Engine, action! Cinema is a sector that always makes us dream: working in a captivating profession, traveling to the ends of the world, meeting stars… But the flip side of the scene is quite different. Working and living conditions are tough and unpredictable, peer recognition is too rare, the job market is saturated, budgets, salaries, teams, and shooting times are minimized… Cinema remains a financial and industrial machine whose main goal is to make money. This guide attempts to present the various professions in this rigorous and relentless sector, but also to show the realities of this world through testimonies from active professionals. Working in cinema, yes, but how? All professionals say this: it’s just as difficult to get in as it is to make a good place and keep it.
Here are ten questions (and their answers) to help you see more clearly.
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1 — Are you made for cinema?
A film is a collective work and a human adventure that requires a lot of technical and artistic skills. Know-how is just as important as talent, and talent does not forgive everything. Artists have heightened sensitivity, and this is a field where human contact is essential. Humility is important: you are just a cog in the machine, and nothing is ever guaranteed. With each film, you must adapt to a new team, knowing that, on set, everyone depends on everyone else. Teams are getting smaller, and you need to be versatile to lend a hand at all levels. Hours are very variable (you will work during the day, but you may also work at night or on weekends), and overtime is frequent. Extra work, fatigue, and pressure on set are all factors in management, and private life often suffers.
Job security does not exist, and anxiety is always present. Job searching is the main activity of freelancers who are not working. It can last a phone call or several months. Projects are completed and canceled in a matter of seconds.
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2 — What are the working conditions?
An exciting but difficult daily life. During filming, workdays are very uneven. On paper, they do not exceed eight hours. In reality, they rarely last less than ten hours. Some jobs, like the Production Assistant, are the first to prepare the set and the last to pack it up. We spend hours setting up a shot that will only take a few minutes to shoot. Waiting times are as common as peak moments. The pressure associated with time and money is constant.
In Paris, a film is shot from Monday to Friday; in the provinces, from Monday to Saturday. Far from the capital, living in hotels is essential, and consequently, distance from family is frequent. After filming, freelancers sometimes experience long periods of unemployment while waiting for the phone to ring. And it is impossible for them to predict anything in their private lives because a commitment can fall through at any moment.
3 — What is the status of cinema workers?
They have intermittent status. They are employed (fixed-term contracts) by a production company and are paid per shoot or per week. Between two contracts, they receive unemployment benefits for ten months provided they have worked five hundred seven hours in the last ten months. Some workers are permanent employees (indefinite duration): in studios, auditoriums, production companies, laboratories… Others are freelancers, like writers, paid by royalties. Cinema is governed by the collective agreement for film production.
4 — Can you make a living from cinema?
The salary for a week for a performing arts freelancer is sometimes equivalent to a month for other professions: €824 for a seamstress, €1,202 for a script supervisor, €1,429 for a head writer… But they only earn this amount when they work. The vast majority of artists work less than 50 days a year. Less than seventy-five days for technicians. Reduced to an annual income, these salaries become very relative. Salaries are reviewed every six months by the French Producers and Exporters Union and the corresponding employee unions. Productions are increasingly less compliant with these scales, but the oversupply of labor means they always find freelancers willing to accept lower pay to work.
With each new contract, freelancers negotiate to account for their overtime, preparation and packing hours, transport costs… The current mode is on the package that includes these regulations. Some technicians (props, sound, electricians, grips) receive a tool allowance negotiated at the time of contract signing. Some freelancers accept participation in the film as compensation for low pay. Their income then depends on the film’s earnings.
5 — Can you build a career in cinema?
If cinema is a sector that is not governed by any particular rules, it remains traditionally highly hierarchical. A career is generally built step by step, especially for technical jobs. You start as an intern or a simple assistant, then become a second assistant, a first assistant, and finally a team leader. Moving from one level to another often results from a combination of circumstances (a technician asking you to replace them, a production manager hiring you for a higher position…). But it is also a matter of luck, relationships, and relentlessness.
On average, it takes eight to ten years to reach the highest level, the time needed to accumulate experience, know-how, and gain the trust and recognition of peers.
6 — How to get started?
