I'm a working IATSE editor and also run the website FilmSchool.org on the side. I'm trying to help people out by collecting real data on how people found work in the film business in order to show those who are interested in film the many pathways into film that are available to them.

We've done an anonymous survey for film school alumni, but I just created a similar survey for those who are working in the film business who have NEVER gone to film school.

From our film school alumni survey so far (151 responses):

- 101 of the 151 respondents (67%) are still working in film today. 129 people got paid film work at some point after film school, and 28 of those have since left. 22 people never got paid film work at all.

- 65% got their first paid job through film school connections, but by their current job, the #1 source was referrals from previous gigs.

- The most common first job was PA at a median income of $625/week.

- 58% would still go to their program knowing what they know now.

It would be AWESOME if you could reply to either survey, as it'll really help people interested in working in film see which paths into the film business have worked for others.

Completing either survey should take around 10 to 20 minutes.

If you are working in film and DID NOT go to film school, please take this survey:

https://www.filmschool.org/surveys/film-industry-employment-survey-for-those-who-did-not-go-to-film-school-only.4/select

If you went to film school (whether or not you still work in film), please take this survey:

https://www.filmschool.org/surveys/film-school-alumni-outcomes-employment-survey.1/select

Anonymous results so far for each survey are available via the "Statistics" button on the pages linked above.

Both surveys are completely anonymous and no account on FilmSchool.org is needed.

And if you don’t have time for a survey, I’d love to hear your path in the comments here. How did you land your first paid gig?

Thank you in advance! I hope your answers help people.

Do I travel to Big Apple Film Festival?

Hey I am 7x2 (cryptic eh😂),

Of course I wouldnt travel alone and could possibly win at Big Apple Film Festival,

Yes the majority of the benefits are virtual, e.g. pitch forum and stuff

Do you think it’s genuinely beneficial for my career to cross the pond?

Thanks

The short film we completed last year, Mercy, just went live on Omeleto last night. Finished a pretty soft festival run, but we had a great time making it. Link below if you’d like to check it out and offer thoughts!

https://youtu.be/PDS_ivtKAXo?si=NkZcejW08hgTgWi3

Pleased to share the second teaser for my liminal micro short horror Void Supervisor.

It has been on it's festival run over the last couple of months most recently screening at Grimmfest where it was nominated for a Méliès d'argent and are about to screen at Soho Horror London along with Nightmare in the Ozarks over in the states (plus a couple more to announce soon)

We're on letterboxd at this link if you want to add the film to your watchlist for when it releases if you are unable to see it at a festival.

https://letterboxd.com/film/void-supervisor/

Happy to answer any questions you have about it!

I got a proper job offer to be an assistant to the head production designer on a show for a long term contract with opportunity for renewal. I've only ever worked on indie sets in production, as an actor, and as a stunt person.

What on earth would I wear to set? I wouldn't be building sets (to my knowledge) so I'm unsure of how to present myself on a large streaming network set.

I'm currently a senior in high school who's applying to film school, and film is one of the most important things in my life. I've made short films and I'm about to film one this weekend, so I have very little doubts that this is what I love.

But I do wonder and doubt if going to film school will be the correct decision for me. With the industry being how it is now and job opportunities being so scarce, I am so scared that I might end up financially in debt, and unhappy.

In the back of my mind, I wonder if going to college for something more financially secure would result in me being happier, just because I wouldn't be in a panic searching for jobs.

But in conflict with that is the overwhelming feeling that I genuinely can't see myself doing anything else.

I just don't know what to do.

More info on the production in the comments!

Here we are the penultimate episode of the Season. Was it good? who knows but it was a fun ride. Please enjoy.

Beige Martin is a straight man to his housemate Roddney a milkshake addicted magnet of chaos, they get into sitcom situations. Episode eight has Roddney needing to pay his debts

If you have any questions or suggestions or feedback, please let me know im happy to listen

Cast/Crew
Tomos/Mos
Beige martin
Roddney
Devin

I'm a documentary filmmaker and have spent years on a festival board, so I've watched a lot of good films finish their festival run and then disappear. For a lot of indies, Letterboxd is where word of mouth lives after that. Someone logs your film and writes a few honest lines about it. A stranger reads that and adds it to their watchlist.

