Getting Into The Industry: The First Steps

In my previous article, Getting Into The Industry: Industry or Film School? I wrote about the advantages and disadvantages of entering the industry or going to film school. In doing so I skimmed past a crucial element of getting into the industry; how the hell you get your first step in!?

From the outside the film & TV industry can seem like an impenetrable fortress with invisible gatekeepers. I was raised in a small market town called Driffield in East Yorkshire, half way between York and Hull. Growing up in the middle of nowhere I looked at the industry as something both physically and mentally so far away that, on the surface, it seemed like I wasn’t made for it. But my experience has been the film & TV industry needs everyone from all walks of life.

Seriously!

Look at the stories exposed to the world recently; It’s a Sin, Coda, The Harder They Fall, Gods Own Country, Belfast, After Love and shorts like The Long Goodbye. The industry, whether they are aware or not, need fresh, diverse filmmaking voices on their slates.

So, if you’re fresh out of high school, film school, university or you are seeking to pursue that dream of making your way into the film & TV industry where do you start? What is that crucial first step?

1) Find Your Sector

It’s tempting to put this section as find yourself, because deciding on which sector of the industry you’d like to be part of is essentially about knowing where your passions and interests lay. Are you interested in piecing sound and image together, do you have an acute ear for good sound, do you love light and framing images, organising shoots, promoting talent and content, drawing special effects? What is it you have a keen interest in?

Once you know what you like doing it’s about realising how this can be turned into a career and whether your sector is production, camera, editing, sound recording, sound design, offline editing, VFX, catering, art department etc. Take time to make this decision and do your research on these sectors because you really want to do something you love otherwise it becomes hard work.

I realise this feels a long way from making a film but really you need to experience the way a film works from inside the industry. Professional filmmaking is a long way from you making your movies at home and you need to learn how the process of each part of the industry works and meet the people who will help you take your next step along the way. So find your sector, once you do you need to find a job in that world…

2) Research, Research, Research

It’s so crucial to take the time to look up this sector to discover the different roles within it, what they do and where it can take you.

Then, you need to look at what companies are in your reach. You aren’t going to do very well applying to a job in LA when you are based in Aberdeen. You need to consider what places are around you, or where you’re willing to move in order to work for these companies. It’s not just London as well, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol all have small but buzzing creative industries like the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and indie production companies looking for entry level positions, check out your local film hub news on Twitter, Linked In or directly on their websites.

It’s a simple search in Google or even better, look at the films and TV series you love and check the credits for the main people involved then look them up, chances are you’ll find the companies they’ve worked for and how they got to where they are. Take inspiration from them in your research and look at similar roles to the ones they started from.

3) Put Yourself Out There!

Once you’ve found the sector of the industry, the company you want to work for and the job you want to begin from then don’t be afraid to let the company know that. There will be many managers who are thrilled to get notified you really want to work for them. As long as it’s realistic and not a CEO position for your first role then give them an email and let them know of your interest.

If there are no current roles going at that time start preparing for a role to come up by getting work experience, making films that might be similar to the work this company make, making a showreel or compiling documentation that would be part of that role/industry sector. It’s in your favour to do this because when that job comes up there might be 500 people applying for it, without something to make you shine that employer might pass you by.

One sneaky piece of advice, if you contact the production company directly take a chance at trying to guess their emails, you can usually find the info@ email on the website then try their name at the start and some variations to get through to them direct. That’s how I landed my first job at a production company…

4) Be Ready To Fail

Failure is the most common norm in this industry. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, if anything you should embrace failure. But you want to compete against it for every position you apply for. Ask yourself, how do I beat failure this time? Just imagine you’re bottom of the premiership and you’re attempting to top the table by the end of the season by playing each application one by one. How do you improve your tactics? How can you best prepare for the next one? Have you got an ace in the sleeve you can pull out for this one? No? You failed? No problem, beat the next one.

Failure is important, it grounds us and forces us to face reality. No one is perfect, failure effects everyone, and getting back up and fighting harder is the most important part of it. You’re allowed to be tired, take an occasional day off, but get back to it and keep pushing for that work. It might take a few weeks, a few months, even a few years. So long as you keep getting up and pushing hard, you will be the biggest winner of all, because you will have the respect of everyone around you once you get to where you want to be!

Now crack on, pick yourself up and start your journey into taking your first step into your dream job! You owe it to yourself…