Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 956:Why would you as a career coach do a set visit?

Well as both a career coach and an industry professional, I practice what I preach. I do set visits to see clients as well as to visit friends who work on shows I LOVE.

I've already blogged on reasons to do set visits, so you can read those in the archives. Here's why I personally love set visits. When you target specific shows you love, you get to meet the people who create the "magic" and learn from the masters of the craft. To witness the creative process, the "on-the-fly" problem solving which comes with every public location (and closed sets as well), and the professional yet fun way, that most crews handle every situation is both inspiring and invigorating. There's a reason why great shows are great- the team making it happen.

There is so much to learn not only from a technical point of view but in addition, from the confidence of experience, how respectfully they speak to each other, how they handle the "unexpected" and turn it into something spectacular, these are gems that you can apply to your future endeavors.

Anyone with "negative issues" about set visits- you are getting in your own way! Put your ego aside and allow yourself to bathe in the inspiration that is everywhere when you surround yourself with this caliber of talent!

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 955:how long should my directing reel be?

There's no exact time frame, though the average time is between 2-5 minutes.

The purpose of a reel is to show you have talent in your classification. Search the internet for other people's reels in your classification to see what they are doing (preferably working people. you can usually find their reels on their agent's websites, or their own) and model the ones you like.

Another tip is to think long term. If in 5 years you want to be directing romantic comedies and you have 3 shorts that are all different genres, you may want to consider doing shorts that are romantic comedies, because:

1. The more you show in your genre, the more it proves you're an expert

2. You get better with each project so you want your best work to be in the genre you're targeting

3. You'll be creating relationships with people who enjoy the same type of work you do

The objection I get to this is, "But I can direct anything and I want people to see that so they'll hire me." My answer to that, is that early on you will be hired based on the relationships you create, so it really doesn't matter what genre is on your reel, what matters is how well you can sell yourself. LONG TERM, it will matter what genre is on your reel, so target the types of films you want to make.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 954: how do I approach certain people from different departments on being able to help me help them?

That should be easy enough. If you have a way to help people in other departments, they'd love to hear about it. I happen to know this person is in a classification that is one of the first hired on a project, so he can create a strategy that lets the heads of departments know that a production is about to start hiring. Now who wouldn't want that kind of help? So, really all you have to do is reach out to the people and tell them that this is a way you'd like to help them. I can't see a down side to this.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 953: Is there really a point to creating my own content for web series if I don't have name talent for it?

Considering I just go home from shooting 16 videos my answer has to be...YES YES YES!!!! It's not just about selling your product, although that would be a bonus. It's about getting your brand out there. It's about having control over how people perceive you by the work you show. If you're an actor you can create the exact roles you want to play and brand yourself as such. If you're a writer it gives people the chance to hear your voice. If you're a producer or a director, you get to showcase the genre you are pursuing. If you are any other classification your goal is to find the writers and talent to showcase the genre you're pursuing.

Could you sell it? You wouldn't be breaking new ground. It's been done. And even some who didn't sell their work got great meetings out of it.

And most importantly, you're working on something, keeping your creative juices flowing, and giving you something you're passionate about to talk about. That goes a REALLY long way when you're networking.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 952: What if I don't have a lot of credits for a resume, is it better not to have one?

If you have at least two, put together a resume because it's the professional thing to do. It would look a little something like this (the formatting of this blog will move everything to the left, but imagine neat columns)

Joe Camera

CAMERA OPERATOR

555-555-5555

www.joecamera.com

SHOWS PRODUCTION CO DoP

Chuck (D camera) Warner Bros. Television Buzz Feitshans IV

SAW VI (C camera) Twisted Pictures David A Armstrong

SPECIAL SKILLS

Stunts; skiing, horseback riding, extreme sports, own an AG-3DA1 and a Canon 7D

EDUCATION

USC Film School

[Then to fill up space, get some testimonials from people you've worked with; DPs, OPs, 1st ACs, producers, directors, name actors]

Again, your resume doesn't get you the job, it gives you the credibility to be considered for the job. So, to cold-submit this resume may not be very effective. However, if you're taking meetings and are asked for a resume, you're handing them something that is professional, they're already getting to know you, and perhaps they'll comment on some of the testimonials and that will deepen the conversation.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 951:On Buzz radio you said no dates on resumes. Can you elaborate?

I was talking about the mistakes people make on their resumes and one of them is to model a "corporate business resume." These types of resumes are done in more of a paragraph format and have the dates the person worked at each company.

As I said on The BuZz, your resume doesn't get you work, it gives you credibility. So with each word or number you put on your resume you have to ask yourself, is this something that they could say "no" to? And obviously if it may make them say no, you don't want it on your resume.

Dates can give a lot of information that people can say "no" to. For example:

1. If your first credit was in 1963, and the director looking at your resume was born in 1983, you may get passed over because the young director doesn't want an "old guy" telling him what to do.

2. If your first 10 credits are all in 2009, clearly, you just started last year. While you have ten credits, you may still be viewed as lacking experience because you've only been working for a year.

3. If your most recent credit is 2010 but before that your last credit was 2001, the person reading it may wonder, "why wasn't this person being hired?" You may have a great answer, like you left the business to care for a parent, but you may never get the chance to explain.

4. If your most recent credit is 2001, people will really wonder, why hasn't anyone hired you and a major red flag goes up.

You don't want to raise any flags, red, yellow, or otherwise. It's just safer to keep your resume simple and date free, in my opinion. Besides, if they really want to know dates, they can check IMDB.

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Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 950: how many movies do I have to watch of someone's before I ask them to mentor me?

There is no magic number. While I HIGHLY encourage you to do your research on people before asking them to mentor you, my concern with this question is to make sure that you're not using it as a procrastination method. Watch at least two, for a business and guidance mentorship. If it's a creative mentorship you'd want to watch as many as possible because if the person refers to something pertinent to the craft in a specific movie, you want to be able to say you saw it.

Never lie about seeing a movie that you haven't. Use it as an opportunity to say that you were waiting to watch it until after you spoke so you could get directions on what specifically to look for.

Back to the business and guidance mentorship. Because it's more about business advice and guidance, you won't really be talking about the films, you'll be talking about how the person got the jobs and maintained a career.

Most people will tell you that it was luck meaning they had talent and an opportunity. Don't fall for it. Dig deeper. Successful people aren't always aware of or are too humble to admit, that they are doing something right. I know PLENTY of talented people who got a "lucky opportunity" and then went straight back to the struggle grind. There is more to it than talent. They are doing something right that has to do with their work ethic, attitude, and more than likely going the EXTRA mile. Find out what they did on that extra mile... that's where the gold is.

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