If you’re passionate about film, or are interested in working in the film industry, you’ve probably at one point or another expressed interest in going to film school. It’s only natural to want to learn everything there is to know about what you love!

There are plenty of benefits to attending and it’s one of the most “fun” majors you can choose, but is it the right decision for you? In my opinion, if you’re aiming to start getting jobs in the film industry, going to film school is the last thing you should be doing.

In the video below, I talk about my personal experiences with film school and talk about how I don’t regret going, but would definitely not go if I were to do things over again.

Today I’m going to be breaking down the arguments for, and against film school, and why we think you should reconsider your strategy if you want to do anything related to film aside from being an independent filmmaker. Let’s get right into it!

There Are A Few Good Reasons To Go To Film School…

Just to clarify, there are several totally valid reasons why going to film school can be a good idea. There are rebuttals for most of them, but the benefits are tangible; Film school is not an absolute waste of time.

It’s great for networking.

There’s no denying that while I was in film school I met tons of awesome people who not only became good friends of mine, but also got me plenty of work once I got out of film school.

Film students are often the future of the industry, and going to a reputable film school increases your chances of becoming best friends and collaborators with the next Scorsese.

While attending, I always thought that if I wasn’t attending school I wouldn’t be able to meet those people. We’ve got something to say about that a bit later.

You will learn a lot about independent filmmaking & the art of film.

Attending film school is genuinely one of the best ways you can learn everything you need to know about Independent Filmmaking and the art of film. You’ll get a formal education on screenwriting, lighting, directing, camera equipment, and anything else related to the creative side of film.

The most useful information I gained during film school was that relating to producing and screenwriting. Having access to large classrooms of students and professors who could give me constructive criticism definitely improved my storytelling skills.

It’s also valuable to have a more balanced understanding of how film works as a whole. It’s not necessary to get work, but the gaffer who understands writing or the costume designer that understands lighting can create more meaningful light.

You should go if it’s free.

If you have a full ride scholarship, you should go without question. The education is definitely worth your time, you’ll have a ton of fun, and you’ll gain access to a bunch of perks like equipment, crew members, and networking events for free.

Besides, the four years in which your expenses are paid for are a great opportunity for you to start practicing making your own films. You’ll also have the ability to volunteer your time on film sets for free – one of the best strategies we detailed in our guide to becoming a production assistant.

Why You Shouldn’t Go To Film School

Now that we’ve established the benefits, lets talk about why there are better uses of your time and money.

The industry does not care about your film degree.

I’m putting this first because it’s the most important.

In all my time in the film industry, not once has any employer cared about whether or not I had a film degree. In fact, more often than not I didn’t even have to submit a resume to get the job.

The few times that I did submit a resume, they didn’t care at all about my degree or the student films I had been a part of. They only wanted to see that I had experience working in the position that they wanted to hire me for. It’s clear that the people doing the hiring in the industry understand what it’s like to hire a film student.

If you’re interested in becoming a professor of film, or a film critic in a respected publication, a degree in film may be an absolute requirement. For all other industry work however, your experience (and your reel if interviewing for a creative position) will be the only things examined by potential employers.

Jobs in film are driven by word of mouth more than almost any other industry in the world. Getting hired can either be incredibly fast and easy, or downright impossible, based on who you know and what they think of you. This segues well into our next reason.

You don’t actually need to pay tuition to do the networking.

The most compelling argument for film school is that it is where you meet the important collaborators who will help make your dreams come true.

But what if we told you that you didn’t actually need to enroll in order to meet these people and make these connections? Here’s three ways you can do the film school networking, without paying the film school price.

1. Casting Calls

As a former film student myself, I know that film students are constantly putting out casting calls for their films. Their crews are also often very shorthanded, and most people

If you’re interested in dabbling in acting, you can audition and probably land a part in their shorts. If you don’t get the part, or don’t care about acting, you can volunteer to help on their films. You’ll certainly be accepted, and if you work hard, they’ll keep calling you back to help on more! Not only will you be getting tons of valuable experience, but you’ll also be making lasting partners that you’ll have for years to come.

When I was in film school, there was a large group of people I knew that comprised the local “indie/student” community. While a majority of these were film students, many of them were just small time actors taking any roles they could. They were as well-known as any film student, and got access to all the opportunities without having to actually go to class.

2. Networking Events

Film schools have regular mixers and networking events, and often times nobody cares if non-students are attending! Check the website of your local university’s film school for details, and submit your e-mail to subscribe to their newsletter if they have one.

I formed several important connections at these networking events while I was in school that ended up actually getting me work in the long run. Plus, the fact that you “snuck” in is a great icebreaker!

