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article in the print edition of StudentFilmmakers
Magazine, April 2007. More photos
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 Finding
Film Industry Employment After Graduation
To Succeed, You Must Network
by Michael Corbett
...Continued
from Previous Page
I was hired many years ago by a film equipment rental house to
drive a 5-ton grip truck from Miami to St. Petersburg, Florida
and to keep track of the equipment and expendables used by the
production. This was an equipment rental firm I had developed
as a network contact by virtue of renting equipment from them.
This was a breakthrough opportunity as I had been working on breaking
into the Miami production scene. When I completed that job and
returned the truck to Miami, I asked for and was given an entry
level job in the rental house lighting and grip department.
I sent a letter to the St. Petersburg production manager of that
job thanking him for his assistance on the job and asking him
to consider me for work in the future. A year later he again hired
one of the companies grip trucks and asked specifically for me
as the driver. After that job wrapped I again sent him a letter
thanking him for remembering me and asking for me on the job.
In that letter I mentioned to him I was interested in moving from
working as a technician into location scouting, production coordination
and production management. A few months later he called me and
asked me if I would consider taking a position as a location scout/production
coordinator on a TV commercial in the Miami area. He was leaving
the business to work with his father in real estate and wanted
to know if I would feel confident �trying-out� with this production
team.
That TV commercial production I worked on with producer Gary Learoyd
and director Bob Canning turned into a 12-year relationship that
took me all over the United States on commercials for Proctor
and Gamble, Pontiac, Kraft Cheese and many other fortune 500 brands.
About one-third of my income in those years came from working
with their team.
I applied the very same plan I have suggested to you and experienced
success. My work for the rental house led eventually to my first
position as a production manager/first-assistant-director on an
independent feature film with a $1,000,000 budget. Adapt this
plan to your situation and work it. It will lead to your success
in this industry.
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Check out this article in the April 2007
print edition of StudentFilmmakers magazine, pages
56-58. Click here to get a copy of the April 2007
Edition, so you can read and enjoy all of the excellent articles
inside.
About the Author:
 Michael
Corbett has worked on television commercials and feature films
in roles as varied as grip-electric to producer-director. Corbett
presently serves as the Director of the Piedmont Community College
Film and Video Production Technology Program in Yanceyville, North
Carolina.
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