entertainment industry coach question 335:How important is my business card, some people don't have them.

I've blogged on business cards before, so what I'll say is, follow the advice I gave you for what to put on your business card, because it IS important to have one. The reason is because it's how people can contact you. It's one less hoop for them to jump through.

That said, you should only be handing out your card to someone with whom you've created a relationship. To just hand them out randomly, is pretty pointless. Take the time to connect with someone and have some conversation before giving out your card.

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

entertainment industry coach question 334: How do I become a movie extra?

Well, first of all the term is now "background talent" or "background artist/performer." And the answer is there are agencies that you can Google, depending on where you live. There are SAG and AFTRA regulations that apply.

First you would start out working non-union, which means the alloted contracted union workers would be hired first and then if they needed more the producers could hire non-union.

I suggest calling SAG and/or AFTRA to learn more.

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

entertainment industry coach question 333:What happens if you're working 16 hour days and you're exhausted?

You get as much sleep as you possibly can, and make SMART choices. DO NOT drive if you are too tired. Get a hotel. Research Brent's Rule.

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

entertainment industry coach question 332: Do I need branding as director?

Yes, everyone in the entertainment industry needs branding. The difference between your branding and "Coke" or "Lexus" is that they are branding a product and advertising it in print and media.

You, are branding yourself and advertising it in a more personal way. Therefore, you want your branding to reflect the type of work you want to get. Here is a situation where you want to be specific. I know you can do multiple genres, but until you are a brand the way Quentin Tarantino is, let people know where you see yourself fitting in.

I have a great "guy" for this, by the way. Contact me at jessica@theGreenlightCoach.com

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 331: 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.

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

entertainment industry coach question 330: Why are the singers on American Idol SO bad and I can't get on because I'm 29?

Well, I must point out that the guy who sang, "Pants on the Ground," was 62 and DID make it onto the show. Look, it's a game show. There are rules and you can't be older than 28, apparently.

However, keep in mind, that the first few weeks of auditioning are entertainment. They have 10,000 people or so per/city. The judges are not seeing all of them, which means that screening pre-judges are deciding who the final contestants are to see the judges. They send through the really good and the really... unusual.

BUT, if you truly are better than the American Idol contestants, there's a nifty website called YouTube and YOU can let the world decide how good you really are.

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

entertainment industry coach question 329: Do you believe that location is the key to success?

This was based on an email sent to me that said: "I wanted to get you opinion about the location of where you live in relation to achieving success. I am based in Ohio and have been mixing sound for over 10 years now. I have worked on several successful reality shows and programs, but yet I still struggle to get to the next step. Getting more calls, and just getting my name out there. I know it can't be true that just because I don't live in L.A. that I can't be known as a first call mixer. I have many friends in the business that don't live in L.A. and are traveling all the time."

You just answered your own question. If others are doing it, you can too. The key is not location, the key is the strength of your business relationships.

I'm curious what the "next step" is that you're asking about because that could potentially change my answer. If the next step is to be the first call mixer and these are traveling reality shows, it seems to me that as long as you have strong relationships with the people who do the hiring, and therefore, you're "top of mind," it doesn't matter where your home base is. It's when they're shooting a reality show in Los Angeles and don't want to pay per diem and such, for bringing someone in from out of town, that it becomes an issue.

My next FREE newsletter is all about evaluating the contacts you currently have. It will be going out tonight or tomorrow, so sign up at www.TheGreenlightCoach.com, and see where you stand with your current contacts.

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

entertainment industry coach question 328:Do you have to put someone's title in a letter?

It depends to whom the letter is being written. If you are writing to a network executive, or someone with a network, studio, or production company title, it is appropriate to send a business style letter. Therefore, the top left a few spaces below the date, will have the person's name, under that the title, and under that the address.

Depending on the nature of the letter you would address the recipient as Mr/Ms/Miss/Mrs or by their first name only.

When you are writing a letter to someone whose title is director of photography, it's a little formal to put that in a letter, HOWEVER, if they are in the ASC or another honorary organization, it is with respect, that you would include their membership letters after their name.

When deciding about including a title, think about what you would wear to an interview. Most crew members who interview in a business suit, "freak out" people because camera assistants don't wear business suits. So if you're a camera assistant writing to a camera operator, you probably wouldn't use his/her title, but you would put SOC after his/her name if it applies.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, the Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

entertainment industry coach question 327:Should I let the people I work with know I want to transition to another classification?

That depends on the crew you work with. If you've seen in the past they've been supportive of moving people up, then you can tell them your goal.

If you're not in a situation where you feel you're being nurtured to move up within your crew, or if you're looking to transition outside of your classification, like from Camera Assistant to DP or Director, where people outside of your crew would be hiring you, I usually suggest that you stay quiet around your "bread and butter."

There are always exceptions and "the exceptions" tend to know who they are, what they can get away with as far as forging relationships on set with people who can help with their transition. But if you feel you may risk your money job by sharing your goal, don't do it. There are a lot of relationships that have to be made in order to make a move up or out. This can take 2-5 years to gain the trust they will need to hire you. In the mean time, keep working and making money at your current position. That's my opinion.

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

entertainment industry coach question 326: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.

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

entertainment industry coach question 325: How do you navigate egos on a movie set without alienating yourself?

I asked for more details on this one, and the gist is, a 2nd AD is doing a great job and getting high praise from the "higher ups." The 1st AD and one of the producers, is not liking the attention being paid to him.

First, let me say, that I really dislike the word ego. I think it's thrown around too much. In most cases when the person really does have an inflated ego, he/she isn't threatened by anyone, because by definition, Egomania: Excessive vanity, pride or arrogance. To be overly taken with ones own importance, doesn't allow them to care about you.

Usually what's going on is not egomania, but plain old simple insecurity. When someone doesn't feel completely confident about his/her abilities, job security, knowledge, etc, they feel easily threatened.

You can't control other people's insecurities, however you can do your best to put their minds at ease. If you pick up on the signals that they feel threatened, go out of your way to:

1. Ask them what you can do to help them.

2. Go the extra mile; see what they eat or drink from the craft service table and bring it to them when it looks like they can use a break.

3. Make it clear that you are there to support them and make them look good, and are ready to take their direction.

4. When you are given praise by the higher ups, acknowledge your fellow crew members and tell them what a great team they've put together.

It's not for you to make yourself small so that others can feel better about themselves. It's for you to be at your best so that others can shine along with you.

For more tips and advice by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com