3. Talking With Professors

Finally, you shouldn’t forget that professors usually prioritize educating others over anything else. In most cases, professors became teachers because they love educating others and helping people become better filmmakers.

They have no incentive to care about whether or not the people they are helping are actually paying tuition. Quite honestly, they’re probably dealing with more than a few apathetic students who don’t pay any attention and waste their time.

If you approach one of these professors after (not during) a lecture, or during their office hours, they will likely be very enthusiastic to help someone so interested in learning.

Note: Don’t bug them with dozens of film related questions. Instead, tell them you are extremely eager for opportunities, and  curious about what events are coming up that can help further your career in film. Let them know you’ll do anything, even work for free. You might even be able to assist them on one of their personal projects! 

If digging to find their office feels too creepy for you, just get their e-mail address off the internet and shoot them an E-mail! Remember, the worst thing that can happen is that they ignore you, or tell you no. You are not doing anything illegal, or even immoral. You’re simply being very proactive with your networking.

Bonus: We’ve actually written a few guides on how you can efficiently network and get jobs in the film industry. We’ll link them here.

• How To Become A Production Assistant – 3 Proven Strategies
• Our Guide To Entry Level Film Jobs

The investment would be better spent elsewhere.

Without scholarships and financial help, you’re going to end up paying between 60-100k or even more than that for your bachelors degree in film.

That same amount of money could be invested in camera equipment to give you everything you need to make film-festival quality movies, or to hire crew. You could even get free crew members by reaching out to film students with the opportunities you’re creating!

If you’re committed to using the money on education, realize that paying for a one-on-one instructor is pretty reasonably priced when compared to an accredited university (especially if you end up dorming).

Or, you could even just use that money to live off of while you shadow filmmakers and work for free. Again, working for free is one of the fastest ways to get your name out there and prove your value as a crew member.

Most schools won’t teach you what you need to learn to work in the industry.

Now, we didn’t do an audit of every single film school in the country, but in the experience of myself and my film industry peers, most film schools do not properly prepare you for the industry whatsoever.

Film school is typically geared towards the cinematic arts and learning about the process of independent filmmaking. If you only care about those two facets, it’s a great tool. In my experience however, most people who enroll in film school are enticed by the idea of being a part of major motion pictures.

Film school does not prepare you for the reality that you’ll be working 60-80 hours a week in just about any film industry position. It also doesn’t tell you that unless you’re going the indie route, you’ll likely be doing boring, non-creative PA work for a really long time.

The most important thing absent from my formal film education was on-set protocol. Although I was able to make industry friends who prevented me from committing any major faux-pas, this was definitely not the case for many of my classmates.

In fact, I watched several of my peers get their first PA jobs only to have their reputations immediately ruined for not understanding how to behave on a film set.

You don’t need to go to a university to learn about film.

If you aren’t a very good self-directed learner and struggle with reading books on your own, you could even take private film bootcamps. There are tons of great YouTube channels making content on film form and history, and many websites (like us) that can teach you the things you need to know to succeed in the industry.

Since the advent of the internet, we’ve had the ability to learn about anything we need to know for either free, or very little cost.

Also, most of the classes I took in college were derived from a single book that the professor was a fan of. Simply reading the book alone would’ve been almost as effective as the course, and I wouldn’t have had to waste a bunch of time while the teacher dealt with other students.

You’ll only further your career if you go the extra mile in school anyways.

This applies to pretty much every industry in this day-and-age.

Many students believe that by putting in the work and getting good grades, they are promised a job upon graduation based on those merits alone.

Unfortunately, with how competitive the marketplace is in this day-and-age, just getting the degree and the knowledge is far from enough. If you aren’t making an effort to take part in internships, and work on people’s films, you won’t have any opportunities or connections when you get out anyways.

A lot of people from my school went on to great things, but they were all the people who were taking advantage of every opportunity and internship. For every student participating and putting themselves out there, there were 8-9 students who just coasted, took classes, and ended up working in retail once they graduated.

Your results are largely dependent on the things you are doing outside of class, so why even bother with class to begin with?

In Conclusion…

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to make the right call about whether or not film school is the right choice for you. There’s plenty of valid points to both sides of the argument, but you’re the only one who knows what is best for you.

In closing, we’d like to invite you to ask yourself, “Why am I going to film school?“. If it’s a part of a concrete plan, or something you won’t need to go into debt for, it might just be a good idea.

However, if you’re doing it because you don’t know what to do next in life, or because you’re being forced into picking a major, you should probably spend a little more time thinking about your future first.

Please feel free to debate us in the comment section below. We answer all of them!

