Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 947: How do I make it as a filmmaker in NY?

The same way you make it anywhere else, including Los Angeles. The difference is, you have to work harder to find the entertainment community. When I lived in NY, I could be walking down the street next to an investment banker, an accountant, a magazine editor, a shoe designer, a PR person, a florist, a hotel manager, a taxi driver, and on and on...

In LA, you can be walking next to the same people BUT, the people are ALL 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. NY is big, and not revolving around the entertainment industry the way LA revolves around it.

So what that means for you, is that to be a filmmaker, you need to:

1. work on your craft

2. build your resume and reel

3. join entertainment industry networking groups

4. get mentors

Plenty of amazing filmmakers come out of NY, so take advantage of the fact that you are in a city where incredible talent is accessible.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 946: What is a blog?

This was asked of me from an older generation of camera operators, who were interested in the topic I was presenting on, yet, unclear on what a blog actually is. Here is the definition of a blog:

blog (a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies) "postings on a blog are usually in chronological order"

I'd like to add "professional experiences" to that definition because it ties into the topic I was discussing. This blog for example, I have answered an entertainment industry question every day for 946 days. My Greenlight Coach blog is filled with articles and rants I have written, also on getting jobs in the entertainment industry. Blogging useful information establishes me as an authority in my niche.

Free resources for setting up blogs are www.blogger.com & www.wordpress.com (there are more, those are just the two I use)

Do your research before starting a blog, with the end in mind. While it was easy for me to set up this blog on blogger, many of the marketing strategies I have access to are only compatible with Wordpress.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 945: I had a stranger I reached out to on FB tell me not to contact her there and gave me her email.

The question continued: "Now I'm embarrassed because I made a request of her on Facebook, when I didn't really know her and obviously it bothered her. What should I do?"

Sometimes I just want to shake some of you! I don't want to sound harsh... okay, maybe I do, because this is a competitive business and you have to get over yourself. Seriously, let's break this down.

1. You reached out to a stranger on Facebook and made some kind of request.

2. The stranger responded to you.

3. Not only did the stranger respond to you, but she gave you her personal email and told you how she preferred to be contacted.

4. SHE INVITED YOU TO EMAIL HER

What is the problem? What are you embarrassed about? WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GET THAT YOU BOTHERED HER? I don't know about you, but I don't give my email address and welcome further contact to people who bother me.

What should you do? Grow a pair, and email her!

Seriously, people. Stop reading into things and act like professionals who want to make it in this business!

ps: while I was bothered by this question, I'll get over it in about 2 minutes, so feel free to email me more questions in the future.

disclaimer: this blog post was written before I had my coffee... oh wait, I don't drink coffee.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 944:While I target my 10 contacts should I continue to mass email the other hundreds of companies out there?

That is a question that only you can answer. To make that decision, ask yourself these questions:

1. How much time out of your week does the mass mailing take?

2. What are the results of your mass mailings?

3. If the answer to number 2 is "low results," does the time you spend on the mailings warrant continuing with this "cold-call" method, or would your time be better spent on focused work and relationship building?

I know what I would do, but only you can make that decision for your business.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 943: What are the attributes of being fearless?

The whole question read: You mentioned that most people take 2-5 years to build a foundation, unless you're fearless. What specifically do you mean by fearless? What is an attribute of that?

When I talk about the timeline of building a foundation, I'm referring to over 1000 people whom I coached one-on-one over a 7 year period. Based on their results, I saw how many careers began taking off after 2 years of focused business building work, and those who struggled more but never gave up began seeing the payoff at the 5 year point.

Then there were the exceptions; "the fearless ones." These were the people who had simply needed me to give them the tools, a plan, and strategies for achieving their goals. The fearless people simply went for it. I didn't hear any excuses about "why they couldn't or shouldn't do something," they had no fear about asking contacts for help or making requests of them, they had no fear around networking or getting mentors, and they were all about taking action. The more I could give them to do, the better... and they had the results of those actions quickly.

Now, that said, who knows if they were completely "fearless," the point is, if they felt the fear, they acted in spite of it. To give an example of how quickly the "fearless" got results, I had multiple experiences of people setting up appointments with me with the goal of getting work, and just by doing the pre-work (and fully committing to the task at 100%) they got work before our meeting and had to cancel.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 942: If I'm just breaking into the biz should I quit my job?

My personal opinion is not unless you have enough contacts to hire you in the "biz." There is nothing wrong with maintaining your financial stability while building relationships. The key is to find the time to build new relationships and maintain them while in a job. You are basically using the same time management skills you'll be using once you're working regularly in the entertainment industry, and need to maintain your relationships while you're working.

If you have more questions about breaking in and who to target, let me know.

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

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 941: If I've been an actor for 10 years and now want to direct TV

...But I haven't had a hit show so nobody knows me. Can I do it?"

the beauty of this industry is anything is possible. There are no rules. That said, breaking into tv as a director is a HUGE undertaking. You will need:

1. An outstanding director reel

2. A-List TV director mentors

3. TV Studio Executive advisors

4. A clear understanding of the job and the politics

5. (The outside-of-the-box method) a hit show that you direct independently

Obviously, there is a lot more than this simple answer, but if you're not committed to fully going for those 5, there's no point in going into it further. If you are committed, contact me and we can get you started on a plan of action!

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

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