Would you like to know the single most important thing you can do to advance your movie career?

Set clear, specific written goals.

Goal setting is something very few people do and is absolutely essential for achieving anything extraordinary throughout your profession, whether working in movies or not. From my own experience I have always had dreams and desires (in my head) of things I wanted to accomplishment in my career but the problem was that they remained just in my head. With my dreams and desires just floating around in my head it became quite easy to be sidetracked, forget or simply give up on achieving anything worthwhile. My struggle and frustration from my lack of progress in my movie career had me searching for answers.

Was success in the movie industry really based on luck? Maybe I was not lucky? Maybe making movies was not my calling? However, everything changed for me once I read a book by Brian Tracy called Goals: How to get everything you want faster than you ever thought possible. I strongly recommend that if you are not currently in the habit on setting goals for yourself and your career to read this book.

Basically, the book details how we as human beings are fully responsible for creating the type of life or career we want and the single best way to guarantee our success is through setting goals. Here are the benefits of setting clear goals for your career:

6. CLARITY:

You will have more CLARITY: You have to know where you want to go to get there. Setting goals requires you to develop clarity. This is the first and most important step to creating a career that you love and want.

5. FOCUS:

You will develop a stronger FOCUS: Whatever you focus on your get more of: if you have clear goals and focus on them, you will get more of what you DO want (your goals) and less of what you don’t want.

4. EFFICIENCY:

When you get clear about where you want to go, you set up steps and actions to get there. This increases your efficiency because you are working on what is really important. When you work on what is important, you will accomplish more than you ever expected.

3. DREAMS

You will get what you really want in life, rather than settling for whatever comes you way.

2. INCREASED SELF-CONFIDENCE

As you set and reach your goals, you become more confident in your ability to do what you say and get what you want in life. Success breeds more successes.
And the number 1 benefit of setting goals is:

1. RESULTS

There are numerous studies that prove that less than 3% of people walking on the face of this earth have written goals, and according to research, these people accomplish 80% more than those who do not. That is an astounding difference,
is it not?

Your goal could be as simple:

I will finish writing the first draft of my screenplay by July 20th, 2009.

Or

I will direct my second feature film by October 10th, 2009.

I know for a fact that since I started setting career goals for myself starting back in 2008 that I have achieved more in my film career within the past 12 months then I have in the previous four years combined without having any writing goals.

What about you? Are you happy with the progress or stage your career is in? Do you want more or feel you have the talent, drive or ambition to accomplish more?

“Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals”

                   -Aristotle

Working in the film and television industry is without a doubt the most exciting and rewarding career I have ever had.

I always feel proud when people ask me what do I do and I reply I am a film producer.
But that proud feeling was not always there for me in the beginning. I remember the days when I was just starting off looking to work in the entertainment industry and however frustrated and overwhelmed I felt about attempting to make it the industry. People would constantly tell me this is tough business to get into or it is all about who you know. Now I agree there is some true to these statements, however, from my five years so far of industry experience the biggest stumbling block for those looking to transition into the industry is LACK OF THE RIGHT INFORMATION.

Once you have the right information, everything in life becomes easier. So this article will give you some of the right information you might need to find work within the film and television industry. These websites are not in any particular order but just good solid sources for emerging filmmakers to build your work experience and skills.

4. Mandy.com (International)

Mandy.com has been around since 1995 and was the first database of film/TV technicians and facilities on the web. The site offers a wide variety of services and resources for film industry people all around the world like:

A) Yellow pages of technicians and facilities. Search for “Sound recordists in
Scotland”, “Camera rental in South-West USA”, or “Producers in Asia Pacific specializing in TV Documentaries”.

B) Casting calls searchable by actor age and ethnicity.

C) Search for current job vacancies in film / TV production in your area.

D) Buy/Sell your production equipment.

E) Database of Films and TV Programs for sale. It assists independent producers find niche sales in our fragmenting marketplace.