What does CG Stand For? If you’ve spent any amount of time near film, TV, and media, you’ve probably heard the term thrown around, and you might even have a loose understanding of what it means.

Today we’re going to be telling you what CG stands for and some examples of it. We will also be discussing the history of the term and some different meanings it has had in the past.

What Does CG Stand For In 2018?

First, a quick answer to your question before we dive a bit deeper into its origins.

Today, the term “CG” is most widely used as an abbreviation of the acronym CGI. CGI stands for Computer-Generated Imagery, a term used to refer to all of the special visual effects (VFX) created using computers to enhance the look of a live action or animated film.

Therefore, CG would mean just “Computer Graphics” or “Computer Generated (Imagery)”.

If you’ve been to the movies at all in the last decade, you have definitely seen CG in some shape or form – even in ways you wouldn’t expect. While your first instinct might be to think of Thanos or Smaug, CGI contributes a lot more than just animated characters.

It’s used to create particle effects, duplicate actors to simulate larch crowds, and even remove undesired elements from the frame. In recent times, over 3 million dollars was even spent to remove Henry Cavill’s Mustache. So yes, even a bare upper lip can qualify as CGI in this age.

So, if you’ve heard the term used any time in the last 5-15 years, that would almost always be the proper meaning. However, just a few years before that it could sometimes have a slightly different interpretation.

What Did CG Mean In Prior To The Early 2000s?

Before the era of everyone having the tools to create professional grade content, creating simple titles was a process that required a large investment in dedicated hardware.

A device that could produce these titles and key them into a video feed was called a CG or Character Generator.

Character Generators were used primarily for things like credit rolls, name tags, sports scoreboards and news crawls, as well as graphics and logos as the hardware became more sophisticated.

Before character generators were available, productions achieved a similar effect by shooting a secondary video feed with physical titles shot against a black background. This process is also where we got the now-common film term “Keying” – in reference to a space in the shape of the letters being cut out like a keyhole.

As the technology progressed, things like motion graphics and advanced animations became possible. The difference between “Character Generator” and “Computer Graphics” has been becoming progressively smaller.

In this day and age, we use tools like Adobe Premiere, After effects, Illustrator and Photoshop to create the graphics that are displayed on screen. While the graphics these programs add qualify as “Computer Generated Imagery”, they are also, in a way, our modern “Character Generators”.

1. Come Equipped

Good PAs have everything they would ever need to do their job on hand at all times. You need a lot more than you would think to do the job well, and running around set trying to find a pencil when you have a million things to get done does not bode well for your image.

Sure, you could come into work without anything and probably do okay. However, running around with a burger king headset on your head always makes you look amateurish. Plus, you don’t want to be the only one wearing a garbage bag when it starts to pour on set.

For a more complete list on all the necessary gear for production assistants, as well as our recommendations for what products/brands are the best, head on over to our comprehensive guide!

2. Be Proactive

The ability to be proactive and a self-directed worker are the biggest factors in determining whether you’re a veteran or a rookie. It definitely comes with experience, but if you go in to a job with the mindset of being as proactive as possible, you will definitely get there faster.

What needs to be done varies from set to set, but rarely varies day to day. When each day starts you should know what is being shot, what actors are being used and other important things like location changes. You may just be a tiny cog in the machine, but if you are able to immerse yourself and invest deeper in the production, you will be infinitely more useful.

Learn the important people and keep eyes on them at all time. Memorize the coffee orders you’re getting every day so that you can fetch them without even being asked. Start getting ready to load up the tents when you hear that you’re on the martini. The more you can do without being asked, the more that the AD team is going to love you.

3. Learn Social Skills

The film industry is built around social connections more than almost any other industry. Your career trajectory will be made or broken by your ability to network efficiently and leave a good impression on the people that you meet – and that’s about more than just hard work.

Having good social skills will ensure that you have the highest priority when people are looking for a PA, and that people will want to help you grow as fast as possible. When you’re super duper charming, the director could like your vibe so much he hires you as his personal assistant. Literally anything is possible.

Just don’t have any expectations – but that’s a part of social skills itself.

Here’s a list of useful books on social interaction that will take your people skills to the next level:

• How To Win Friends And Influence People By Dale Carnegie
• The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People By Stephen R. Covey
• Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion By Robert B Cialdini
• Crucial Conversations By Kerry Patterson, Josephy Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

4. Destroy The Ego

It could be argued that all of the problems plaguing the earth stem from the ego, but we’ll save that debate for another day.

Fact is, having an ego or identity is likely the main cause if you’re dealing with drama on set.

