Getting Hired in the Production Industry with No Experience
Montana Film Office offers the following suggestions to persons that have no production experience but wish to work in the production industry (AND stay in Montana).
Establish contacts and network!
Call the Film Office (406.841.2876) and request a copy of the Montana 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 be a good idea to call and ask questions about their job and the industry in general. You
may be able to volunteer your time to help them get ready for their next project (run errands, shop for
props, etc.) 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 you didn’t know worked in the
industry.
Contact Montana’s film schools and volunteer your services.
Montana State University–Media & Theatre Arts
tel: 406.994.6224 | email: mta@montana.edu
University of Montana–Media Arts
tel: 406.243.4540 | email: MediaArts@umontana.edu
Film students are always looking for willing and able crew members to work on their projects. Though there is no pay, it’s a good place to get a crash course in filmmaking. And if you are a student, 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 free, or 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 “at 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 persistent… 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.
If a production does come to town, volunteer to work for free since you do not have any experience.
When a position comes open (and they always do) they will be more likely to hire the hardworking
‘volunteer’ with whom they’ve already established a working relationship.
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 resources/suggestions include:
| Internet Movie DataBase www.imdb.com An online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, and production crews. |
Internet Movie DataBase Glossary www.imdb.com/Glossary Definitions of terms and phrases frequently used in the world of movies, film, and acting. |
| "Breaking and Entering: Land Your First Job in Film Production" by April Fitzsimmons, 204 pages Lone Eagle Publishing Co. www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com |
"Careers in Film and Video Production" by Michael Horwin, 206 pages Focal Press www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com |
| "Get A Reel Job"
by Philip Nemy, 309 pages Angel's Touch Productions www.reeljob.net www.amazon.com |
"Job Descriptions for Film, Video & CGI” by William E. Hines, 342 pages Ed-Venture Films/Books www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com |
Production Assistant Guidelines available from Sandy
Curry; and Breaking Into Film: Making Your Career Search
a Blockbuster available from Peterson's.
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 website, 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’d like since information can only be placed 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 Hotline Page of the Montana Film Office website under "News 4 Crews".
Click here to download this page as a PDF. To find out about getting hired as an extra, click here: So You Wanna Be in Pictures". (PDF file)