Following on from Part 1, it’s also important to look at the attributes you need to be successful. You absolutely must stay on top of your admin! The amount of times I’ve seen talented people fail at the last hurdle because they weren’t organised.
Save copies of projects
Keep track of credits
Update your showreel / maintain your portfolio
Know where your documents, contracts and files are
Invoices, agreements, contracts and administration might not be the reason you wanted a career in film, but being organised means that when an opportunity appears, you’re able to respond to it immediately. You don’t want somebody asking for your showreel on Tuesday and still be editing one together on Friday.
Never assume you’ve finished learning; technology changes, platforms change, audiences and trends change, even the way content is produced and distributed changes. Following on from my point in Part 1 about doing more outside of the classroom; your education therefore shouldn’t end when your course does.
You want to remain curious because this is what compels you to take courses and watch tutorials, learn new software packages, experiment with free tools. Curiosity also extends to keeping an eye on what’s happening across the industry.
You don’t necessarily need to become an expert in every department, but understanding what the people around you do can make you better at your own job and better at collaborating with them. As I’ve worked in many different departments within the film industry (in pre and post production), I feel they have all contributed to me becoming a better performer.
Another thing is adaptability matters; as mentioned earlier about changes, the platforms and workflows you learn today may not be the one you’re using ten years from now.
Understanding that talent just isn’t enough. Of course it matters, but it’s essential to have other traits such as:
Being punctual
Doing what you said you would do
Meeting a deadline
Being able to work with other people when they’re tired or if something has gone wrong, especially if you’re tired yourself
It’s not just about technical ability, but also resilience, patience, curiosity, creativity, adaptability, work ethic, communication and collaboration all matters.
Productions often experience problems; locations change, equipment fails (or someone forgot to charge the batteries!), unfavourable weather, someone becomes unavailable, a shot doesn’t work, a deadline being brought forwards, the list goes on. If you’ve read my other articles. then you’ll know that I emphasise the importance of being able to remain calm, think critically and find solutions makes you valuable.
Doing things outside of the classroom can often expose you to those issues, which allows you to be able to respond well under pressure.
As mentioned earlier about your reputation, people not only remember the person who helped solve the problem, they also remember the person who created one. Your reputation isn’t something that suddenly appears once you’re successful; you’re building it from your earliest projects.
Dealing with rejection
Rejection really is part of a creative career; you won’t get every job, you won’t get a response to every email and not every film you submit to a festival will get selected. Every email won’t receive a response. You absolutely need a thick skin in this industry, which is why it’s important to treat rejection as redirection; not now never means not ever.
Not everything is personal either; sometimes you’re may not have been the right fit, there wasn’t enough budget, or they hired someone they already knew. So keep improving, keep creating and keep meeting people
…and of course, keep some perspective.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
Certainly not yet. There can be a temptation, especially when you’re enthusiastic about a creative career or opportunity, to believe that commitment means going all in immediately. There is nothing shameful about having another job while establishing yourself. I worked full time, part time, evening and weekend jobs concurrently, like many others do. It’s a means to an end; in fact, removing some of the financial pressure can give you the time required to make sensible career decisions rather than accepting absolutely anything because you desperately need the money.
Taking care of yourself
Building a sustainable career can take time, so please take your time and look after yourself whilst you’re doing it.
This industry often involves uncertainty, rejection, long days and periods of intense pressure. Ambition is important, but so is knowing when to stop, breathe and reset. Your career matters, but it isn’t worth destroying yourself in pursuit of it. The final advice in my original lecture was deliberately simple; take good care of yourself. You can only donate money if you have money; you can only really give yourself if you first have yourself, so put yourself first.
You can’t control exactly when an opportunity will arrive. You can only control how prepared you are when it does. You can’t wing it (and those who do who get the job get found out eventually); you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training and preparedness.
The route from passion to picture is rarely straight. There will be diversions, quiet periods and rejection along the way, so keep creating anyway. Ultimately, the objective isn’t simply to break into the industry, but rather to build the skills, relationships, reputation and resilience that allow you to stay in it.