Monday, March 14, 2011

entertainment industry coach question 739: How do I get work on a daily show like Conan or The Tonight Show?

Here's how the whole question read: i am 19 and have come over to the US for 6 weeks to complete an internship. Before this i have worked as a runner on big studio pictures, as well as the UK version of Big Brother. TV is ultimately where i would like to end up, one day hopefully as a producer, but until then, how could i find work here on US tv? I would love to work on a daily show such as Conan or The Tonight Show, but would have no idea who or how to go about contacting. I know i would have to get a visa worked out, but i would be willing to get it all sorted so i can work on US TV!

There are two issues here. The Visa has been an obstacle for many of my Non-US resident clients. So, I'm not going to address that here, because until you have a work Visa, you can't work. Therefore, I'll answer the predominant question: Who to contact.

There are different types of producers in television. For example: Line producers who are dealing with the actual day to day of production and co-producers which I just chose as an example of one of the many titles used for the writers of the show. Because I don't know which path you're headed, if you wanted to write, you'd most likely start out as a writer's assistant. If you wanted to be in physical production you'd most likely start out as a P.A.

Who do you contact? EVERYONE you know. You tell them your goal (ex: to get a tv PA job or a tv writers assistant position) and ask if they can help you or refer you to someone who can.

That's where you start. Past that gets too detailed for a handwritten answer, although if you are brave enough to read through the 738 questions that came before this, you will find many helpful blog entries. Good luck!


For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com


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