Findding a Job in the Tv and film industry

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Hello this is my first topic but I wanted to see if there was any one that in the same boat as me or I the only one also I am looking for advice as I doing a part time job to get some money but I want to work in the Tv and film industry I know it would hard to get into and I'm seeing some that helps people with disability's find jobs but lately I not heard from them I'm going to set up an appointment with to see what going on.

So basicly I'm looking for advice on what can I do and my options relly.

If you live in London then a good thing would be to apply for work experience with the BBC. I did this in 2005 and it taught me a lot about the nature of contemporary television making and certainly blew away a few misconceptions I had!

I've not tried this myself but also contacting other tv and film production companies regarding work experience might be a good idea too.

I think Pinewood Studios is in Surrey too, not a million miles from London.

The National Film and Television School offer degrees and MAs and would certainly get you good connections, but these can be expensive if you can't get funding or don't have rich parents...

A more DIY approach would be to get yourself an inexpensive digital video camera/still camera with video capabilities (I've done a bit of research on this recently...!) and make a showreel (demo dvd of what you can do with a camera and editing) or youtube. The hardest part of film making by yourself, in my experience, is coming up with original ideas but then there's a lot to be said about going to the roots of film making (Eisenstein, Vertov) and just playing with those ideas.

Good luck and apologies for the rambling

I work in tv and film. To add to CultofByron's thoughts - you need to be more specific about the area of film-making you want to work in as directing is so different from accounting and the advice for both would be so different.
I agree that NFTS would be amazing but it's so hard to get in.
What are your skills/special interests? A lot of focus is placed on 'getting along' with people, having chemistry at interview (bad) but some areas are more Aspie-friendly than others and I find creative people more accepting of geeky quirks than they are in society at large.
I'd recommend creating your own You Tube channel and signing up to Shooting People - the home for independent filmmakers.
And good luck

I'm looking to go in special effects or weapons armourer I'm going possible try that way of getting in I will try to see if I can get work placements with pine wood and that.

Thanks for advice if you have any more that would be welcome as well

I'll second lostdoll's suggestion of shooting people.org. Also, a relative of my girlfriend has actually worked on some BBC stuff with regard to weaponry. I'll try to get some info from him but I think he's out of the country at the moment so might be a while.

You could try approaching some of the production companies - documentary makers like Atlantic Productions - and see if they would be interested in having a 'runner' for a while (who happens to know a lot about weapons and special effects).

They make documentaries for the Discovery Channel and they are always on the lookout for new special effects and 'special interest' people.

Here's their link http://www.atlanticproductions.co.uk/contact-us/

They are in London.

Working in special effects generally means you work from job to job under short contracts. This can be good for managing time, however there are also times when you will not be able to get work for love nor money.

Let me know.

All the best.

For VizFX and Special FX there are definitely courses you can do - University of Hertfordshire claims to have the best one though they would say that wouldn't they and it's a degree course which may be a bit expensive and time consuming/far from home? Friends of mine that do VizFX seem to have started as either pyromaniacs or artists. However this is definitely a question to fire at the Shooting People website. You could ask them the 'disabled film fund' question too. Pinewood is just a collection of buildings really, so won't do you any good writing there. letter will get lost. Best to find the names of specific companies, some are based at PInewood, some at Shepperton, others not within a studio set up and there's bound to be someone on the Shooting People list who will know which companies are more open to work placements. I imagine being a runner in a Special Effects workshop would be a fairly Aspie friendly environment.

It's a hard time for finding grants but maybe someone can help you find some money to train?

oh and CultofByron very much right that you should apply for work experience at the BBC. Being public service broadcaster, license fee recipients etc they have a kind of obligation to the public in a way that the independent sector simply don't.

Cheers and good luck

[quote="Fixer_Girl"]You could try approaching some of the production companies - documentary makers like Atlantic Productions - and see if they would be interested in having a 'runner' for a while (who happens to know a lot about weapons and special effects).

They make documentaries for the Discovery Channel and they are always on the lookout for new special effects and 'special interest' people.

Here's their link http://www.atlanticproductions.co.uk/contact-us/

But do this first! Great plan. Same for the History Channel? What about writing to places they make and store weapons for Historical Epics? I don't know the names of any companies but might be able to find out...

Be very very very careful when going for 'work experience' - if you're not on an accredited course it is technically illegal, and I've heard all sorts of horror stories. Upside - if you do it and aren't paid (and I'm not saying it's not always a good way to get your foot in the door), you can claim the NMW back via HMRC! (PM me if you want further info...)

Other than that, just backing up what everyone else has said - with the note that times are tougher than most, the media industries are still effectively in recession. I know of a lot of very experienced people who are really struggling at the moment, I'm attempting to move across to TV myself and it's nigh-on impossible right now, so just be prepared. Another point for NFTS is that they do a number of great short courses of a week or so, if you can stretch to it whenever you have some downtime - I'm hoping to do one in December, they're great ways of adding value to your CV which will ultimately be what gets you a job over someone else.

Good luck!

Nope I am, too and have been wanting to do so for well over 20yrs, but it's hard when you live on the East Coast. First chance I get, I plan on moving to LA.