That's up for grabs right now. Letterboxd is being sold, and whoever buys it decides what happens to the place where audiences keep track of our work. Letterboxd4All is a public bid led by Intrinsic Entertainment to make it community owned. They've built the model: a holistic one that puts what a community creates back into the community… film lovers and filmmakers both. They started this work two years before the sale; they believe in the mission so much, they paused building their own platform to take this on.

A lot of the names behind it will be familiar here. Supporters include Ted Hope, Liesl Copland, Amy Durning, Susan A. Stover, Lela Meadow-Conner and Jon Reiss, along with filmmakers and organizers like Carlos López Estrada. Elizabeth Joyce, who is leading the effort, wrote about why it matters on Hope for Film: https://www.hopeforfilm.com/p/your-heart-is-a-muscle-the-size-of?lli=1

If there's interest, Elizabeth would love to do an AMA. Drop the questions you'd want her to answer.

Disclosure: I'm with The Reelist, a member-supported home for independent film. We're not investors in the bid. We're sharing it because filmmakers should have a say in the platforms that carry their work.

Update 1: We are actively working with Elizabeth and the Intrinsic Entertainment team to schedule an AMA for early next week. We will update this post as we lock in an exact day and time!

Update 2: We found a day and time! Tuesday (10.20) at 5-9PM ET - we posted the full details on r/letterboxd here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Letterboxd/comments/1x7srdu/ama_tuesday_on_rama_elizabeth_joyce_from/

We made UP THE TOWN DOWN DOCK, a three-minute branded film for renewable energy company Ørsted, around a conversation inside an old Rover moving through Grimsby, UK.

Imported gas, energy prices and offshore wind could easily have become a corporate explainer, so we used the confined car scene to make the message feel more like entertainment. Snatch by Guy Ritchie was one of our references for pace, character and dialogue.

For those who have made dialogue-heavy car scenes: did the limitations ultimately help or hurt the storytelling?

And yes, former Grimsby Town captain James f&@*ing McKeown really is on sound. Please throw it a like on Vimeo if you enjoyed watching it: https://vimeo.com/1227679077

Hey!
Gonna make this short.
I got a job offer, to film and edit a documentary about an old firefighter truck. I got the offer three days ago and been absolutely mentally drained because I cannot decide whether to accept it or not.

What speaks for it?
- Hotel and train ticket is covered by the firefighters
- I get paid
- work of mine could be shown in local newspapers and tv show
- connections

What speaks against it?
- It‘s spontaneous af. Would be in two weeks.
- I‘ve never done a doc before
- Since it’s so spontaneous, it’d be almost impossible to get days off from my workplace.
- October was and still is a very stressful month. I shot a short film, still editing it.
- In November I have to attend two screenings of two of my short films
- I have a weird feeling I cannot describe about this whole doc.

So yeah.. not sure. But if I would turn it down, wouldn’t that make me lazy? Like shouldn’t I have a „hustler mindset“ and just go for it?

Hi, I'm a film student and I'm currently in my 4th and final year of my program. I'm not sure if it's the same for every film program or school, but we form groups, pick a role and create our thesis film. I guess I'm here in this sub because I feel like I'm failing my group as their Producer, and I want to do something about it. The way this project has been executed by my school doesn't make sense, since the fundraising is heavily reliant on family donations or students funding themselves, rather than creating a course or just setting aside a few weeks in the 3rd year of the program to teach students how to apply for grants, market themselves or find and pitch to investors, which doesn't make sense in the grand scheme of things. I feel like there should be more to this, but there is no point in complaining. I came to this subreddit to get insight and suggestions from people who have either been in my position, whether as a student trying to fund their thesis film or a small indie filmmaker, or experienced producers and filmmakers with years in the industry. I chose this position as my group's producer because I wanted to expand my interests in production management and producing. I thought this was a great opportunity to learn how to manage a crew that wasn't five people anymore but now over 20, with a budget beyond $200, and I plan to still do that despite some setbacks. I would love to hear and try any tips or suggestions from you.

I had the honor of designing the poster for BIOHAZARD, a Resident Evil 7 fan film starring Chandler Riggs! It genuinely means a lot to me to have had the opportunity to work on this project.
If you’re a filmmaker looking for a custom poster for your film, I’m currently open for commissions! I’ve been designing movie posters for 6 years, and I’d love to help bring your project to life.
Feel free to DM or email me if you’re interested!