If you don’t think you have en ego problem, you probably do. Everyone has ego problems of varying sizes, and being aware of that is the first step you can take towards managing it.

This might be getting a little woo-woo spiritual for you, so we’ll break it down into some actionable advice here.

• Take responsibility for your mistakes.
• Let go of the need to be “right”.
• Don’t make any excuses.
• Be open to learning. Everybody has something to teach you and all opinions are valid.
• Realize you are not above any sort of work and you are not superior or inferior to anyone else on set.
• Remember that there is never a valid reason to be angry or hateful. Respond with empathy instead.

When learning the ropes of the film industry, it is inevitable that at some point you’ll find yourself asking the question: What is a call sheet? Everyone’s always talking about them, and you don’t want to look like a rookie. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place!

We’re going to be discussing what they are, what information needs to be included on one, and how you can go about making one for yourself! Let’s get right into it.

What Is A Call Sheet?

The call sheet is arguably the most important document in a production when it comes to keeping things on time, organized, and running smoothly. The call sheet is a sheet with ALL of the information pertaining to a day of shooting. 

They’re sent out to every single member of the cast and crew by E-mail, and dozens of extra copies are usually available in the on-set production office. In addition, PAs are instructed to carry 3-4 call sheets on them at all times to have them readily available for any crew members who want to ask for them.

Making a call sheet does take a considerable amount of time, but the amount of time they save a production in the long run is staggering. Most crew members will find themselves looking at the call sheet dozens of times every day, so it’s important that the information they need is both there, and accurate.

Here’s an excellent Call Sheet Template example we found on Slideshare. We’re going to break down all the essential information in just a second.

To the uninitiated, this barrage of information can be quite intimidating, but after you finish this article you’ll have all the knowledge you need to not only read a call sheet, but make one yourself!

Date, Day _ of _

At the very top of the call sheet, you’ll find the date of the shoot as well as which shooting day it is out of the total shooting days.

This is important, as over the duration of a shoot, many crew members will usually have piles of old call sheets lying around their house and vehicles. You don’t want anyone getting mixed up and showing up at the wrong location!

Title Of Production And Company

The title of the production, name of the production company, and address of the production office can also be found near the top of a call sheet. Large productions almost always have some sort of code-name that is used during casting and the production process.

For instance, while Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was in production, it was referred to on all documents as Ancient Futures.

Full List Of Cast And Crew w/ Call Times

The call sheet contains a list of all members of the cast and crew that should be in attendance on the shoot, and even some personnel who will likely not be on set.

There will be a large call time near the top of the front page. This is the general call time for all crew, but most people will likely have their own individual call times listed next to their names. Some departments will need to come in earlier to set things up, while other may not have to show up until later in the day.

For cast, additional times are included such as what time they will need to arrive on set, go through hair/wardrobe/makeup, and be ready to shoot. On larger films, cast is usually referred to by aliases to protect their identity and the project.

Crew members are divided up by department. If a call time isn’t listed for an individual, it’s because they are going to receive theirs from their key supervisor. It’s not uncommon for department heads to tell their crew members to ignore the call sheet. The sheet is made by production, and they don’t always have the full picture of what each department is trying to accomplish.

In addition to call times, targeted wrap and meal times are also listed on the call sheet.

How Call Times Are Determined

Call times are determined by what needs to be shot and turn-arounds. Keeping a film production open is very expensive, so shoots aim to maximize daylight. Day shoots usually start somewhere between 5-7AM, with night shoots starting at 5-7PM.

On union shows, Actors and key crew members have “turn-around” times that specify how much time off they need between shoots. Actors have the longest one with 12 hours, with camera having the second longest at 11.

That means you’ll always have around 12 hours between wrap and the next day’s call, and you’ll have to push the next day’s call back if you run overtime. If the production has things they can shoot without actors, they will only need to push it back by 11 hours.

Contact Information

On larger sets this usually only includes the line producer, UPM, Locations manager, and production coordinator. Some smaller sets may list the phone number of every single crew member.

Including contact information for important crew members who aren’t present on set is usually a good idea.

Important Note: Be careful whose contact information is being disclosed. You obviously don’t want to be distributing call sheets with Christopher Nolan’s personal phone number listed.

Weather / Sunrise / Sunset

The weather forecast for the day of the shoot is always included. To a PA, this only tells you what you should wear, but to other departments like Grip, Camera, and Make-up, it can be critical.

Grip setups can be drastically different dependent on how the natural lighting is, and the vanity departments may have to prepare to maintain their work more frequently.

Sunrise and sunset times are very important for the production department so that they can keep track of how much time they have left to shoot, so they can rush certain scenes in a time crunch.

