Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1060: What's a great method an A.D. can use to quiet a crew on set that gets to talking between takes of scene

I've never worked as an A.D. so maybe those of you who read this who are A.D.s can chime in (add to the comment section)

I have worked as a producer, and I've also worked on sets for A.D.s as talent. My personal feeling is you get better results by being a morale raiser than a ball buster.

Therefore, when you get the opportunity, call a quick meeting and tell everyone what a great job they're doing and how pleased you are to have such a great crew. Then tell them, one of the best ways to get more work is by creating strong relationships and the best way to do that is by making a good impression on people who can hire you again and refer you to other jobs.

Let them know that by talking in between shots, it could give the impression to the "higher-ups" that they're not focused, not taking the job seriously, or are just unprofessional. Suggest that they stay focused during the hours of the shoot and then, hang out and have fun with each other after the day is wrapped.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1059: What's the easiest way to get work?

The easiest way to get work is to be born into an A-list family who support you pursuing your career and threatens their agent if they don't make you their number one priority. But let's get real...

I mean, come on. The followers of this blog would not be very impressed with you if they met you and you asked them that. Life in general, people who are looking for the "easy way" are perceived as lazy, uncommitted, and flaky.

Perhaps you meant "What is the most direct path to work?" The answer to that question is different for everyone. I can tell you to start by looking at how many people you know who are in the position to hire you. If you don't know enough people, start there. If you want to be more specific about where you are on your career path, I can give you a more specific answer.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1058: In June I'll visit LA for a week from Germany. How can I get in contact with a Talent Agent?

You must lay the groundwork now, in other words, before you get to LA. The mistake most people make is waiting until they are in LA and then trying to get in to see an agent. I can go into all of the reasons why this doesn't work, but why bother? Just know it is not a smart strategy.

Instead, make a plan.

1. Research the Talent Agents you're interested in meeting with and make a Target List.

2. Ask the people you know for referrals to your Target List and if they don't know those particular agents ask if they know any others with whom you could meet.

3. Reach out to your social media friends, letting them know you'll be in LA, that you have a target list of agents with whom you'd like to set up meetings and ask if anyone is willing to look at your list and help you.

4. If after all of this you still have no contacts to agents, it's time to reach out with a great cover letter and other marketing materials you use to the agents themselves.

Side bar.... is your plan to move to LA if you get representation? That's a question an agent will most likely ask so be prepared to answer.

Also, do you have an agent in Germany? If so, perhaps you want to ask your agent if he/she has connections in LA.

There are plenty of German transplants in Los Angeles in all areas of entertainment. While you are working to set up agent meetings, you should also focus some time on setting up meetings with these transplants.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1057: Is the Super Bowl a good reason to reconnect with contacts?

It's a great time to reconnect with me since I'm a Giants fan and we're in the Superbowl! Holla!! While not everyone in our industry is a "Sports Fan," everyone can relate to the competitive nature of achieving "the big goal. "

After all, the Super Bowl is really "the Oscars" of football.

So reach out in the spirit of going after that BIG GOAL!

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1056: Is it too late to break in if I'm over 40 and never worked in the industry?

You didn't tell me what classification you're in... what you wanted to break in as. I can tell you the easiest gig for someone your age would be getting work as a background actor. And if you're a writer, good material is good material at any age (even if you need your 22-year-old nephew to take the meetings as you .. kidding... sort of).

But if you had something more technical in mind like Director of Photography, or Editing, or Directing, there is not only an art to these forms, but specific skills to master that can take years. That's not to discourage you, just to give you some perspective. I've heard stories of people in our industry who've started at 40 and had very successful careers.

Some careers, you may want to stay away from because they require a lot of heavy lifting and dragging. Not that you're ill equipped to handle that now, but think about the physical training regimen you'll have to maintain to do that work into your 60s.

How about instead of me guessing, you just tell me what you want to do in the comment section.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1055: How do I book a co-star or guest star?

When I received this question I asked him to tell me what he'd already been doing toward that goal. He responded with:

- Looking for online auditions

- Waiting for agent & manger to send him out

- Getting new headshots

- Taking some casting workshop

- Emailed some directors at their IMDB contact information

NOW... if any of you have ever been to one of my seminars, I tell you that for every classification there are 3-5 things that the majority of the people do over and over again. The first 4 of his actions fall directly into the "actor category" of what everyone is doing.

So, he wants some new actions to take. Here goes...

1. Research the shows that cast a lot of co/guest stars every episode. Then out of those, create a target list of the shows that have been on for 2-3+ years IN YOUR CITY. Why? because with the number of people they have to cast every episode, they've already gone through their "go-to" people and are more open to bringing in new people. (Now that you have a list of those shows, strategically target the casting workshops, but not just to attend & do a scene, but to take the first step to building an ongoing relationship with the CD. Most people think they're doing that just by attending but they are NOT).

