Directing the Documentary, 5th Edition

Chapter 36From School to Film Industry

Looking Ahead While You’re in Film School

By thinking ahead during your schooling, you can amass the necessary experience, sample work, and survival skills that you’ll need once you graduate. Early in your schooling, decide what sort of films you can make with passion and which festivals to aim for, then work to assemble the associates you need to make your films, and work with them so they make theirs. If your school has a producing track, make an aspiring producer into one of your partners.

Internships as a Senior

Well-established schools have an internship office that places senior students, when they have demonstrated their competency, with local media employers. At my school, senior students get work ...