Hospital Information

In the event of an emergency, call sheets always have the address of the closest hospital to set in case somebody needs to be rushed there.

Which Scenes To Shoot

What the call sheet is most often used for is as a quick reference to see what scenes are being shot on any given day. There is a lot of information, and any questions regarding what is being shot can be answered by a quick glance to a call sheet!

The information provided includes scene numbers, how many page 1/8ths are being shot, Interior/Exterior, Day/Night, and which cast is involved in the scene, as well as a short synopsis of each scene.

The synopsis is typically written in a way that can be understood by the crew without spoiling the movie, as call sheets are sent out to many people, and are prone to leaks.

Map & Directions

If the crew is going to be shooting in a location other than the established studio, a map with explicit directions is included. Typically important areas of interest like base camp, scene locations and crew parking will be highlighted.

If there are multiple locations on a given day, a map for each location should be included along with directions on how to get from location to location.

Advance Schedule

The advance section includes a few small details about the scenes and page lengths being shot the day following the call sheet. These are almost always subject to change.

Important Memos

Finally, the most important memos are usually stapled to the call sheets and sent out alongside them. This is usually something like a set of rules the crew must abide by while shooting in a house, or safety regulations for a big upcoming stunt.

Very important quick notes will usually be printed on the front page of the call sheet itself.

Who Makes The Call Sheet?

On most larger film industry sets, the call sheet is made by the Assistant Director. Specifically, the 2nd AD. This task may also be passed down to the 2nd 2nd Assistant Director.

Not every set you encounter will have 2nd ADs, in which case the 1st AD will likely delegate it to whoever is available in the production department. The first AD is going to be too busy running the set to be able to spend several hours drafting up call sheets.

When Are Call Sheets Sent Out?

Generally, call sheets are sent out 12-16 hours prior to the time of shooting. Like we mentioned previously, the 2nd AD is usually working throughout the day to get the next day’s call sheet prepared for when the crew wraps.

When the crew wraps, the production assistants will distribute the call sheets among the crew as best they can. Crew members are interested in finding out what time to come into work, so it’s hard for anyone to get missed. Plus, everyone receives them via E-mail as well.

It is important that the production department waits until wrap to distribute call sheets, as delays to production can alter the next day’s schedule, and giving people false information before it is finalized can cause many problems.

Preliminary call sheets, or “prelims” are distributed earlier in the day when production has a rough idea of the details for the next day. These are given under the pretense of being subject to change, so the early distribution is okay. It is a good habit to print these call sheets on a different color of paper, so that they are never confused for official call sheets.

How Can I Make A Call Sheet?

Unlike scripts, the exact formatting of a call sheet is not exactly set in stone. There are several websites and applications that are prevalent throughout the industry.

Our favorite is StudioBinder’s Call Sheet Builder, which has really cool features like allowing you to text the call sheet out to the entire crew. Other websites like this one we found have templates that are just as good.

Of course, if you’re just getting started on some student or small indie films, there’s nothing wrong with throwing together a quick call sheet on MS Excel, Google Docs, or Pages.

As a student filmmaker it may seem unnecessary to put time into making call sheets, but it will save you time in the long run, and having call sheets will make your production seem much more professional.

Just make sure all the information we talked about here is included and you should be good to go!

Conclusion

Now if anyone asks you “What is a call sheet?” You should be able to answer them quickly and confidently. If we left anything important out you would like us to add, please leave a comment! We read them all.

If you have found your way to this page, it’s likely that you’re having a difficult time finding entry level film jobs. Perhaps you’re not even sure exactly what they are. It’s understandable – the film industry can feel quite elusive at times, with the jobs being highly sought after, and only trusted people getting in.

Of course, if you have a friend producing an independent film, you can help however you want. But you’re not here to hear that. You want to know how you can start earning the big bucks on big Hollywood features and TV shows. Fortunately, we’re here to tell you how to do just that. We’re going to be breaking down all the different entry level film jobs, as well as their pros and cons to help you decide what the best route for you is.

Set Production Assistant

By far the most popular way of entering the film industry, and for good reason – it works. Once you find a job, if you have a good attitude and are able to put in the hours, you are pretty much guaranteed a higher paid position at some point in the future. Aside from those with family connections, almost every highly-paid cast and crew member starts out as a PA.

Working as a production assistant actually does a lot to weed people out. The hours are the longest of almost anyone on the crew, the work is the least fulfilling, and you’ll face the most adversity. It’s a very hard job, and I’ve watched many people realize that the film industry isn’t quite for them after working in it for awhile.