2. Get mentors on the shows on your list. They can be actors, writers, directors, crew members. This is one of those actions that make people scratch their head, but it's the most effective way to build relationships WHEN DONE CORRECTLY. If you are interested in an effective strategy for getting mentors one that has helped 100s of my clients, check out The Greenlight Mentor Elite Program.

3. Ask your contact list for referrals to anyone who is involved in the shows on your target list. Your goal is to get set visits. Again, there's an entire strategy for set visits; why you're there, what to do, who to talk to and about what. I've addressed set visits numerous times on this blog.

Start with those 3. They should keep you busy and if done properly can get you work faster than you imagined!

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No Question Today Because Here's An Excerpt From My New Book Launching Today... with $2000 in free gifts if you order today!

The Longest Seven Minutes Of My Life

Okay, YES, I’m being a drama queen. I know I’ve had moments in my life where time stood still and it was awful, but this isn’t that kind of story. This is the kind of story where the longest seven minutes of my life is when I’m staring at my toes, which are in the air, being smothered to near death… YES, I’m being dramatic again, but I’ve earned it! It all started this morning…

I was in yoga doing a shoulder stand, when the teacher told the class that 5 minutes in an inversion is the equivalent of a 20 minute cardiovascular workout. 20 minutes?!?!? I don’t know about you ladies, but I’ve been working out in a gym for over 20 years and there is no mixed ipod soundtrack, no episode of The Housewives of New Jersey being displayed above my head (even when there’s table dumping and hair being ripped from heads), NOT EVEN a hot guy sweating through his shirt on an elliptical machine in front of me, that can make working out on a piece of cardio equipment bearable for me.

SO! When I heard this magic bullet solution, I thought, GREAT! I will get an hour of cardio in daily, by putting “shoulder stand for 5 minutes” into my calendar 3 times per day. Easy peasy!

Here’s why you get this ‘great cardio workout’. Apparently, when you’re upside-down, everything goes in the other direction, like your blood, so the heart has to work differently to… I don’t know, I think I missed the explanation because I was so excited about my new ‘cardio epiphany’.. I guess it has to work harder to keep you alive.. yes, that’s it, for sure.

There is also an added benefit, for me, which is that in shoulder stand you tuck your chin into your chest, protecting the neck, of course, but also doing something to improve your thyroid functioning.. again, missed the explanation because I was so excited that I was going to improve my poor abused Type-A thyroid, with just 3 five-minute shoulder stand sessions a day.

Here’s what I wasn’t counting on.. when my yoga instructor said that everything goes in the other direction, he meant “everything.” Now, during my typical 1 minute shoulder stands in class, not “everything” has time to fall in the other direction… my D-sized boobs, for example. They move more like marmalade, so they never really fully went in the other direction. This is a good thing, because it means that the other 16 hours and 30 minutes that I’m upright, they don’t move downward.

However, after minute 2, I suddenly found myself being slowly suffocated as my marmalade boobs continued their slow decent… slowly, but certainly suffocating me.

Here, are just some of the thoughts that went through my mind during the last 5 minutes of my inversion as I was being suffocated to death by my boobs:

1. “Why the heck do I have to be such an over achiever?!? He said five minutes! Why did I set my timer for 7?! Who am I trying to impress!”

2. “How will I know if I’m actually going to suffocate and therefore should stop before the timer? Will I feel light headed? Or will I just keep pushing myself to stay inverted until the timer goes off, killing myself, in what is sure to be a puzzling death to CSI people since I will have fallen out of my inversion and it will be unclear as to how I suffocated.”

3. “Great! I have to cough.”

4. “Why does a cough always come on at the worst possible time? I mean, I never cough when I’m sitting alone watching TV. No, it’s always when I’m sitting in a car that seats 5 and we’ve squished in 6, and I’m in the middle. And you know it’s always one of those coughs that sounds gross. And all the poor people are trapped in the car with me, and I’m hacking up a lung, which I know is just a sinus infection because I’m allergic to my dogs and forgot to take my Singulair two nights in a row, but they all think I’m bringing back a contagious plague.”

5. “And what is up with those crazy coughs? Why can’t they be held in? (Have you ever tried?) I have! My eyes start tearing up and my nose starts running.. quickly like it’s up for a medal, so I’ve got streaming tears mixed with mucus dripping down my face and I’m trying to keep my cough in, which is causing the appearance of a dry heave… this usually happens when I’m in the center of a row listening to a speaker at a big conference, and the people on either side of me are bracing themselves because they think I’m about to vomit.”

6. “GOOD LORD, how many minutes have gone by, is this torture almost over?”

