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Topic: Best Advice on How To Break Into Production
| Author | Message |
| jessica19 | Posted – 6/5/2007 9:26:48 PM | show profile | email poster Hi Anyone out there... I'm a young publicist in New York City who has been working in mainly health PR for more than a year. During this time, I have coordinated several television segments with producers for top stations (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc.) doing hard medical stories as well as light-hearted lifestyle stories which I created thoughtful and innovative pitches for, and I LOVED doing it. I find myself extremely creative and really excited about putting segments out to the public. I know I have a lot to learn about production before I try to switch careers and become a producer, but does anyone have advice on how to jump in without getting laughed at? I have been researching the NYU School of Continuing Education and they offer a "Certificate in Production" which costs about 5K and is 7 courses long. Is this something that might give me a little more credibility other than just saying I was a publicist working mainly with television? Any advice on how to get past the stigma of being a publicist? I interned in PR for more than 3 years and I'd hate to go back to interning, but is that the only way in?? Someone help! Thanks. Jess |
| catlondon | Posted – 6/6/2007 2:55:06 PM | show profile Rather than spending money at school, why not start by networking? And don't just focus on the networks--NY is chock full of great production companies doing interesting work. I would suggest getting involved with an organization like New York Women in Film and Television (www.nywift.org) and, depending on your job status, start looking for work as a production assistant--a time-honored way of starting in the biz. From there, if you're good (show up on time and serve the coffee with a smile), it shouldn't be too hard to move up to an associate producer gig. Most likely, though, you'll have to work freelance on a job-by-job basis. And if you don't mind spending some money, I would strongly recommend learning Final Cut Pro. Even if you don't want to edit fulltime, it is becoming more and more standard for PAs and APs to know their way around the system. I don't think your background in PR will hurt. In fact, your knowledge of medical issues could be helpful to a producer working on medical shows. Good luck! |