Depending on what you ultimately want to do in the industry and how good your interpersonal skills are, the amount of time you’ll have to do this varies a lot. Getting paid much more in different departments can come relatively quickly if you’re hard working and lucky. Becoming a union assistant director can take much more time. In any case, you can take this job just about anywhere. You get to see all the different departments in action and get a feel for what you’ll like the most. It’s our best recommendation if you’re not sure what you want to do.

Tasks include keeping track of people, locking up the shot, and running errands for the crew. We’ve compiled a complete list of the duties and responsibilities here.

Office Production Assistant

If running around on set and blocking doors isn’t your cup of tea, joining the industry as an office production assistant is your best course of action. While the set PA is the best path towards the on-set departments or working in production, the office PA is the best path to, well, working in the office. If working as a production coordinator or production secretary sounds appealing to you, there’s no better way to get started.

The job isn’t as glamorous – you won’t be watching as many explosions or dramatic performances, but you’ll learn a lot more about what goes in to making a movie happen. You’ll get to form solid connections with your fellow office employees, as well as in-office departments like locations, accounting, and casting.

Besides, if you change your mind, it’s relatively easy to get work as a set PA, as you’ll get to know production coordinators and assistant directors while you work in the office.

Tasks include sending e-mails, copying scripts and other clerical tasks. Check out our complete guide to working as an office PA to learn everything you need to know.

Background Actor

This “entry-level job” is an option most people aren’t aware of, and some workers might try to tell you it’s not viable. However, one way that many of my peers have entered the industry is through their work as background actors. Sure, you’ll be a little bit lower on the totem pole than the previous two jobs, but there are a few benefits to starting like that. The jobs are a little easier to obtain – they’re often open to the public and require no experience. Sure, this might be something you do before you get a job as a PA, but it’s still an “entry level job”

Keep in mind, you actually don’t need any skills as an actor whatsoever to become a background actor. If you’re not exactly sure what that means, background actors are the people used to fill in the background of the scenes, often doing mundane tasks or talking to others. They’re necessary to enhance the atmosphere of any motion picture, and they keep the film feeling real.

You’ll usually be hired a day at a time, and if you have a popular look, studios will take note of you and keep calling you back. The pay isn’t amazing, and you’ll definitely need another source of income, but you’ll be in an excellent spot to meet people.

Now, this is the most important part about this option: It will be much more difficult to get people’s attention. Unless you want a career as an actor, starting as a background actor will not lead to any crew promotions. It is only to be used as an opportunity to network. By showing up, talking to people when it’s appropriate, and demonstrating that you understand set etiquette, you can definitely earn the connections necessary to nab one of the other jobs on this list.

Independent Film Crewmember

Everyone who works in the film industry is aware that it is actually divided in two. No, we’re not talking about film and TV. We’re talking about big-budget and indie.

If you’ve read any filmmaking books like Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without A Crew, you’ve probably learned that with enough confidence, you can throw tradition aside and carve your own path. By joining independent film crews, or even directing/producing indie films of your own, you can find yourself in a higher-level film industry job without needing to spend several years in the dirt as a PA.

While the world has seen many directors rise up from PA’s, there’s no better way to demonstrate your directorial talent than by, well, directing. Putting together your own films is quite a hassle, but when nobody wants to give you a chance to show them what you’re made of, your best course of action may be to just do it yourself.

Joining your local indie scene requires a lot of determination and creativity, but it can have by far the best return on investment. Of course, you’re still probably not going to get hired to be the key grip if you don’t even know what a grip is. The point here is to work on small sets and try to gain whatever experience you can, and then use that experience to land jobs in the departments that interest you.

How To Get A Job In The Film Industry With No Experience

So we’ve taught you about all the different entry level jobs that can get you into the film industry. Now, you’re probably wondering what you have to do to find and obtain these jobs.

Ultimately, the answer is to get adequate experience and do some creative networking. We’ve written a detailed guide that discusses all the techniques you can use to land your first job.

Here’s a list of other resources we believe will be useful in your attempts to join the film industry:

• 19 Ways To Get Fired As A Production Assistant
• The Ultimate Production Assistant Resume Guide
• Essential Production Assistant Gear To Crush Your First Job
• 9 Unexpected Things I Got Really Good At While Working As A Production Assistant
• https://filmtoolkit.com/how-much-does-a-production-assistant-get-paid/

Good luck! If you have anything you would like us to add to this guide, leave a comment below.

Upon entering the film industry, you’ll inevitably interact with an individual with an important-sounding-yet-vague job title; The Unit Production Manager. Having a good UPM is completely critical to both the financial and creative success of a production. But exactly what does a unit production manager do?