7. “Jeez, I really have to cough! What if I cough and my neck turns? I’m not supposed to turn my neck in shoulder stand. I can paralyze myself by coughing right now. Should I come down before the timer goes off?”

8. “FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S GOOD, my boobs are literally smothering me to death. I can’t breathe! I don’t think I could cough if I tried. I can’t take a deep enough breath in to allow for a cough… How long until the FRIGGIN TIMER GOES…”

Cue “Cricket sound effects” (that’s what my iPhone timer is set for.. peaceful crickets)

OWWW! Being in shoulder stand for seven minutes hurts when you come out of it… man, I am a big complainer! How am I going to do this 3 times a day for 5 minutes?

There has GOT to be an easier way to get 60 minutes of cardio!

Jessica Sitomer is the author of Dirty Virgin available at http://romanticcomedygirl.com/dirty-virgin-the-book/

Today, Wednesday, January 25^th, when you order the book receive over $2000.00 in free gifts during her Pre-Valentine’s Day Launch.

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1054: What is up with this new FB timeline I hate it!

Every time an internet site makes changes, there's a bit of an uproar. Most people by nature don't like change. As a coach, I encourage you to embrace change. The new Timeline is here to stay (until the next change) so why not be a trailblazer and jump on the bandwagon! Instead of being a hater, learn about it, make the most of it. There are actually a lot of cool things about it.

In business it's generally not good practice to be the hold out. If a trend is going in a certain direction, resistance isn't going to improve your business, embracing the trend and taking it to the next level, will.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1053: What's the best way to approach referrals?

The actual question read: I am a set photographer in the film and television industry. I was recently given the email and telephone contact for two people who hire set photographers for reality television shows. How do you think the best way to approach them is? Since they probably get contacted by new people all the time.

Yes, when people are in the position to hire, they tend to get contacted by people all of the time. However, the majority of these contacts are cold calls. YOU have referrals. Therefore, the professional way to approach them is to call and say, "Hi (insert their name), my name is (insert your name), and I was referred to you by (insert referral's name) he/she thought the two of us would hit it off and should connect. Do you have time for a coffee or if you're in production, perhaps I could stop by set and just observe. I'l be happy to sign the confidentiality agreement. I enjoy doing set visits and getting to see the atmosphere of the different shows."

The person should ask what you do and then you can share. But if the person does not, don't reveal it yet. Wait until you get to meet. Bring your book or reel (out of sight) so you're ready if you're asked to share it.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1052: I own equipment and EVERYONE is asking to use it while offering me a pay cut?!?!

Not exactly in question form, but I get it. I am NO expert on the economy or the changes in technology, all I can say is that from a non-expert's view, I can make a few observations:

1. In an economic downturn, which I think we can all agree we've been in, people really don't have money to spend. So by you taking a pay cut and offering your equipment (if you have nothing else to do that could be bringing in income), gives you an OPPORTUNITY to create a new relationship with someone. The hope is that when the economy turns around and there is more money going into projects that your rate will go back up and you've built strong relationships with people during this tough time.

2. Sometimes, things change permanently. When the Steadicam first came on the scene, few operators owned it and were qualified to use it. They got paid big bucks and rental. Now, the majority of the operators I coach are qualified to operate a Steadicam and own one as well. This has saturated the market, in a negative way.

What you can do is stay on top of trends in equipment and technology. Go to trade shows. Technology is changing so quickly now, that fewer people are buying equipment, they are renting it.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1051: What do I make of someone who says he wants to meet with me but keeps rescheduling?

You "make" another appointment. If he says he wants to meet with you, take him at his word. I don't know what position he holds, but if he's working, he's probably very busy. Things come up all of the time, pushing you down on the priority list.

What kind of urgency did you create, if any? Do you have to meet with him because you have a deadline of some sort coming up that you want advice on? If not, there is no urgency, and that's okay. It just means that you have to be understanding about his priorities.

Until someone says NO, and tells you to leave them alone, you keep rescheduling. Also, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Set up meetings with many people so you're not waiting on this one guy.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1050: How do I connect with someone professionally on Facebook who I share friends with?

Here are some ways to connect with people on Facebook with whom you share friends:

1. Ask your mutual "friend(s)" if you can use their name as an introduction and put it in the personal note when you make the friend request.

2. Send a personal note with a friend request pointing out your mutual friends, as well as a personal reason you'd like to connect.

3. Ask mutual "friend(s)" to connect you. There's a "Friend A is friends with Friend B and suggests that you be too" feature.

NOTE: There is an "other" messages tab under messages and sometimes if you have no connection and possibly even if you do (I've heard both) you could end up in the "other" box which some people don't know about, so I would suggest your first plan to be asking your mutual friend to connect you in the friend suggestion area.

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