to gig. Writing down names and sending a Christmas card each year will keep you working for years truly.
So I hear that connections are a big part of it, but he doesn't talk about having good connection because he had a focus on networking or because he made it a social point. He says he has connections because he did a good job and made a good impression. Sometimes I think that talking about 'connections' and networking is just a way to over-formalize (and sometimes lose) the original points: do good work and be friendly.Connection are definitely important, but he's not talking about connection you go out and build, but rather about the connections that are the natural result of good work.
I am happy to see the author's commitment to the ugly side of the business. It doesn't lie about what it takes to even work towards getting paid. In addition, this article further emphasizes the importance of connections, whether family or friends, in order to truly get where you want. Hard work is part of it, but only just a part of it. It's disappointing to read an article however from a man who enjoys films when its making money. You think a true industry man would be hopping to the next project, wherever that may take him. This also emphasizes the need to move for work because that is the nature of the beast. You can work well in one place but never fully succeed in one place, especially is the beginning of your career.
This is what scares me a good bit about the entertainment business, and hope I get really good at in the coming years: making connections...getting your foot in the door.
Just doing a stunning job doesn't always cut it--you got to be social able and willing to do things on the fly that may not be in your comfort zone (with in reason, of course). I almost wish we had a class on effective networking strategies, in addition to our design courses. Once we got the skills to be great designers or technicians, we got to have ways of getting out there.
Hopefully, we'll have some of that in our coming years here at CMU.
It's interesting to hear this story from the point of view of someone who originally did not have very strong connections in the industry and was still able to get on the inside. However, for us I think this article serves best as a reminder that who you know is almost as important as what you know. It's not an ideal situation, but it does make some sense. Who wouldn't want to hire someone they already knew first hand did good work?
The things people put themselves through to do what they want is extraordinary. The trade off, doing what you love for a living. Like several other who have already commented on this article have said, connections are everything. It is about who you have trained under, worked for or with and who they might know that will get you your next job. Also, it is a shame that it is so hard for interested people to get involved in these industries. While on one side, the system makes sure that only the best succeed, I imagine that there are many missed opportunities for producers, directors, and dept. heads because the industry is such a mystery.
Yup, it's all about connections. Megan and I have worked with the same people; because of their generosity, I've got a smattering of union days under my belt. Not enough to join IATSE, but enough so that I feel like I have a few people I can talk to. Show business is about entertaining people; it only makes sense that the industry should be so socially-oriented.
One of the things I love about this program is the fact that we all know and support each other. Our professors know who we are and know our strengths and when we are having good or bad days. We are a community and we look out for each other.
The people you know are SO important in this business. I hear time and time again about how small this theatre world is, but I am constantly reminded of how true this statement is. Everywhere I work I seem to meet someone who knows someone that I know. It's kind of fun, actually, seeing how you connect with other people. I know it must be very similar in the movie business--so yes, be careful of what you say and do around people who could be of service to you in the future. The movie industry is something I'd love to break into--hopefully the "easy" way--by knowing the right person.
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