Don’t make your first gig your last.

Starting out in this business is tough. Producers risk enough just making a movie, never mind taking chances on some newbie disrupting the set, causing delays, unknowingly insulting a crew member, or breaking something they shouldn’t be touching.

By Cyber Film School
UPDATED DECEMBER 11 2022,

Somehow, either through talent, persistence, connections, or all three, your lucky break comes along. How you do on this first gig may get you the next one.

If you follow a few common-sense tips, it’s not that hard to build a good reputation from the start.

1. Be Observant

There’s a very clear chain of command on set. Make sure you understand who reports to whom, how the departments are set up, exactly where you fit in and what is expected of you. Know your way around the set, and what are off-limits for your job description. Always ask permission when leaving the set. Listen up for the Assistant Director’s commands at all times, and quiet means absolute quiet. No footsteps, no whispering, no coughing, no sneezing. Silence. If you ruin a take, it’s game over.

2. Be Positive

Most producers agree that a positive attitude and willingness to learn is number one on this list. But when you’re overworked and doing a repetitive job it’s easy to get nervy, start complaining and get grouchy. Beat this temptation with a smile and an upbeat mood, and you win the respect of co-workers.

If you’re asked to do something extra or make unexpected changes to a plan, don’t argue. Stuff happens. Cooperate. Make the changes quickly and in a pleasant manner.

3. Be Attentive & Focused

Keep your focus on the job and always find something interesting about what you’re doing. Keep your phone in your pocket and off, don’t read non-work material. If you’re not busy for short periods, stay interested in what’s going on around you. Ask if you can help.

4. Be On Time

This applies to any job but in film, where budgets are high, every single moment is money. NEVER, EVER BE LATE!

In fact, to make a great first impression, be 15 minutes early and ask if there’s anything that needs to be done. This will get you noticed, especially in the morning when the crew is a bit grumpy and could use some help.

5. Don’t Be Controversial or Offensive

Don’t talk about politics, sex or religion – these topics can be highly controversial and can easily offend. Be extra careful with jokes. Not everyone shares your wit.

6. Be Careful About Networking On Set

Don’t network or promote yourself openly in front of others. This can give rise to jealousy and competitiveness. If you don’t have a crew list with phone numbers get one from the AD. Nothing wrong with following up with people once the project is over.

7. Dress Appropriately

Dress appropriately for your job. If you’re a PA, don’t show up on set wearing an Armani suit. Hygiene is also extremely important, especially on a crowded set. Show up clean – you never know when you’ll wind up with an unplanned 16-hour day.

8. Understand Your Job

Many entry-level positions ask you to take on the extra load from other jobs. For example, a Production Assistant on one project may be doing entirely different tasks on the next. The PA may be logging timecode, keeping continuity notes or driving around for stuff. Be prepared for anything. Find out what you’re supposed to be doing on this particular job. Once you know exactly what is required, make sure you are able to do it and can give it your 100%.

Owning the following is really helpful: a car, driver’s license, resume, and business cards.

9. Don’t Tell Anyone You Direct

Everyone is a would-be director with some project about to happen. On the set, it gives the impression you’re not interested in or value your current job.

10. Don’t Date Anyone On Set

Seriously. Ask someone on a date after the project wraps and not during. Did we say seriously? No explanation is needed on this one!

11. Don’t Run Off When It’s A Wrap

Here’s a way to make a terrific impression. When the day is over, don’t jump in your car and split. Stick around a bit and ask if anyone needs anything.

11. Arrive at Parties Late & Leave Early

Don’t avoid wrap parties or events but understand that a party is how film people network. Don’t go there to get wasted. Parties provide a great opportunity for you and your co-workers to get to know each other better.

12. Treat Everyone With Respect

This point provides long-term value rather than short. Treat everyone with respect and kindness be they actors, grips, directors or production assistants. You may not feel this respect in return immediately. You earn it over time. Treat people well and you’ll attract others of the same heart, and find yourself soon working on projects with friends who respect you as much as you do them.

13. Admit Mistakes Immediately

Did you screw up something important? Whatever you did wrong, admit it now! Believe it or not, people will respect you for having the strength to fess up. After all, you have the greatest excuse in the world – it’s your first film job and you’re learning!

14. Don’t Invoice On The Spot

The reality is that most producers don’t get paid right away. Expecting a pay cheque immediately makes you look green, desperate and unprofessional. Send producers an invoice and wait the standard 30 days, unless your due dates are agreed upon differently. If money hasn’t been received after the due date, a polite phone call usually gets results.