Once you have your resume on file with mandy.com it is quite easy to search and apply for both paying and non-paying work.

3. Variety The Biz (Canada & U.S.)

This website reminds me of workpolis.com but for the entertainment industry. Again once you have setup a profile and uploaded your resume, searching and applying for work becomes quite easy. I find that the majority of the jobs advertised on this site are more office/internship type of positions with very little to no on-set production work. However, if the office/internship type work is something that interests you. Then you should check out the Variety career site.

2. EntertainmentCareers.net (U.S. only)

This site provides job seekers with hundreds of entertainment jobs and internships opportunities. The positions available range from associate producer to audio engineer. From a non-paying gaffer position to part time receptionist and everything in between. If you live or plan to live in the LA or NY area, this is a great resource for seeking a wide variety of entertainment industry jobs. Another cool thing about this site is the several of the big Hollywood studios, TV networks and production companies post job openings here.

1.Craigslist.org (International)

Thank God for craigslist. I am sure a lot of us have benefited one way or another from using craigslist. Just in case you have not heard of or used craigslist, it has free online classified advertisements with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, resumes, and discussion forums. It serves 570 cities in 50 countries. Once you go on the site and find the city/area that interests you, search the following sections for film/TV jobs:

1. TV/film/video
2. crew
3. writing
4. talent

It might take you sometime to sift through all the job ads to find the ones the interest you but apart from that craigslist is a great place for newbies and more experienced industry players to find work and build both their resume and skills set.

Are you looking for a new or better way to expand your film industry contacts? Broaden knowledge? Grow your circle of influence?

The relationships we build and maintain throughout our professional lives will have more of an impact on our success than maybe any other factor. Especially for individuals who work in the film industry.

The usual ways to network and build business contacts for filmmakers are:

1. attending film festivals
2. working on set
3. through school/workshops
4. professional association conferences (i.e. Director’s Guild of America)

Though these methods are proven to be effective and do serve as a solid foundation for filmmakers to build their careers. I would like to suggest an alternative approach.

Informational interviews

An informational interview is when you contact someone who has achieved a certain level of success in their career and you meet with them face-to-face for 20 to 30 minutes. During the meeting you basically ask them questions about their career journey and for advice on how you can achieve your career goals.

For example, say you have a passion of screenwriting but were a little unclear on how to turn your passion into a viable career. You would contact a full-time professional working screenwriter, explain to them your situation and arrange to meet with them for guidance.

The professional could tell you happen they sold there first screenplay, their daily writing habits and good books or websites to read for specific industry information pertaining to screenwriters.

This alternative way to networking is very effective. There are only a few steps to take:

1. Make a list of at least 10 people who are successfully doing what you desire to do.
2. Get their contact information and first send them an email that explains your desire for success and how you would like to arrange a sit down meeting with them.
3. After you have sent the email, wait a few days then call them and state how you have already emailed them and you would like a meeting with them to discuss their career success. Emailing them first will give you something to talk about when you get them on the phone. It makes the first contact feel less of a cold call. Chances are the person you wish to meet will be quite busy. So here is where the 3Ps apply. Be polite. Be professional. BE PERSISTENT.
4. If you persist, you will get to meet with at least 3 or 4 people from your list. Of course, that depends on the people you choose to contact. But I have found that most people are flattered and willing to meet with others who are less established then themselves. It gives them a chance to give back and help others.
5. When you do have your informational interview, have a few prepared questions ready to ask, bring a pen, some paper and then just listen. Be a sponge and absorb as much as you can from the other person. I would not pitch any ideas or ask for a job during this initial meeting. Keep things light and informal. From my experience, let the industry expert be the one to inquiry first about your ideas, projects and employment.

I recommend sending a thank you letter the day after the meeting with the industry expert explaining your gratitude for their time and advice.

For me, this is a very efficient way to expand your business contacts, your industry knowledge and your strategic alliance.

Give it try. The results might pleasantly surprise you