How To Break Into Film & TV In A Work-From-Home World
By Donald Bull
Before lockdown, it seemed easier to break into Film and TV. Once in, it seemed easier to get your next job. You just had to be a hard-working and dependable human pinball. But in this post-pandemic WFH world, how can you be a human pinball, creating and networking and getting your work in front of as many people as you can, when there are no other people around you, for you to bounce off? It was easy to be a pinball when I was starting out. My first job was as a production assistant on PBS news documentaries. We were on an outdoor shoot and the field producer handed me twenty bucks and said, “go find that leaf blower and pay him to stop for 15 minutes.” Three walls and two dogs later, I found the gardener and bought enough silence that cameras could roll. I was the hero of the day. Proximity was destiny. I hung around the camera crew and they liked me. That got me a job as a camera assistant in charge of the ice chests in three camera vans. I kept the drinks and snacks cold enough that summer that I got promoted to Associate Producer (cue trumpets). Lingering. Hanging Out. Listening. Offering to help. Getting coffee. Seeing what is needed. Throwing out the trash. My goal was simple: make myself indispensable. Continue reading at Stage 32 "How To Break Into Film & TV in a Work-From-Home World"