Getting Hired
What you should know about getting hired in the production industry with no experience...(and you want to stay in Montana)
Establish contacts and network!
Call the Film Office
(406-841-2876) and request an updated crew list. This
will be helpful in letting you know who works in the film
industry in your area. If you recognize a name on the
crew list, it might not be a bad idea to call and ask questions
about their job and the industry in general. Maybe they
will let you spend a day with them to learn the job first
hand. You never know, they might become a great contact
and could lead to your first production assistant position.
You might even know someone on the crew list that you didn't
know worked in the industry.
Contact the film
school at MSU Bozeman (406-994-6224 - Media & Theatre
Arts). Film students are always looking for willing
and able crew members to work on their projects. Though
there is no pay, it is a good place to get a crash course
in filmmaking. And if you are a student - particularly
at MSU - work on as many projects as you can!!! The
experiences will prove invaluable when you are on an actual
set. Besides, you don't know where some of those students
will end up. The contacts you made with them while film
students might lead to some great jobs in the future.
Internships are always
a good idea, but they aren't as readily available in Montana
as they are in major production areas. However, internships
with professors, local TV stations, or local production companies
can certainly lead to a career in the industry. Working
for school credit will provide you with the kind of information
that is not available in the classroom.
If you are a student,
challenge yourself to produce quality work, which you can
enter in film festivals. This is great exposure and
can lead to more (paying!) work.
Persistence is essential.
You want to get on a film, get to know the people in the production
office. If you happen to be "in the right place, at
the right time" you might get a job.
Charm is also essential,
but do not continually annoy the production office with your
requests for a job. Be charming and persistant... that
takes a lot of work!
Learn basic skills
- how to: answer phones, use a computer, type, make
coffee, drive a stick shift, etc. This will ensure that
once you have a job, you'll keep the people that hired you
happy.
READ, READ, READ!!!
Get your hands on every bit of information about the industry
that you can, so when you do get your first break, you'll
know the lingo and it will seem as though you've already worked
in production before. Book suggestions include
Breaking
& Entering: Land Your First Job in Film Production
Production Assistant Guidelines available from Sandy
Curry; and Breaking Into Film: Making Your Career Search
a Blockbuster available from Peterson's. Many film production
books are available at
www.amazon.com
and at www.hcdonline.com.
Production Assistant Guidelines
217 N Henry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
718-389-6610
202 Carnegie Center
Princeton, NJ 08540
609-243-9111
After you've worked
on a production: Congratulations, you now have experience!
Contact the Film Office to ask about getting on the Montana
Crew list. As a section of the Montana Production
Guide, the crew list will make your name available to production
companies looking to hire local crew. The Montana
crew list is also included on the Film Office Webiste (www.montanafilm.com,
[the site you're on now]) giving you more exposure to the
film industry. There is no charge to be on the crew
list.
The Montana Film
Office hotline lists current projects that need crew.
Unfortunately, it isn't always as informative as we would
like since information can only be included on our hotline
after a production company gives permission. Often production
companies are reluctant to release information about their
project during its early phase. The hotline phone number
is 406-444-3960. This same information is also available
on the Film Office Webiste in the News 4 Crews section (the
section you're in now).
To find out about getting hired as an extra, click here: "So You Wanna Be in Pictures". (PDF file)