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.

What jobs in film should you be doing? That depends on what job in film you want to be doing. There are so many different types of exciting jobs in the film industry that it may be difficult to decide which one should become your career path.

You already have skills from the job you already do. Just take a self-inventory of the skills you have. You’ll spot skills you already have that you can use on set. Then watch through this video and see what jobs you would love to do.

Are you afraid it’s not gonna work? Negative thoughts when trying to get into the film industry can hamper your self-confidence. You want to stay motivated. Goran is one of many success stories coming out of Friends in Film and even he had trouble taking the first step. Fear of failing is one of the biggest things that stop people from living their dream life.

Everyone who has ever succeeded at anything had negative thoughts. It’s simply human nature. We all have our fears of failing. We all deal with lapses in our self-confidence.

How do you become a producer in the film industry? Many people dream about becoming a producer. If you’ve been wondering why it is so difficult to learn the requirements to become one, it’s because everyone learns everything in this industry on set. There are ways to become a film producer and all of them happen from the inside. You can achieve your dream as a filmmaker once the professionals get to know you.

Film school may seem like the best way into this industry. Before long, though, you can be tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Film school might not  land you the job you want or teach you how to get ahead.

You’re raring to go in the film industry, but before you run out the door to your first production assistant job, here’s what you should never do on set. You want to make the best possible impression on cast and crew. You can avoid doing things that are so obvious not to do.

Lights… camera… and…

Even people with film related businesses want to know how to get on a movie set as a production assistant. They want to know who they should reach out to. These are people who have expertise that are useful in the industry. They want to get involved in a major big budget production. Whether you are in a film related business, or you are starting out, it’s important to understand that the industry is a networking and referral business. You shouldn’t just send off your resume cold and expect people to take you seriously.

Sending your resume cold to the wrong person is not a good idea. Film professionals have countless people contacting them. Your resume will likely end up in the trash, and you’ll be known as someone who doesn’t get how the film industry works.

Using the past to grow as an actor is one of the smartest things you can do to launch your acting career. You discover how to become a better actor. A List Mentor Lera has plenty of good tips, even ways you can become a better actor at home.

Knowing the parts you can play is one of the major challenges you encounter when starting an acting career. Many actors struggle for years, submitting their headshots for roles and hoping to hear a callback.

What if you don’t like how you look in headshots? What can you do about it? It’s a challenge you want to know how to overcome. Your headshots represent you to the casting agencies. If you don’t feel good about them, casting directors will know just by the way you look in your photos. It sounds crazy but it’s true.

You are going to pay some money for decent headshots. They typically cost an average of $600. You have to retake your headshots every six months to a year, or whenever you alter your looks. In an average year, you will easily spend $1200 just on photos.