A set decorator is in charge of the set dressing on a film set, which includes the furnishings, wallpaper, lighting fixtures, and many of the other objects that will be seen in the film. Props and set dressing often overlap, but are provided by different departments. Props are defined as items which are handled directly…
SET DRESSER
The set dresser on a movie is responsible for making the location of every scene look convincing. This may sound easy, but in the magical (i.e. fake) world of movies, this can mean turning a dilapidated warehouse into a swinging 1960s nightclub, or a sunny California bungalow into a “snow”-covered French cottage. One of the…
COOL JOB – SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
A script supervisor, sometimes called a continuity script supervisor, has numerous responsibilities before, during and after a film production. A script supervisor’s main duty is to document every detail surrounding movie scenes as they are filmed. This means everything from the types of lenses used in the cameras to the exact positions of the actors….
QUALITIES OF A FILM INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL
In the film industry, it is important to understand that no matter how creative you are, or how many blockbusters you have in your head, the person who might hire you doesn’t care. Producers are just trying to fill jobs on their crew with competent people who will carry out the vision of the director. …
QUALIFICATIONS FOR A FILM INDUSTRY CAREER
The film industry is broad in scope and encompasses retail, wholesale, manufacturing, importing, exporting, publishing, recording, repair and rebuilding, tuning, and other businesses. Persons who are successful in the film industry have education and training in both film and business. Many new businesses have grown out of recent developments in the world of computers. State-of-the-art…
PROTECTING A SCRIPT OR SCREENPLAY
NOVEMBER 9, 2011 Hollywood is a den of thieves, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and anyone attempting to break into the film industry might be aware of the importance of protecting a script from being ripped off outright, or even just shamelessly imitated without compensation to the originator of the filmic concept. The simplest and…
A REAL PERSPECTIVE ON CAREERS IN DIGITAL ANIMATION
Finding a career in professional digital animation on film or television productions can be more difficult than it may immediately appear. There is a remarkable amount of competition for these jobs, after all, and so the skills you know are of utmost importance, but it can also be a tremendous advantage to have connections within…
ON BECOMING A SCREENWRITER
7/10/2012 If you are pursuing a dream of becoming a screenwriter, you’re embarking on a potentially exciting adventure. While many aspiring screenwriters put a lot of time and unrewarded effort into their scripts at the beginning, selling that first screenplay can be the most fulfilling moment of your life—and once you build a reputation as…
HOW DO I BECOME THE NEXT QUENTIN TARANTINO?
Becoming a movie director can be thrilling, artistic, and financially lucrative. However, it’s an extremely hard industry to break into. If you can endure no pay and plenty of frustration at the beginning of your directing career, you just may end up an appreciated and award-winning movie director. A movie director must have a vision…
LIFE AS A GRIP
Get a grip! Well, you better if you want to make a movie or television show. Grips are the foot-soldiers in moviemaking. Yeah, if you’re doing something real low-budget, you can move all the equipment yourself. But if you’re on a professional production, the grips are the guys that get the heavy work done. Grips work…
LIFE AS A GAFFER
You’ve seen the credit roll by at the end of the movie – but what the heck is a Gaffer? Here’s some obscure trivia to start: the word comes from Britain and means an older man or boss, derived from grandfather. But you’ll probably never meet a film gaffer who looks like a grandfather –…
HOW THE INTERNET HAS CHANGED MOVIES: INFAMOUS UBIQUITY
The internet has certainly taken its toll on most art forms–film, books, and TV shows among them–and there is increasing worry that the movie industry is equally vulnerable in its own way. Questions abound concerning the internet’s role in the movie business. Has the change already occurred? Will movies be around any longer? Are movies…
I HAVE AN IDEA FOR A MOVIE, NOW WHAT DO I DO?
(Updated Feb. 11, 2022) At some point in our lives, we’ve all thought about what would make a great movie—and how great it would be if we could make it! It could be something from our personal life, whether it was making it through a difficult patch or a hard-to-believe-that-really-happened three-day weekend. After all, how…
HOW TO WRITE A PILOT?
HOW TO WRITE A TV SHOW PILOT? Have An Excellent TV Pilot Idea Develop the Characters Create a Detailed Plot Writing a TV pilot is very different than writing any other screenplay. There are many different tips to keep in mind when considering how to write a TV pilot. 1. HAVE AN EXCELLENT TV PILOT IDEA The first…
HOW TO START A MOVIE COMPANY?
Many people get into the film business wanting to become big-time Hollywood directors. And while it’s good to be ambitious the fact of the matter is that very few people attain that level of success in the business. However, starting your own film production company can be a surprisingly good startup business. Film production is one of the few…