The only rule to remember is to create encounters! However, for an internship or a job, a network opens doors more quickly.
Network — A relative or friend works in cinema? Do not hesitate to ask them for help in finding an internship position or better yet, if you already have experience or training, as an assistant. It’s not so much the small boost that counts, but what you make of it. If you do the job well, we recommend you; if you don’t measure up, we forget you.
Training — Schools create concrete opportunities for contact with professional teachers, internships, or film assignments placed at school. But it is also an opportunity to meet tomorrow’s professionals because students from schools are called to work together on projects. More and more schools also have their association or alumni directory. Seeking to start with an alumnus can be a plus because they already know what you are capable of.
The internship — The call is prima facie for obtaining an internship. You need to know how to do the forcing, but without exaggerating. Cinema is a sector where people work on feeling. Contact a professional in the field that interests you directly. You will find their contact details in professional directories (Bellefaye, Producers Directory…).
Call production companies to find out if they accept interns, in which field, and under what conditions. Large productions employ many interns. The intern is the lowest rank. Whatever your journey, you are employed in the same way: picking up coffees, playing drivers, changing the burnt bulb in the makeup box… Put your ego aside and be as available and efficient as possible. If you do not yet have specific ideas about the position you are considering, the internship also allows you to navigate the different jobs and discover which one suits you best.
The short film — A meeting place and a learning place — is still the best school of all time. Teams, composed of potential professionals, will nevertheless require you to know at least the position you occupy, especially in technical positions. You need to be operational, but you will be forgiven for your trial and error. Pay is non-existent, but you gain invaluable experience. Multiply shooting opportunities, make yourself noticed (in a good way), an essential appointment.
The short film is the breeding ground for directors. They are always looking for competent and reliable collaborators for future projects, and they like to surround themselves with professionals they already know when launching feature films. Keep a reel of the short films you have worked on to contact feature film productions and show them what you are capable of.
Classified ads — Where to find a job or an internship? At the ANPE of the performing arts (there are about ten branches in major provincial cities), in professional press (Le Film français, Écran total, Le Technicien du film et de la vidéo…) or in the general public, on the Internet (www.cortex-culturemploi.com; www.cagec.com; www.irma.asso.fr; www.bale.fr; www.bellefaye.com/).
7 — What is the required level of training?
Leaving school and completing training is not mandatory in this sector; many have learned on the job. Everyone invents their professional path according to their desires: work immediately or pursue studies. However, it depends on the intended occupation. Technical professions related to image and sound require training. After a training program does not guarantee that you will find work once graduated, but it can contribute to that and also help you climb the ladder more quickly (starting as a second assistant instead of a third or an intern). If new graduates are technically operational, they still need to learn all the subsequent steps of the profession: understanding the director’s desires, assessing the technical and artistic means to be employed to achieve their goals, knowing how to behave and move on set, resisting the pressure of money and time, working conditions, managing everyone’s moods, balancing professional and private life…
8 — What are the opportunities?
The volume of employment has decreased. The number of French initiative films remains stable (209 in 2012 and 2013), with a declining investment of -4.3% (compared to €1.02 billion in 2013 against €1.065 billion in 2012). The average estimate of a film is €4.8 million. 19 French films over 10 million were produced in 2013 (compared to 33 films in 2012).
Shooting is exported, especially to Eastern countries where local labor is cheaper. Co-production agreements also provide for the sharing of tasks between co-producing countries (for example, decoration for the French, hairdressing for the Italians, costumes for the English, etc.).
Working abroad. For those who want to work in other European countries, the job market is not better. As for the United States, unions refuse to hire foreigners unless they have a jurisdiction that they do not find among Americans. Nevertheless, some spaces remain open to French artists (animation at Disney, special effects at ILM). Many freelancers compensate for the lack of work by navigating from one sector to another (cinema, television, theater, music videos, commercials, institutional films, documentaries, etc.).
9 — Is there any assistance?
For those who want to create their film or production company, there are technical, financial, or creative aids (for writing, before directing, after directing, for short films, for feature films), as well as competitions and scholarships.
