10 Steps to Getting Your Dream Job in Film Special Effects

Title:

10 Steps to Getting Your Dream Job in Film Special Effects

Summary:

Essential advice on gaining a career in the film industry. Sean Blakeley offers 10 key things to bare in mind, including practical advice to improve your chances of achieving an opportunity in special effects work.

Keywords:

career,films,movies,work,entertainment,advice,special effects,art,craft,creative,media,sculptor

Article Body:

Getting a break in film special effects is hard, but not as hard as you may think. The following ten things will go a long way to help you achieve your dream job.

1) Understand the Industry

If you want to work in special effects, itís important not just to know the difference between a Stag (stagehand) and a Director, but know how special effects itself is divided up. Long gone are the days when Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts) would lock himself in a shed with a small team of people and do all the special effects himself. Now, everything is spread across different teams and departments. So, if youíre interested in sculpting sets and large monsters, you want to work as a film sculptor; if you'd prefer smaller more technical projects youíd be better off choosing the model unit.

2) Be a Realist

Working in the creative industry and particularly the film industry is not easy. Youíll often be faced with challenging projects and demanding deadlines and thereíll be dozens of different people waiting for you to finish so they can complete their own jobs. Youíll have to strike a balance between the time allowed and quality of what you produce; you canít get too precious about your work. Not only that, youíve got to promote yourself ñ all special effects artists are freelance and youíve got to hunt down the jobs out there.

3) Study Art

Whether youíre self-taught or went to Art College, it is vital you have a keen interest in Art to work in special effects. If someone asks you to sculpt a life-size Roman-style Statute or an Egyptian sarcophagus itís invaluable to have a point of reference in your own mind. But more important than this, itíll make the job more enjoyable. You may be flicking through an art book over the weekend, and on Monday morning youíre asked to recreate one of the pieces youíve been admiring.

4) Drawing

In the film industry all technical drawings are done by draughtsmen in the Art Department. So is this just padding to reach the magic '10' steps? No. If you want to create any 3D object, particularly the human form, it is vital to learn to draw and keep practicing. Sculptors regularly liken sculpting to drawing their subjects in clay from various angles. The key to good sculpture, like drawing, is defining the lines and shadows.

5) Practice

This is obvious but it's also vitally important. If you practice creating and sculpting things in your spare time, you will improve. It is also very valuable to recreate a film working experience ñ so limit yourself to reference photographs (rather than a life model) and give yourself a challenging deadline for the job. A little more difficult, but just as valuable, is to try different mediums. You may be an expert in steel construction and welding, but unless you join the engineering side of special effects or metal work team, these skills are useless. The materials of choice in the films tend to be low-grade potterís clay and polystyrene.

6) Approachable

Almost everyone in the film industry is self-employed and so they understand the only way to get work is to promote yourself. This doesnít mean you should go around to a potential employerís house or create wacky self-marketing campaigns; it means most people in the industry are approachable. If you cold call a relevant Head of Department (HOD) and show commitment and desire to learn theyíll often agreed to meet you for 5-10 minutes to look over your portfolio.

7) Persistence

When you do finally meet the man or woman youíre hoping to be your future boss, donít stop there. Theyíll take your details but it might be 18 months before they have a suitable project and give you a call. You need to make sure you meet as many future employers as possible, and stop and have a chat with other people in the department if you feel brave enough. Try and leave a card or better still, copies of your favourite 1 or 2 pieces of work with your contact details on (and ideally your online portfolio address if you have one). Then, give them a quick catch-up call every 6 months or so ñ even if they canít offer you a job, itís amazing how much information youíll get about different opportunities.

8) Portfolio

Vital. In a word. The key rules to a good portfolio are simple:

>Diversity ñ show different types of work you may have done ñ you may be proud of the series of 18 statutes youíve done, but donít show them all. Also, you may not think that 30ft polystyrene snow drift shows youíre finesse as a sculptor, but it shows your versatility so put it in.

>Honesty ñ it should go without saying but it doesnít. Only one thing gets a HOD's back-up more than seeing a large piece of work with someone claiming to have created it single-handedly, and thatís seeing a piece of their own work being claimed by someone else. Believe me, it does happen. So, be honest. If you did the left foot of a giant, then say so and donít be ambiguous about it.

>Concise ñ use your opportunity wisely. 10-12 photos are definitely enough to show a range of your work and skills.

>Best Foot Forward ñ most people will make a decision about your work within 2-3 examples so put your best work at the very front.

>Presentation ñ try not to have scraps of paper tumbling out of your moth-eaten portfolio. Invest in an easy to carry A4 portfolio and use plastic binders. If you have any Photoshop skills to improve the presentation of your work then use them. Donít feel the need to take in an example of your sculpture ñ you will be showing your work to professionals who are very used to assessing work through photographs.

>Information ñ you may have produced a full-scale replica of Michelangeloís David, but if it took you three years itís no good to the film industry. Make sure you note down the scale of each example of your work, what material you used and how long it took. These simple pieces of information are important for HODs and will be appreciated.

>Online Portfolio ñ if you can, get an online portfolio designed and make sure any contact details contain the address. Ideally, try and get the HODís email address so you can send them the link. Any time you update the contents of the portfolio, itís a good excuse to contact the HOD with another link to your work.

9) Networking

Networking can feel a bit uncomfortable and embarrassing at times, but it is important to get to know what jobs are out there. After youíve worked on a job or two youíll get the phone numbers of a few fellow workers ñ make sure you give them a ring. But be warned, if youíre first to hear about the new James Bond film and then tell everyone, youíll find yourself joining the queue to show your portfolio. This doesnít mean you shouldn't share information you may have about up coming jobs, it means you should bear in mind that everyone is trying to get employment. It's also a good idea to keep an eye on movie news websites.

10) Watching Films

A great perk for those times when youíre not in work ñ you can watch films and claim itís research. Obviously, itís a great feeling to see your own work on the big screen, but itís also exhilarating to see the work and names of people you know. After your first job or 2 youíll very quickly start to feel part of the industry and start recognising names and faces. Also, for those jobs you missed out on, you can go and have a good grumble about how you would have done it better!

Working in the film industry is not for everyone; but if youíre keen and develop youíre skills and knowledge, then youíre likely to get an opportunity to show what you can do. Best of luck!