Welcome to The Friends In Film Blog

Imagine a career in film where you get on shoots with Matt Damon and Taylor Swift. This is a great time to break into the film industry because shoots are happening everywhere. Get into the film industry and get networking with insiders.

Friends and family are among the most common challenges that can stop you from pursuing a career in the film industry. People close to you simply don’t know how the business works, nor do they understand how much opportunity and money there is to be made. They tell you to get a ‘real job’ because pursuing your dream isn’t realistic.

Learn how to get roles that put you on the map! If you want to make it as an actor, think creatively to get the parts. Most actors try to break in by going to film school or by going to auditions. There are many successful working actors who didn’t go to film school. They didn’t go to audition after audition.

The problem with auditioning is that there are so many people doing it. You only get a couple of minutes in front of casting. You are just one of many anonymous faces to the casting director. They don’t know you.

I screwed up working for the Director of La La Land D:     Everyone makes mistakes, whether they are just starting out, on their way up, or at the top. Mistakes at the workplace do happen. Online film school won’t prevent it from happening, being a top expert won’t prevent it, being as careful as possible won’t either.

Be prepared to handle mistakes correctly. You’re going to make them. It’s OK.

Some people break into film and work for a while without avoiding a common career-killing pitfall. They expect to move up into their craft and have a successful career in film. When some people get stuck, they think film school might help them. Film school can lead to debt and frustration. Others work with a particular acting agent or director or other professional for months or years. That may provide a steady income for a time until that professional moves on.

You don’t want to be dependent on a few professionals for your success. Reliance on a few key people is one of the most common pitfalls you can fall into. It’s often why, for example, some actors are famous for a time. They get forgotten, only to become one of those, ‘whatever happened to so and so’ stories.

Making friends in the film industry and networking leads to job opportunities. There are many different types of jobs on filmsets. Understand how different jobs function as part of the whole and you’re easy to work with. The film industry is a great place to make friends for life. You’ll be networking with your friends your entire career, since all the job opportunities come from the inside.

Getting work in the film industry is all about who you know. It’s a people business. The biggest challenge to breaking in is making those initial connections.

A huge part of being successful in the film industry is just doing it. Putting yourself out there to get on set and meeting with professionals gets you on the inside. People who get into film take action. They are opening doors in the film industry all of the time.

You need to take action in order to break into film. You need to meet the professionals who can hire you and refer you.

Shifting identity and bringing energy to set – the learning curve, is a group of empowering techniques and skills you need to learn to overcome fears. The film industry is an exciting place to be. You can work with the fears stopping you from pursuing your dream.

Alex started as a production assistant on set and did that work for some time. When he moved into camera, which is his specialty, he was uncomfortable working in a new department. Camera is a completely different niche than working as a production assistant.

Sparkman got fired as a waitress so she made a feature film. She moved fast in the film industry. Sparkman learned how to network with insiders. In short time, she went from her lost job to an associate producer at an ad agency. Her film Greta is on Amazon Prime.

Sparkman worked a low pay job as a cocktail waitress and suffered from depression. It was tough for her to get up every day and go to a job she didn’t like. She wanted to work in film, yet saw herself becoming the cliche story of the waitress who never gets a break.

Moving to LA and working in film is something many people want to do, and Jake is a Friends in Film success story who did exactly that. Jake went from a small town in Maine to working on professional shoots in Hollywood. When he lived in Maine, he worked in a call center and knew it wasn’t what he should do with his talent. He was sick of it and wanted to be working in creative jobs. Starting in Maine was how he got resume experience so that when he got to LA, he found jobs in art department.

The film industry is an exciting business to be in. There are fun people, there are opportunities to travel, the work is creative, and every day is an adventure.

Goren figured out how to go from $60,000 in debt to being a camera operator! The film industry is full of possibility when you know how to connect with professionals. You don’t need experience to break into the film industry, just some guts and the right mentality. You can learn everything you need to know on set, just like an apprenticeship. Goren went from real estate rentals in New York City to director of photography. He started as a camera assistant, did video production, and went to camera operator jobs.

You can get paid while learning your craft.