My goals for weeks 1 and 2 of class were to find and secure a role on the 4th year film sets. Due to a familial obligation, I missed the first and second week of class, and was out of the country. Naturally, my work was conducted online, emailing different directors my interests in working on their sets, as well as research into general set etiquette. I haven’t been doing much research into specific roles, as in these weeks I had not been assigned a role. I also reviewed the masterclasses given during the first week by Stuart Cadenhead, and watched the films of Louis Paxton, who gave the second week’s masterclass.
The masterclasses, as well as some of my own research into articles, helped guide me through vital traits to bring to my interactions and experiences upcoming this semester, especially in finding a role:
- Communication is key; I sent many follow up emails to the ones I sent initially to 4th year directors, as persistence is important to getting a response
- Research is important in every step along the way from securing a job to completing it. I made sure to do effective research into the films I was interested in, as well as the roles I was interested in, just to have a breadth of knowledge before me. Without proper research, there is no way you can be prepared to work on set (or off!)
- Patience and compromise is a necessary quality. Of course, I am not expecting to receive the most stand out roles in a crew, or roles that I particularly want. I understand that coveted roles come with hard work and time, and I am happy to work on anywhere that I am needed on the 4th years sets.
At the end of this week, I secured a role in the art department on Roisin and Jude’s film Hypervigilance. I am looking forward to the weeks coming ahead and learning more about my role on set.
Articles that I read this week as mentioned above:
