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What made you stay? #Spring25 #FilmIndustryProfessionals #Strikes #AI #NewMedia #Streaming
To all Film Industry Professionals: After the uncertainty in the Film Industry over the last few years are you still enjoying your profession? In what ways have you had to adapt to survive in this industry? Do you find meaning in your work? Is the pay worth the sacrifice? How did you sacrifice to get where you are today? Are you making a full living wage off of your creative work or do you have a second supplemental income? Would you ever consider leaving for another career, if so which one? What would you tell all aspirational Film major student today? #Spring25
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3 answers
Updated
Hank’s Answer
Good question...
I've worked at a lot of things in my life and this is the most fun as well as the most satisfying.
That said, I'm also the guy out in the field still giving CPR to a skeleton.
See suggestions below:
Until you are 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 successful, have a money-earning day job. One you like at least a little.
Work on establishing yourself in the industry while doing the above.
Work on making 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 contacts in the industry.
If working in film or TV doesn't make you extremely happy, realizing that it will often break your heart, don't keep on keeping on with it just to prove a point to yourself
"Break a leg" but always know how far you are from the local hospital.
I've worked at a lot of things in my life and this is the most fun as well as the most satisfying.
That said, I'm also the guy out in the field still giving CPR to a skeleton.
See suggestions below:
Hank recommends the following next steps:
Thank you Hank haha! Thank you for your honesty!
Shelby
Updated
Marty’s Answer
That's a lot of good questions.
Many of us got into the entertainment business because we loved the process, the equipment, the people. In the 80's it was a terrific career; there was money to be made and good jobs to be had. Folks built their reputations on what projects they had worked on, what they had accomplished on a corporate level, and what their particular skill had earned them. They built networks of contacts that hired and re-hired them. We like to work with the devil we know.
Entertainment employment resembles a game of musical chairs- when the music stops if you don't have a chair you're out. As the business became more competitive people evolved. For example, I worked as an on-air broadcast technician when I was in school. Out of college I worked in engineering management for TV network/stations, morphed to marketing and sales, then back to operations management. I've taken jobs that interested me and paid less than previous positions, but, in the end, they helped my career.
Would I leave the business? For a good fit, yes, skills are transferable. However, with a long resume in entertainment it's a tough transition.
What would I say to film majors today? First of all, there is little actual film being shot. It's a digital world, although the term filmmaker has stuck.
Jobs today are at the streamers like Netflix, YouTube (who has the largest viewing population) and social media outlets. Preditors (shoot and edit) skills are in demand. Cinematographers, producers and directors of photography and competing for less opportunities and lower paying jobs. AI would be a skill that has traction going forward.
The mantra should be --do more with less. That said, there's not always a rainbow when the rain stops. It's been a grim 3 years in the business and most everyone has experienced the rocky seas. Prepare to enter a highly competitive market, invest wisely and keep your skills current. Good luck!
Many of us got into the entertainment business because we loved the process, the equipment, the people. In the 80's it was a terrific career; there was money to be made and good jobs to be had. Folks built their reputations on what projects they had worked on, what they had accomplished on a corporate level, and what their particular skill had earned them. They built networks of contacts that hired and re-hired them. We like to work with the devil we know.
Entertainment employment resembles a game of musical chairs- when the music stops if you don't have a chair you're out. As the business became more competitive people evolved. For example, I worked as an on-air broadcast technician when I was in school. Out of college I worked in engineering management for TV network/stations, morphed to marketing and sales, then back to operations management. I've taken jobs that interested me and paid less than previous positions, but, in the end, they helped my career.
Would I leave the business? For a good fit, yes, skills are transferable. However, with a long resume in entertainment it's a tough transition.
What would I say to film majors today? First of all, there is little actual film being shot. It's a digital world, although the term filmmaker has stuck.
Jobs today are at the streamers like Netflix, YouTube (who has the largest viewing population) and social media outlets. Preditors (shoot and edit) skills are in demand. Cinematographers, producers and directors of photography and competing for less opportunities and lower paying jobs. AI would be a skill that has traction going forward.
The mantra should be --do more with less. That said, there's not always a rainbow when the rain stops. It's been a grim 3 years in the business and most everyone has experienced the rocky seas. Prepare to enter a highly competitive market, invest wisely and keep your skills current. Good luck!
Updated
Patrick’s Answer
Shelby! Way to rough the room up with all these questions! Let's go! Responses to your questions, in order:
1. In what ways have you had to adapt to survive in this industry? Accept rejection. Take the no politely, move on to the next "yes". Straddle skill sets, develop them as they come or as life needs you to. Me? On-set Props & Set Dresser to Screenwriter. Screenwriter to video post-production. Post prod to sports television. Side gigs. Always writing, always got some kind of skin in The Game.
2. Do you find meaning in your work? Unfortunately... yes! Otherwise, I would bounce from all of this! And also, unfortunately, I also find meaning in the work of others. And THAT'S why I stay. Darn you all.
3. Is the pay worth the sacrifice? Sometimes. Other times, it's horrifying. All I've learned is this; you get out (paid) basically, over a long enough timeline, what you put it. Time. Work. Writing. Drafts. Edits. Fund-raising. Building. More you do, more you get paid. In some way.
4. How did you sacrifice to get where you are today? Took crummy jobs when I had to. Wrote for little to no money when I had to. Worked as an overnight security guard once when my son was born. Got paid a whopping three grand cash to write a zombie script at the same time. Brutal, but perfect. Do what you have to do, when you have to. Fight on.
5. Are you making a full living wage off of your creative work or do you have a second supplemental income? The past decade or so, I did make a living off my... work. Was it fully creative? For me? Not so much. But was I creative in the process of helping others create their stuff? Absolutely.
6. Would you ever consider leaving for another career, if so which one? Wow, killer question. Hm. Maybe architect. I like building things that have some permanence. Movies. TV shows. Structures and homes. We need both.
7. What would you tell all aspirational Film major student today? "I cannot wait to see your work! Hit me with it! Let's go! "
Thank you, Shelby!
Best,
Patrick
1. In what ways have you had to adapt to survive in this industry? Accept rejection. Take the no politely, move on to the next "yes". Straddle skill sets, develop them as they come or as life needs you to. Me? On-set Props & Set Dresser to Screenwriter. Screenwriter to video post-production. Post prod to sports television. Side gigs. Always writing, always got some kind of skin in The Game.
2. Do you find meaning in your work? Unfortunately... yes! Otherwise, I would bounce from all of this! And also, unfortunately, I also find meaning in the work of others. And THAT'S why I stay. Darn you all.
3. Is the pay worth the sacrifice? Sometimes. Other times, it's horrifying. All I've learned is this; you get out (paid) basically, over a long enough timeline, what you put it. Time. Work. Writing. Drafts. Edits. Fund-raising. Building. More you do, more you get paid. In some way.
4. How did you sacrifice to get where you are today? Took crummy jobs when I had to. Wrote for little to no money when I had to. Worked as an overnight security guard once when my son was born. Got paid a whopping three grand cash to write a zombie script at the same time. Brutal, but perfect. Do what you have to do, when you have to. Fight on.
5. Are you making a full living wage off of your creative work or do you have a second supplemental income? The past decade or so, I did make a living off my... work. Was it fully creative? For me? Not so much. But was I creative in the process of helping others create their stuff? Absolutely.
6. Would you ever consider leaving for another career, if so which one? Wow, killer question. Hm. Maybe architect. I like building things that have some permanence. Movies. TV shows. Structures and homes. We need both.
7. What would you tell all aspirational Film major student today? "I cannot wait to see your work! Hit me with it! Let's go! "
Thank you, Shelby!
Best,
Patrick