My First Job In Film Workshops

Posted on May 31, 2024

My First Job In Film Academy not only connects you with industry professionals, current industry professionals run it.

Through a variety of workshops and events, the My First Job In Film (MFJF) Academy will provide you with the chance to elevate your career to the next level. Importantly all our Workshops and events are affordable and rely upon current industry professionals kindly volunteering their time so everyone has the opportunity to attend.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Whos Who on the Crew List

What is a swing gang? Who is the APOC? With so many people involved in making a film, the job titles can be obscure and confusing. Join me as we run through a crew list, explaining what each department does and what each job within the department entails.

When: Sunday 28th July, 4 pm
Where: Online via Zoom
Duration: 90 mins
Cost: Free

This workshop is designed to ensure you know exactly who’s who and what they do as you begin your first experiences in production. We will:

  • Run through a crew list (on production personnel)
  • Explain each department’s role
  • Explain each job within the departments

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Try Anyway – Creative Strategies for Perfectionist

Created by award-winning writer/director/recovering perfectionist Claire Ayoub (Empire Waist, The GynoKid, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls), Try Anyway is a workshop designed for artists of all mediums whose perfectionism is getting in the way of bringing their projects to life. We identify our perfectionist trigger points (all-or-nothing thinking, nothing feeling good enough to share, panic at a blank document) and reframe how we speak to ourselves through kindness and purpose. We’ll end up defining small steps you can take post-class to approach your project with revitalized energy and goals.

When: Tuesday 30th July, 8 pm ET
Where: Online via Zoom
Duration: 90 minutes
Cost: Free

This workshop is for writers, directors, and actors looking to make their own projects a reality. Many students have worked in the industry or industry-adjacent and are looking to create their own work. Previous student work has included: short films, feature films, novels, musicals, TV shows, and a film critic site. We will:
  • Assess current creative process.
  • Identify struggles.
  • Inner Critic.
  • Reframing why we do the work.
  • What lights you up about your project?
  • Who are you making this for?
  • What does progress look like to you? (Spoiler: Daydreaming or thinking about your project counts as progress).
  • How to lean on your community to bring your project to life.

 REGISTER NOW

Try Anyway – Development: August 15th, Virtual

Created by award-winning writer/director/recovering perfectionist Claire Ayoub (Empire Waist, The GynoKid, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls), Try Anyway – Development: Meet Your Audience Early & Often is inspired by Claire’s own journey leading 17 live readings of her award-winning feature Empire Waist across the US in 2019. A first-time feature director, Claire took her deeply personal script on body image to audiences for live readings and talkbacks. Not only did audiences never get the same script twice, Claire learned that Empire Waist resonated with people 14-84. That feedback solidified the need for the film and Claire’s vital role in making it, leading to financing and partnerships to bring the film to life. Claire will walk you through the workshop process, how to cast your table read, recommendations for collecting feedback, and ways to utilitize your learnings during the financing process.

When: Thursday 15th August, 8pm ET
Where: Online via Zoom
Duration: 90 minutes
Cost: Free

This workshop is for Screenwriters, TV writers, Playwrights, Novelists. Great for both commercial films and indie films.
We will cover:
  • The power of a live reading (1 live reading = 10 drafts on your own).
  • Combatting fear over presenting work “too early.”
  • How to organize a table read.
  • Casting your characters.
  • Inviting friends, family, and people connected to the subject matter.
  • Leading a talkback.
  • Taking feedback.
  • Collecting data for pitch decks, personal learning.
  • Recommendations for rewrites (e.g. don’t touch the script for a week, then write down the notes that stuck with you).

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Day Players Program – PA Career Accelerator: Ongoing

The MFJF Day Players PA Careers Accelerator Program is here to help PAs find paid PA work on union TV series and feature films, in either the production office, assistant director or locations departments.

The ambition for many members of MFJF is to work on union productions, feature films and scripted TV. But how do you make that leap from working on student films, shorts and non-union to union-productions?

Jobs on union productions are rarely advertised. Finding work on these productions relies upon the traditional recommendation, who you know system.

Now MFJF is giving its members access to these jobs via The Day Players program.

The aim of this program is to work with small pools of participants for a minimum 3-month period, finding them day play and PA work, giving them the chance to get their “foot in the door” and launch their careers.

In addition, all participants will receive personal mentoring and career advice from our team and be invited to exclusive ‘meet the industry’ networking events so they can meet recruiters and expand their own networks.

Key Points:

  • You pay nothing until MFJF finds you work
  • You do not pay until the production as paid you
  • MFJF guarantees all participants of the Day Players Program personal Mentoring and career guidance and access to exclusive industry networking and recruitment events

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