How do you plan on getting your creations and work out there after film school? Do you believe it will be a difficult endeavor or an easy one?
This is a big and scary question!
The short answer is: I don’t know, but I don’t think it will be easy.
Discouraged? Don’t be. Read the long answer below!
There are endless ways to get your creations out into the world. Film festivals, screenwriting contests (*winks*), sharing and working with your peers, and commercial work are just a few ways.
I am currently working in a (sort of) commercial job where I make promotional and training videos as well as graphic design work. This may seem boring, but I am actually challenged because I get to be creative in the way I share information. In this way, I am already sharing my works.The commercial work I do, while more business than creative, has given me connections, skills, and works that I can show to clients and other filmmakers.
The best way, I think, is to collaborate with other filmmakers. There is never just one person involved in making a successful film. There are dozens, sometimes hundreds of people working on a single project. The popular phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is very true in the film industry. I am a writer, so I talk to my director and cinematographer friends when I want a film produced. I work on sets as a scripty and have had people ask me to send scripts their way because they aren’t writers but desperately want to make a film. The people you create films with have their own networks and the more people you know and work with, the more exposure your creations will get.
After film school specifically, I hope to work in television. In television, you work with a lot of the same people for a longer period of time, whether it’s on set or in the writer’s room. I am already involved in a writers room and I hope to build more connections in the TV world. (I got my hands on scripty notes from Empire via one of the show’s editors and I was so excited!)
Do I think it will be easy? Absolutely not. I am an introvert by nature and networking is something I struggle with. I also tend to procrastinate and be indecisive when working on personal projects, which makes writing a slow process for me. However, I still try to be involved in projects and I keep creating.
I hope this helped and I didn’t overwhelm you with my lack of a plan for my future.