Breaking into the Biz

[Tony]

First get a job as an assistant or intern to learn who to network with first.

Obtain training and valuable real life in the field production experience from those you get to work with. Possible jobs might include working at a camera rental house to learn the gear from the ground up.

Learn the art of lighting as this is essential to anyone considering becoming a photographer, or cinematographer. Get a job working as a grip with a gaffer on low budget films.

Networking and actual in the trenches field experience will be the key to your success throughout your career.

Good luck,

Tony Salgado

Tony Salgado

[Mark Suszko]

Your part-time availability is a problem. Perhaps the easiest thing would be to offer yourself for night and weekend shifts at an editing house or production company. Use that time to learn and build contacts.

The easiest things for part-timers to do in corporate video, IMO, is freelance contractual work on things like writing scripts, building graphics and animations and editing, creating music tracks, recording narrations, audio sweetening, things you can do in a home office setup and via telecommuting/FTP transfers and e-mail, etc. because the schedule is what you want it to be. And big corporations don’t want to waste office space hosting you doing those activities and pulling full benefits too. Shooting and producing are pretty much full-time day gigs, wedded to the client’s schedule. Those would be harder for you to access.

[Drsanchez]

Here’s what I’m hearing:
1–gotta network
2–learn the equipment (cameras, lighting, sound)
3–try to freelance

I like this direction. To learn equipment I prefer classes (like https://www.bavc.org/catalog/default.php?cPath=30). San Francisco is 5 hours from me, so it’s almost do-able. I pay them and their only purpose is to teach me, rather than make money, so I can make sure my questions are answered.

Networking is going to take some time. Previous posts have mentioned Chambers of Commerce and similar organizations. Is the Chamber one big schmooze-fest? Is it necessary to work for someone to determine with whom to network?

Freelancing will be a little trial and error and will probably be related to the networking.

To get on-the-job experience will be tough–with the need to work half-time, my schedule isn’t all that flexible. That’s why I like the idea of freelancing.

Thank you both (Tony and Mark) for your insight. I’ll be back with more questions once I figure out how much I don’t know 🙂

drsanchez, son of a midwestern bureaucrat

[Galt]

Do. Learn. Do Better.

Shoot x hours a week around town. People will see you and ask what you are doing. Give them your business card. WHen you have given out 1000 business cards this way, you will have work form somewhere.

Go do some free work for your favorite charity. One thing leads to another, so do something. Non-profit work can get you tons of free publicity too. Don’t worry too much about your experience, just offer a money-back guarantee of they are unhappy. It solves that experience issue almost every time.

But you shoudl also pick a spot to focus on first. If it is commercial, do you want to do 30 second spots, marketing videos, training videos, or 28 minute informercials? People like it better when you have a focus to your work, then they will ask “do you do….?”.

[Drsanchez]

I like it!
I’ve already written a short script (30-second commercial) for my local food bank but haven’t shot anything yet. Training on higher-end equipment is next. But I like the idea of just getting out there, talent and experience be damned.

As far as focus (30 second spots, marketing videos, training videos, or 28 minute informercials), they all sound appealing but I haven’t done any of them yet. In keeping with the do, learn, do better attitude, I guess there’s nothing wrong with exploring all of those options to see which suits me?

Thanks,
drsanchez

(are you dvxgalt on the VU forums?)

drsanchez, son of a midwestern bureaucrat

[Galt]

Yep, thats me.

I think it is fine to do everything, but you don’t want to look hungry or desperate for work either. So in my 15 second speech I tell people I do corporate videos, primarily training and some marketing. We distribute on DVD and the Internet. If they don’t immediately respond with interest, then “but let me tell you about my personal biographies which is a lot more interesting…” and nearly everyone asks for a business card by the time I have done my 3 minute spiel on that. If people want to know about something else, I think they ask me. I have done commercials and NPO work and other events (no weddings) as well, but do not lead with that unless appropriate. I tell them about what I prefer doing, under the theory that you get what you focus on. If I go around telling people I do commercials, that is what they will remember. And I think commercials is a tough place to enter the market in my area. Oddly enough, a few times I have told people I do everything but weddings, and THAT they seem to remember. Maybe that should be my new business card slogan. 🙂

But don’t get the idea that I talk a lot. I always start by learning about their business and looking for the opportunity before I even mention it. Most small businesses are not my prospects, so I don’t waste their time and risk annoying them.