While talking about money, negotiate overtime rates and mileage upfront and remember to invoice anything extra work you do (even if the production company doesn’t wind up paying they’ll be aware of the additional work or resources you provided).

15. Bonus Tips: The Golden Rules of Life

If you open it, close it.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you unlock it, lock it up.
If you break it, admit it.
If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.
If you borrow it, return it.
If you value it, take care of it.
If you make a mess, clean it up.
- If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
- If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
- If it’s none of your business, don’t ask questions.
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
- If it will brighten someone’s day, say it.
- If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, keep it to yourself.
- If you move it, put it back.

What to Write

Consider the following attempt at writing action from one of my students:DA

There are so many things wrong with this, I hardly know where to begin.

For the moment, let’s set aside the issues of rhetoric (how this is written) and format (the over-use of capitalization) and just consider what is said.

This is written with the eye of the fiction writer, not the screenwriter. Fiction writers describe everything in detail in order to create a specific image in the eye of the reader. This is not the job of the screenwriter. I repeat this is not the job of the screenwriter.

The screenwriter tells the story, directly and simply. Yes, this involves visual storytelling but to a screenwriter, this means something quite different from what it means to a fiction writer.

A screenwriter is a collaborator. He is neither the costume designer nor the set designer of the production; the writing above invades the territory of each.

Here is how a screenwriter might write the above scene:

The room is large, expensively decorated, with a fireplace. Someone is playing classical music on a piano.

NIGEL, a servant, enters with a tray for tea-time. He marches to the piano.

What an incredible difference!

This is direct, barebones writing, which is the style usually most appropriate for screenwriting.

Granted, there may be dramatic reasons to include some of the details I’ve omitted. Let’s say the walking stick is going to be stolen. In this case, it would be appropriate to mention it.

But the point is this: the screenwriter is not the set designer, costume designer, or director. The writer merely suggests what is appropriate to the story; “large, expensively decorated” is enough to say about the room.

Where the fiction writer writes in great detail, the screenwriter writes general suggestions for his or her collaborators.

This post is a support article for the chapter “Screenwriting” in
Cyber Film School’s Multi-Touch Filmmaking Textbook.

The screenwriter’s job is to tell the story, and does this by:

Telling us what we see on the screen, and
Telling us what we hear in dialogue and other major sounds important to the story: explosions, whatever).

In telling what we see on the screen, the screenwriter focuses on story movement and does not include so much detail – that is the major responsibility of a collaborator such as a costume designer or set designer.

The screenwriter doesn’t write descriptive detail, as it slows up the STORY’s forward movement.

Consider how characters are described in a screenplay. In literary fiction works, the description of characters is written in great detail.

Now look at the scripted character descriptions from the following films:

Citizen Ruth

She is around 30.

(That’s it!)

Big Night

PRIMO, the chef, is at the stove. Brooding, intense, he is in his late 30s but seems older than his years.” “His younger brother, SECONDO – early 30s, handsome, charming but high strung.

Lone Star

We see SAM DEEDS, the sheriff, driving. Sam is 40, quietly competent to the point of seeming moody

Get Shorty

CHILI PALMER, late 30s, sits in a booth with TOMMY CARLO, a low-level mob type.

Quiz Show

The hand belongs to DICK GOODWIN, late 20s.

Often the only character description we get is the decade of age! There’s some room for individual writing style here but no screenwriter writes with the “detailfiction” writer.

Here’s a detailed character description in a screenplay:

Bull Durham

ANNIE SAVOY, mid 30’s, touches up her face. Very pretty, knowing, outwardly confident. Words flow from her Southern lips with ease, but her view of the world crosses Southern, National and International borders. She’s cosmic.

Beginning screenwriters also tend to over-write character movement within the scene, which means they usurp the role of the director and choreograph the scene.

My students often begin writing things like this:

She walks slowly across the room, her high heels taking small steps on the thick red carpet. Reaching the portable bar, she stops and considers her options. Her left hand picks up the tongs in the ice chest and drops three ice cubes into a glass. She returns the tongs, then picks up the only bottle of Scotch and pours, stopping a quarter inch from the brim of the glass. She sets down the bottle and, still using her left hand, raises the glass. She brings it to her bright red lips and slowly sips.

A screenwriter is more likely to write something like this:

She moves across the room and fixes herself a drink.

Another major mistake many beginners make: like literary fiction writers, they get inside a character’s mind, in Writing Action – Part Two: How to write it and format it.

NEXT: Writing Action – Part Two >>

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