Image courtesy of FrameAngel/freedigitalphotos.net
If you are pounding the pavement looking for your first job in the production biz you know how difficult it is to get your foot in the door anywhere, let alone find gainful employment. If you are combing Craigslist, Mandy and other sites you will stumble across many unpaid gigs as well. You may consider giving these opportunities a whirl just to meet people and network, especially if they are doing something artistic for the love of it. If this interests you try joining Toronto Film Coop (there is a fee) or volunteering at LIFT. But if a company is offering you zero money and it’s a corporate video, they may be using you. They may even be billing their client for your services. As compensation they often say you get a credit. Big deal – even if Spielberg sees and loves it he won’t say, “get the wardrobe assistant in my office tomorrow!” Plus, I’ve never seen credits on a corporate video.
You will probably start as a Production Assistant.
If you want to start as a basic PA, you don’t need a reel or samples of work. It wouldn’t hurt but we’ve never required that. Graduating from a college or university in broadcasting or media should be enough to get you in the door if a job is posted. If you are applying to camera assist or edit then you will need samples of work you’ve been associated with, or a reference or two. Your reel doesn’t have to be a perfect match for what employers are doing. They should realize that if you’re just out of school you have limited resources. Over the years we’ve had fresh faced graduates come through our offices and very few have ever had a corporate video sample. We’ve seen plenty of music videos, experimental films and even our share of zombie flicks, but precious few corporate style videos.
If you have a lead on a PA job, realize that you are applying to a business that produces videos for money. Some companies just want the project in and out the door as fast as possible with little regard for quality, possibly because their clients don’t realize the difference, or the low budgets they deal with don’t allow for more time and attention paid to the project. If you are serious about a career in video production, you won’t learn anything at a place like this, and you’ll likely pick up some bad habits as well. At the other end of the spectrum are the large businesses with a full time sales force, accountants, and a stable of producers. They get the big budgets and clients that demand top-notch work. Chances are, you won’t have a very large role starting at a place like this, but you may rise through the ranks, gradually gaining more responsibilities, and navigating the egos that sometimes inhabit these brick and beam buildings. Somewhere in the middle are the smaller companies, which, I think, comprise the majority of the business. Here you will be exposed to more of the operations and have more responsibility. At a smaller production company you will likely have direct contact with the clients, where you would otherwise be a background player at a larger operation. As a smaller company ourselves, we know that our PA’s will be around our clients, and their demeanor and professionalism will influence our clients’ opinion of our company. We consider ourselves and our PA’s to be first and foremost in the customer service business, and by the way, we make videos too. When hiring, we think it’s nice if an applicant knows an XLR from a BNC, but more importantly, has a sociable personality. It’s no coincidence that every single one of our PA’s has had a job in hospitality at some point in the past. We didn’t set that out as criteria for hiring, it just turned out that way.
We welcome anyone’s thoughts or comments on this or any other related topic.