In this article we will be answering that question, along with info about a UPM’s salary, how you typically earn a job as one, and what behaviors you must learn to be the best Unit Production Manager you can be!

What Is A Unit Production Manager or UPM?

The Unit Production Manager or UPM is the highest ranking official in the below-the-line hierarchy. They are responsible for keeping the crew on schedule, below budget, and making sure the film gets made in the most efficient way possible.

The Unit Production Manager is represented by the DGA, has a very long list of duties, and can expect to work 80 or more hours a week on larger shows.

A good UPM can be the difference between an awesome and a terrible working experience. The ability to solve problems creatively and manage the crew respectfully can save potentially millions of dollars, and allow the creative team to execute their vision perfectly.

Unit Production Manager Job Description / Duties

The role of UPM is definitely not for the faint of heart. Here’s a rundown of all the duties you will be responsible for as a unit production manager.

• Preparing the shooting schedule and breaking down the script.
• Working with locations department to scout and secure locations.
• Participate in the preparation of the budget.
• Monitor the production reports at the end of each day
• Coordinate the arrangements of logistical challenges – accommodations, transportation, etc.
• Negotiate releases and contracts for locations, cast, and equipment.
• Supervise all of the departments.
• Solve problems on a day-to-day basis.
• Approve all financial expenditures, call sheets and salaries.
• Identify issues causing project setbacks and take actions to correct them.
• Mediate conflicts and find a solution that’s best for the production.
• Communicate what is and what is not possible to the director given the schedule and budget.

Yeah. You’re responsible for pretty much EVERYTHING. While the producer is responsible for creating a project that is feasibly profitable, the UPM is responsible for making sure the project stays profitable. It requires a ton of personal investment.

Keeping everyone in line can be incredibly stressful and requires a ton of experience and backbone. It is often said that the UPM has the thickest skin of anyone on an entire film set. When you have a million things stressing you out, you don’t have a lot of mental space to feel personally attacked.

Unit Production Manager Salary

The UPM is just about the highest paying positions you can achieve while still below the line. With all those aforementioned duties, exactly how much can you expect to make as a UPM?

If you’re working on non union or low budget shows, there’s really no telling how much you’ll earn. You’ll be paid anything between full union rate, and.. nothing. But people don’t typically work full time as UPM’s on small indie gigs. That work is usually done either as a means of gaining experience, or as a personal favor to your collaborators.

Full time UPMs work consistently on shows approved by the Director’s Guild of America. Although getting into the union can be quite a hassle, the DGA minimum salary is quite nice. It varies between $4500-7000 minimum per week, varying dependent on things like the type of show, and whether it’s at a location, or a studio.

According to payscale.com, the average salary of a Unit Production Manager is around 65k a year. While this might not seem like that much, it’s important to understand that film jobs are very draining, as well as sporadic. You’ll have many weeks off between shows if you choose to. If you want to work nonstop all year long, you might feel like death, but you’ll make a lot more than the average.

Getting A Job As A Unit Production Manager

If the overwhelming job description hasn’t scared you off, or if you’re intrigued after learning about the salary, you’re probably wondering what steps you can take to become a unit production manager yourself!

Keep in mind that in any case, it is a very high level position that will require hard work and patience to attain. If you were plopped directly into the UPM position without gaining the proper experience first, you will fail miserably, so take your time and enjoy the journey.

Step 0 (Optional) – Get Educated!

I want to first emphasize that in the film industry, education is not very important, and you’ll almost never be asked about your degree. The industry is built on the back of passionate college dropouts.

That being said, a formal education is always useful no matter what you’re trying to do. If you’re going to school, here’s a list of classes you should check out to improve your potential as a UPM.

• Finance, Statistics, Math.
• Human resources, management, business.
• Entertainment, TV & Film Production, Producing.

Step 1 – Begin working in your local film industry.

Obviously you aren’t going to be able to just snatch a top level position right away! You’ll need to start working in the local film industry. If you’re looking for some advice on how you can break into that, we’ve written a very in-depth guide.

It’s important that you get experience both on-set and in the office. To reach such a high level, you’ll need to be working as hard as you can to make connections and learn both sides of film.

On set you will work as a set PA, and eventually climb the AD ladder. In the office you will start as an office PA, and hopefully land gigs as a secretary, or production coordinator. We even recommend you dabble in different departments over the years – maybe you’ll find that you have a calling elsewhere.

If you manage to survive the years of work, and flourish as a production coordinator or first AD, and somehow still have ambitions of becoming a UPM, you’re in luck. You’re getting pretty close.

Step 2 – Get experience as a UPM.