Municipalities, general or regional councils, and local associations have a budget dedicated to cultural activities and offer grants for projects under 25 years old.
Alternatively, here are some organizations that can help you:
ADAMI (Administration of Artists’ and Musicians’ Rights) — It manages the rights of performing artists and devotes part of the royalties collected to support creation, dissemination, and training • 14-16, rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, tel. 01.44.63.10.00.
Short Film Agency — This 1901 association law aims to promote and promote the dissemination of short films. Membership is €25 per year for administrators and €80 for companies and organizations (50% discount the first year) • 77, rue des Cévennes, 75015 Paris, tel. 01.44.69.26.60.
Beaumarchais Association — Founded by the SACD (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers), it helps about sixty authors per year (writing grants, production grants) • 11 bis, rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, tel. 01.40.23.45.46.
Emergence — This association created by Elisabeth Depardieu allows young filmmakers to develop their first feature film project and shoot a model of the two main scenes of their future film • 45, rue de Babylone, 75007 Paris, tel. 01.71.18.12.75.
Script Workshop — Organized by La Fémis, it supports authors, directors, audiovisual and entertainment professionals in developing their feature film scripts • 6, rue Francœur, 75018 Paris, tel. 01.53.41.21.12
CECI (Center for Cinematic Writings) — Since 1998, it supports and supervises film projects of all kinds (short and feature films, documentaries, art films, and essays on cinema) • 65, rue du Moulin, 27430 Andre, tel. 02.32.59.70.02.
CNC (National Center for Cinema) — It offers financial assistance (selective aid, advance on receipts, development aid, rewriting, co-productions, film music…) • 12, rue de Lübeck, 75016 Paris, tel. 01.44.34.40.
GAN Foundation for Cinema — Provides financial assistance to young filmmakers to make their first film • 4-8, cours Michelet, 92082 Paris La Défense cedex, tel. 01.70.94.25.16.
Hachette Foundation — Founded in 1989, it offers an annual scholarship for film producers, animation film authors, documentary authors, and television screenwriters to young people under 30 years old (under 35 for television screenwriters) realizing an innovative project • 121, avenue Malakoff, 75016 Paris, tel. 01.40.69.18.73.
Marcel-Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation for Vocation — It supports projects for young people aged 18 to 30 in all fields, including short films • 104, rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris, tel. 01.53.63.25.90.
Sodapin — The Grand Prix for Best Screenplay and the Junior Prize for Best Screenplay (under 28) award prizes each year • c/o Sopadin 47, rue de Babylone, 75007 Paris, tel. 01.47.05.00.15.
G.R.E.C. (Research and ) — This 1901 association law helps create first short films • 14, rue Alexandre Parodi, 75010 Paris, tel. 01.44.89.99.99.
The Short Film House — This 1901 association law helps create short films. For a contribution of €60 per year, you can benefit from its hosting and advisory structure. You can even take a training course (script writing, editing) • 10, passage de Flanders, 75019 Paris, tel. 01.40.34.32.44.
Creative Europe — Media France — This program from the European Commission supports the development of audiovisual projects with a European vocation • 9, rue Ambroise Thomas, 75009 Paris, tel. 01.47.27.12.77.
Gindou Cinema — This association organizes the Claude Nougaro Writing Prize, which rewards authors of an unpublished work of fiction and screenplay for short films (aimed at 15-25 year-olds residing in Midi-Pyrénées). It also organizes in Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées for 12-18 year-olds the screenplay competition “The Taste of Others.” • Le Bourg, 46250 Gindou, tel. 05.65.22.89.99.
Procirep — It provides financial assistance to production companies (short films, television fiction, documentaries) to invest in writing and project development • 11 bis, rue Jean-Goujon, 75008 Paris, tel. 01.53.83.91.91.
10 — Where to find information about the sector?
Contact professional or general social organizations, such as the CNC, or related to a profession (French Association of Cinematographic Directors of Photography, ARP — Authors, Directors, Producers, etc.); municipalities, general or regional councils (financial aid, casting announcements, etc.), associations, libraries, and local film archives.
Read professional and general public press.
Tag: audiovisual professions