People always ask if it is possible to make it somewhere after film school. Yes it is, but it takes lots of work, determination and courage. There are many different ways to get somewhere and you have to find your own.

Vancouver Film School posted a blog about one of their graduate and where he was at in his career 13 years after having graduated. What was interesting was to see the path he took.

• Right Place at the Right Time
  When a film crew wanted to shoot at his parents’ house, he talked with the producer, telling him that he would do anything to work in the film business. The next week, he got invited to lunch and then he got hired as an assistant to the producer.

  He took the chance and showed that he wanted the job at all cost and he got it. We can imagine that if the production had shot somewhere else, his career path probably would have been very different.

• Working for cheap
  Being an assistant to the producer isn’t a fabulous position but it’s a great inside on how things work. He started to work for free, making only $25/week, while making connections and getting some important insight.

  A good thing for him was also the presence of his parents. Having a support system close by, financially or emotionally is an enormous help.

• More Assisting
  Starting working in the film industry doesn’t mean that you have to do the job you don’t like for the length of a production, it means that you have to do it until you can move to something else. He was an assistant to the producer for 11 productions. Thankfully, at that point he was getting some money for his work.
• Connections get you Work
  The more people you know, the more chance you have to get hired.  In his case, after meeting with two actors, he managed to get hired and to run the day-to-day workings of their personal production company and take care of them, as well as development for their company, and all the other projects they had on the go at that time.

  Without all his previous “free” experience, he wouldn’t know how a production company runs and what to do once you’re there.  All of his free time paid off.

• Keep going up
  Once you’re on the ladder, if you keep on working hard, you’ll keep on going up. In his case, he moved to the production side and became Unit Manager and so long. At one point, because of all his previous connection, he managed to get a Producer job on the SCIFI series “Stargate Universe.”
  
• How long did it took him?
  13 years. That’s 4,745 days of hard work. If you don’T give up hope and keep on going, you will make it somewhere. It will take time, but you will.

This article is about someone who managed to start at the bottom and to get on top in that amount of time. I’ve always promoted the concept that you have to start at the bottom to get on top as being the only way to make it in this job. Keep on going!

Look up the original article here: VFS Blog “Film Grad Produces ‘Stargate Universe’”