While the traditional climb is a sure-fire way to become a UPM, you don’t need to wait to become a 1st AD to start getting experience. By using the internet and your networking skills to find indie films, you can get experience as a UPM early. The pay won’t be anywhere near that of the big budget shows, but you don’t want to jump headfirst into the position never having done it before.

Once you’ve managed to complete a few small films as a UPM, you will be much more confident in your abilities to manage budgets and schedules. Plus, if you’ve done a good job, your connections will trust you too.

Step 3 – Know the right people.

Going off of the last step, most people become UPM’s because they are in the right place at the right time. Of course, it’s not all luck – you have to put yourself in a position where you’re around people who trust you and have the power to help.

If you work hard, put all your energy towards learning and doing the best job you can, eventually you’ll come across an opportunity to be a UPM on a project bigger than anything you’ve done before. You’ll always need to take a leap of faith, but if you’re willing to do that, you’ll be working as a Unit Production Manager on blockbusters in no time.

What Makes A Good Unit Production Manager? 

Knowing how to become a Unit Production Manager isn’t going to help you if you don’t even know how to be a good one! Here are a few key attributes you’ll find across the best UPMs in the business.

Communication Skills

As the entirety of your job is basically communication, having strong communication skills and a sense of diplomacy are very important. Here are some tips for improving your communication skills and becoming everyone’s favorite UPM.

• Be transparent – One of the most essential parts of running a successful operation is being as transparent as your NDA’s will allow you to be. By communicating what is going on on your side of the production, people will be more understanding and not take things as personally when they don’t get what they want.
• Ask questions and listen – Even if people aren’t able to get what they always want, knowing that their voice is heard will make them feel much less helpless.
• Respect others – Getting on people’s good side is all a matter of respect. Praise people in public and criticize them in private. Have important conversations in person rather than through your assistants or text messages.
• Be strict, but never mean or condescending – You need to have boundaries for what you’re going to allow, but there is never a reason to belittle or insult your fellow crew members – even if you feel disrespected yourself.

Management Skills (duh)

At the end of the day, the Unit Production Manager is, well, a manager. So, obviously, proper management skills go a long way here.

There’s one ability that is an absolute prerequisite if you’re going to work as a UPM – The ability to say no. If you’re a pushover, and are constantly going over budget and/or schedule, you’re not going to be given work for very long. You’re one of the only crew members that gets to say no to the director, so you better make sure you have the balls to actually do that when it’s necessary.

Conversely, if you’re a hardass that never gives their crew any leeway, you’ll hurt morale and do more damage. While you shouldn’t worry about whether or not people like you, having people on your side will make them more understanding when you need to tighten the purse strings. Being a good manager means being able to facilitate compromises and reach agreements that make all parties happy.

Experience And Creativity

At the end of the day, it all boils down to your experience. You can study all you want, but real lessons come from being smacked down hard by your mistakes. The longer you work as a UPM, the more mistakes you will make, and the more you will learn and grow.

Just because you aren’t working on the creative side of things doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of opportunities to get creative as a UPM. Coming up with creative solutions to problems is what sets apart good UPMs from great ones. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

Unit Production Manager vs Line Producer

Film terms can be a bit messy, with hierarchies differing, and the duties fulfilled by the various roles changing a lot from set to set. The crew role of line producer can sound awfully similar to that of the Unit Production Manager. Here are some guidelines for what you can expect, although nothing is really set in stone in the film industry.

The unit production manager and line producer roles are, in fact, very similar to each other. In some productions, the line producer also acts as the UPM, and on most sets, the UPM reports to the line producer.

When both roles exist on a project, the line producer creates the budget and oversees the hiring of the entire crew, and the UPM will execute the plan which was assembled by the line producer.

On other projects, a line producer is effectively a non-union Unit Production Manager. While UPM’s are members of the Director’s Guild of America, Line Producers are members of the Producer’s Guild of America, which is not technically a union, and lacks many of the benefits and drawbacks of being one.

In essence, like we said before, the Unit Production Manager is more focused on managing the day-to-day operations of a production. A line producer, on the other hand, views things from the perspective of the bigger picture. They’re considering how things are going to impact the budget as a whole, while the UPM puts out fires and devises smart solutions to problems as they arise.

Confused? Yeah, we are too a little bit. Don’t worry about it. Point is, they’re pretty much the same.

Conclusion

The unit production manager role is one of the most stressful and intensive. Despite not playing a creative part, you’re tackling the whole of the project and subjecting yourself to the pain that comes with executing the vision of a film.

We think that if you aren’t the creative type, but are still very passionate about working in the film industry, the Unit Production Manager position is just about the best thing you can aim for short of being a producer yourself.