How to Work in Film?

How do you work in television or cinema? How do you approach directors, producers, or editors? How do you get into show business? This is a question everyone asks me since I started doing this job. The competition is very high, and everyone benefits a little. There are even people who write books on the subject, deceiving the unsuspecting that after this “interesting” read, they will surely be able to find a nice spot on television. All nonsense. Beware of anyone selling you something while assuring you that you will achieve — from what you should buy — great success, profits, or milestones. Beware of politicians promising you a “job” in exchange for your vote. You would always be stamped with a color that, when they are no longer in government, will also be your downfall. And don’t even think about prostituting yourself. Whether you’re a whore or a walk-on, you were born that way. You wouldn’t make it over time, and as rumors circulate, everyone would feel entitled to ask you for favors, even for two days of poorly paid work.

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Cinema and TV: how to get in

“Getting into” cinema or television is the dream, desire, ambition, and project of an ever-increasing number of people. We could say that the worse things are in our country, the more people think that show business is a last and yet excellent opportunity. Many see cinema or television as a place full of beautiful girls, wealthy men, a kind of joyful paradise where you earn so much money and become famous. Few see working in cinema or television for what it is: a tough business, no hours, with little certainty, loaded with stress. Millions in the hands of a few. Everyone earns well or even a lot, but for the toil they do, they deserve every last cent they put in their pocket. Cinema and television are also, of course, a craft of great charm, allowing you to meet thousands and thousands of people, hundreds and hundreds of places you wouldn’t even dream of reaching. Working in cinema or television can give you immense satisfaction or disappointment. And you are not always the author or the responsible party. When I write cinema and television, I mean the profession of cinema or television, and the craft of cinema and television combines a truly exceptional number: directors and screenwriters work there, authors, text contributors and editors, producers and directors, production secretaries and studio assistants, camera operators and sound operators, editors and publishers, tailors and costume designers, electricians and grips, decorators and set designers, graphic designers and computer scientists, set designers and gaffers, hairdressers and makeup artists. But if we look closely, we see that there is room for everyone in cinema and television: technicians of all kinds, employees from all sectors, staff, accountants, surveyors, interpreters, historians, journalists, analysts…

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Working in television

In television, there is a huge difference compared to the rest of the working world: you never really know who truly matters; there is never anyone who really counts. It may happen that in the morning a pretty young girl, recommended by someone, becomes the correspondent or the director who knows where. But what she does is under everyone’s eyes. If she does it well, she continues to do it; if not, she stays home. In most cases. At the gates of television, as I mentioned earlier, today everyone knocks a little, all proposing primarily their common “desire” to do television, alongside degrees in communication sciences or theoretical courses in various arts. But it is absolutely useless to send a CV to TV. If it goes, it gets stored in a folder that will never be opened by anyone. Job opportunities cannot be offered by a production company. Let’s see how.

Working in production

First, decide who you are. Here, we are talking about “starting” to work. So you are nobody. If they don’t ask you, it’s pointless to talk about your last film or the experience you had as an extra. Show yourself by saying that you have a bit of experience, that you are available, that you want to learn. If they ask you what you would like to do one day, don’t respond by saying “director” or “production manager.” If you have a nice, intelligent face and you seem very alert, if it’s a production manager, he will already see you as a competitor and reject you. Let’s say you’re there to understand what your path might be one day, that it’s too early to say, but you are ready to do anything.

Don’t think about making money right away. To survive, work as a waiter, caregiver, dog sitter; learn to invest as much time as you have to put the curtains in a production office. When you are on set, don’t walk, run. When you ask for something, don’t respond in a threadbare voice. Speak up: “Here I am!”, “Coming!”, “Ready!”. Watch how professionals move, how they relate to others. Be kind and helpful to everyone, but never trust anyone. Don’t criticize, don’t comment, avoid becoming part of a group.

The company where you submitted your CV hasn’t called you yet? Go back to them, bring it back to them. And come back again after fifteen days and again and again and again. They will take you for the definition. Leave the phone and emails alone. They don’t respond and don’t read. Show up without an appointment, thank the secretaries. Stand in a corner and wait, patiently, smiling, back straight, not depressed and defeated.

If you are looking for guarantees, security, this job is not for you. When you finally get your first job, it’s not automatic that you will get the second. Each time you are on trial, each time you are in line. It’s like that for everyone.

There is one thing that really matters to work in cinema or television. One thing that is more important than anything else: the craft. Your goal then, once you get your first job, is to learn as much as you can about this profession.

Red, yellow, green, big, fat, low, ugly, dry, nothing matters: those who know the craft work. Those who know how to work are a valuable asset to a production. In a production, there may also be ten recommended or twenty kiss-ups, but there may not be those who know how to work.