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What does it take to be successful in the film industry #Spring25?

Is it a matter of connections or quality of work?

film
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Ankita’s Answer

Success in the film industry is a mix of quality work, resilience, and relationships—not just one or the other.

Your talent and craft are your foundation. Strong storytelling, technical skill, and a unique creative voice matter. However, the film industry is highly collaborative, so networking and relationships play a huge role in getting opportunities. Many jobs come through word-of-mouth, referrals, and trust built over time.

Persistence is key—rejection is part of the journey, even for the best. Be open to starting small, learning continuously, and building a reputation for being reliable, passionate, and easy to work with.

In short: Do great work, connect with people genuinely, and don’t give up. That’s the real formula. What part of the film world are you most interested in?
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Steve’s Answer

Connect with others, connect with others, connect with others... Then put in your best effort to bring value to whatever you are working on. Go beyond what's expected. Take the lead and be proactive. Be ready to work hard and learn a lot along the way. Always do your best and build strong connections in the business. Show everyone that you're a valuable team member! Don't give up, even when things get tough and progress is slow. Opportunities can come when you least expect them. Make sure you have supportive people around you to talk to when challenges arise.

It might be a rough road, but it's an amazing journey.
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Angela’s Answer

Ankita’s answer is spot on. It is a very tough industry and the cream rises to the top. If you aim to be the best at what you do, people will want to work with you (especially if you’re generous, fair and kind).

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, try to stay focus on the work and not the outcome. I was too focused on the outcome and ended up missing being in the moment. It almost feels like it didn’t happen. Take it all in.
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Chris’s Answer

All of the other answers are good, but I would add one more thing: reliability. Be on time and do good work. People *SHOULD* start noticing you -- and then hopefully start working with you.

Good luck!
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Tom’s Answer

There's already great advice in everyone's answers here, but I'll add something else, or rather, elaborate a bit on finding your own creative voice. If you're interested in the creative side of the film industry (and almost all jobs and career paths in film are creative in some capacity) give yourself time to explore what excites you about it. Figure out your reasons for wanting to be part of this world. When you watch a movie, do you connect with the storytelling? Is it the look of the tv show that you love? The costumes and sets? The special effects? Do you notice the different directorial styles in movies and gravitate towards some and not others? Think about not only what aspect of film/tv you want to be involved in, but also what excites you about that area. Maybe it's cinematography, maybe it's editing, maybe it's developing a story in screenwriting or studio development. Honing in (over time) on that passion is important--the film industry is a tough path, so knowing why you want to be a part of it and letting that passion drive you is incredibly helpful. There will be rough patches along the way and getting through them can be challenging. But if you have a good sense of why you are here and what you want to accomplish, you'll not only be driven to do better, more consistent work, but you'll also make better art.

Tom recommends the following next steps:

I highly recommend listening to the Scriptnotes podcast. It's mostly geared towards screenwriters, but much of the advice on the show (from John August and Craig Mazin) can be applied to anyone starting out in the film industry.)
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