Our Tutors Share Their Tips on How to Develop Your Film Career

Film may be one of the most competitive industries, but our Film Production tutors' expert career advice will help you on your journey to achieving your dreams.

Film careers, like all creative careers, are a hard nut to crack. Though study is a great leg-up, there is no one way to develop and succeed in the industry. Your personal journey to the top will be just as unique as your fingerprints and the 100 billion buzzing braincells between your ears. That’s not to say, however, that you don’t need guidance and good advice to get there.

Enter our Film Production tutors. From writing to directing to post-producing, they’ve walked the length and breadth of the industry, speedways and dead ends included. Though they can’t offer you the Route 66 of career development, allow their motivating words to signpost your way.

It’s really important to do some self-reflection and self-examination to learn about who you are and what you’re putting out there. Once you’ve done that, create a personal manifesto and work diligently and passionately to get there. Do not re-invent the wheel; learn from what others have done before you. Thoroughly research your characters and topics and, whatever you do, don’t reproduce cliches or stereotypes. Learn by doing, be honest about your strengths and weaknesses, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

A film career can mean anything from directing hotel videos, to working construction on sets, to doing accounting. Almost every single possible job that exists also exists in the film industry, and the ‘industry’ ranges from billion-dollar pirate movies, to no-budget indie dramas, to commercials, to documentaries and so on and so on. There is no one ‘path’ in getting a film career. You just have to meet people, work on stuff, and slowly progress in the direction that interests you.

Watch a variety of old and contemporary films and series and learn from the masters! Deconstruct, analyse and reflect on them. Figure out how they achieved certain effects and themes for their stories.

Venture into other worlds; head to galleries, exhibits and concerts and visit different cities. Getting inspired by experiences makes your work more unique. Likewise, meeting new people and strengthening your creative network is great for personal and professional development. Share your ideas.

Go to events and festivals and attend film sessions or lectures with Q&As on trending topics. Keep educating yourself – you can never stop learning. Read a book, jump online, watch tutorials and read journal articles and blogs about new trends and innovations.

Create your own work – don’t wait for work to come to you. It’s important to exercise your creative muscles every day, work really hard – always give 110 percent, even if it’s a small project – and be persistent with your personal and creative goals. Then show your work and let people know what you do. Enter it into festivals, post it online and share it with others in the community.

Finally, get over it! Know that the struggle to succeed will always be there. You will fail, you will make mistakes, but you will learn from them. The sooner you accept this, the better.

Love what you do. I believe you can’t be a great pro without being passionate about the stuff you are building your career on. Many people have said it already: if you love what you do, you won’t be working a day in your life – because it’s just fun, not work.

Secondly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. If you are, you will probably miss the most original and interesting stuff. Sometimes you need to be lost to find the right way. And just do it. Instead of thinking of what you should do, just go out and do it – it is the fastest way to learn. Likewise, it’s important to be able to commit and persist. Sometimes it might not feel like what you’re doing is working, but you might be just one step away from success – make sure you take it.

Teach and help others and they will do the same in return – some kind of karma action-reaction effect. Be a person of your word; don’t let down other people and do what you have promised, even if it might ‘cost’ you more than you thought.

Be curious and ask questions because all people know everything. You can never underestimate the power of knowing as many people as possible, either. I never got a job via an ad – always through a person who knows a person who knows a person. People will give you a project when they are sure you can pull it off. So, if you want to get another one, make sure you are always pulling it off.