#04: What do I need to know to make it in entertainment?
Here’s more insider information adapted from my interview with Twyman Creative.
Question:What do you need to know to succeed in the industry?
DMA’s Answer: After more than a decade in the industry and attending or speaking at countless conferences, festivals, seminars, etc., this is what I’ve found consistently to be the source of guaranteed failure: People at every level of this game fail because they don’t know, respect or believe how the industry operates. It’s that simple and that unfortunate. Here are the biggest areas where I think people truly soar or crash in this industry. This is not for the defensive or faint-hearted: I really want to state frankly what I mean!<
FAIL OR FLY REASON #1: DO YOU KNOW AND USE INDUSTRY LEXICON?
I talk to filmmakers (emerging and established) as often as I possibly can, and I tell everyone to learn the language of the industry (”beat sheet,” “line producing,” “first look deal,” “turnaround,” etc.). No one trusts you as a doctor if you don’t know what the word “scalpel” means, and no one trusts you as a filmmaker if you don’t know what the acronym “E&O” stands for or where to get it. If you know the language and the proper spelling and meaning of important names and events, at any level of success, people take you more seriously. The best classroom is a J-O-B. Get one in the industry at whatever level you’re truly qualified for, and watch what happens.
FAIL OR FLY REASON #2: ARE YOU ALWAYS LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE INDUSTRY?
This is the only industry of the many I’ve worked in where people are proud that they know nothing and think natural talent and big plans are all they need. Imagine if your attorney took that approach…and still wanted to be paid well just for being “passionate” about the law, despite never having gone to law school or been inside a courtroom!
Go online and read about the studios and production companies (look at the credits of films you watch and write names down to see who you want to research). Watch great films in and outside of your generation, favorite genres and cultural connections. Read the trades to see which companies are doing what and who the movers and shakers are today (I read five every day, and I will keep reading them until I no longer work in the industry). Attend seminars and truly listen to what you are being told; I attend easily a dozen seminars a year and take notes and read further when I get back to work the next day. It always impresses me when people have information far beyond what they need to know to do what they do. It makes me think they are certain of and prepared for bigger futures.
Hands down, the best way to learn is to get a job in the industry! The education and contacts will be more valuable than the money at first.