From Biceps music video "Viper", im hoping the answer isnt that they had 100 cameras lined up in a straight line?

I'm a film student interested in creating my first short film. I already finalized the screenplay with my professor and am looking at shooting sometime in December. I can direct, I can write. What I don't know how to do is cinematography. I'm a good photographer, but as I understand it, shooting objects in motion are a lot different than shooting stationary ones. I have been looking all over my school's RTF department for cinematographers and so far have had no luck. I am at the point of considering just doing the cinematography myself in addition to directing, but the only problem is that there are a lot of visual based scenes with hardly any dialogue. Meaning that the cinematography has to sell the story. As a beginner, with only the help of another third year RTF student as a camera operater, do you think it'd be possible for me to sell the look below?

I graduate this December and am hoping to connect with a development or creative executive, preferably in the motion picture department.

I have previous experience working in a management company in Los Angeles and as a publicist's assistant. I currently work as a private assistant to a client outside the entertainment industry, which has taught me a lot about multitasking and organization. I would love to help make your work life a little bit easier while learning more about the industry. I love dissecting storytelling and have a long list of coverage under my belt. I read fast and give concise and direct feedback.

Other areas I am experienced in:

- Tracking grids

- Research and evaluation

- Producing and managing

If anyone is looking for an assistant or might know of an opening or anything that might help, I would love to connect. (Feel free to message me).

Hey everyone!

I'm part of Drowned Ink Studio, a small independent 2D animation studio based in Malaysia. We're looking to connect with indie creators and teams who are working on their own animated projects.

We know how much time, effort, and money it takes to bring an animation project to life, especially when you're working with a small team. Sometimes, having an extra pair of hands can make a big difference.

That's where we'd love to help!

Our studio provides 2D animation production for projects such as animated pilots, short films, and indie series. We're open to discussing projects of different scopes to see what works for both sides.

If you're not ready to commit to a full production, we're also open to starting with a small paid test cut so we can get familiar with each other's workflow first.

If you're working on something and think we might be a good fit, feel free to drop me a DM! Tell me a little about your project, and if you have any animation references, I'd love to see them.

Even if you're still in the early stages of development, feel free to reach out. It would be great to connect with more people in the indie animation scene.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys are working on! ✨

— Drowned Ink Studio

I'm in the middle of making a tracking cart type of thing for a film and happened to see this BTS shot of Clayface using this. Was hoping to get a closer look to get ideas for my own rig. Does anyone know what it's called?

So I’ve just finished my year long festival run for my first film and want to get my 23 minute true/crime narrative short onto some streaming platforms through an aggregator. FILM HUB? OMELETA? Others? VOD/TVOD? Maybe try to make a few bucks?

What would be my next best step? Is this the way to go? Appreciate any advice.

Three film projects from the outside, which would you support?

The first has a great script by an unknown screenwriter, very little marketing camp.

The second has an average script but a established screenwriter, good marketing behind it.

The third also has an med script and an unknown screenwriter, but a huge marketing push with a strong strategy.

If you are a producer, which one you support first?

I’m obsessed with films like Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, old Universal horror films, and even the B&W stuff from Japan like Kuroneko, Onibaba, etc. I’ve found a couple books from the 1920’s that detail working on such films, but would love more about special/practical effects, shadow play, etc. Give me your best recs.

Am I the only one who digs this stuff?

I am very upset that our contract ended and they published my film everywhere without informing me. Really horrible unprofessional company. I hope all filmmakers see this. They initially contacted me with a beautiful personalized letter about my film, then that person left and the company has behaved illegally by publishing my film without my consent or compensation.

Hi guys,

Just wanted to give my channel a lil boost. I run a film making channel call Planning to Fail (mostly in reference to our own, ultra low budget shorts that we make).

It's aimed at early career film makers and features 3 things:

Interviews with local independent film makers

Budget gear reviews aimed at start up film makers who don't have access to much money

Ultra low budget shorts with directors commentary

We put up another short just yesterday called The One With the Spooky Eyeball about the western worlds housing crisis.

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i need to bleep out a word in a music video, but it has too many syllables to sound normal after being bleeped. what i was thinking was to bleep in out in the same note and syllables it is sung in so it does not ruin the audio. thank you!!