Apply, Apply, Apply

As I approached the prospect of beginning my search for a placement in film, I first turned to the materials I already had to hand, namely, my CV. Having never used a CV to apply for a film related job before, I knew there was a lot of work to be done. Reading my CV, their needed to be an entire shift of focus from the search for part-time work, which up until now my CV had served, towards the goal of finding a placement. I needed to gear my CV towards film and pull out all the relative experience and skills I felt would help me get an interview. Using Borton’s model [1] of reflection I will explain how I went about tailoring my CV towards placements.

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[1] Understanding Reflective Practice (Nicol and Dosser, 2016) Pg. 34

What?

Upon reading through my CV, I found it to be more focused on what paid, part-time work experience I had rather than any relevant film experience I had. It also neglected the opportunity to use my CV to showcase examples of my work.

So What?

Given how challenging it can be to attain a film placement I wanted to make my CV as unique and as appropriate as possible. I knew I needed to edit my CV to highlight why I would be a great intern for any film company.

Now what?

I used resources on Canvas as well as the website Visual CV to have a look at some examples of what I was trying to achieve. I reconfigured my CV to open with my film experience from my degree and extra- curriculars and moved my paid part-time work to the end of my CV. I also created my first ever showreel featuring clips from each of my student films to send alongside my CV. Finally, I included any skills with specific software or filmmaking equipment alongside my transferable skills to highlight the experience that may be attractive to employers within the film industry.

After tackling my CV and feeling comfortable I had done my best to prepare for the application process, I began contacting companies and events that I had an interest in working with. I applied to a really wide range of companies for a variety of different roles. I found these companies via my tutor and lecturers at QUB as well as local companies I was already aware of and events I had seen advertised around Belfast. Initially I had struggled to find a company with the capacity and availability to take on a placement student. So, I reflected on my approach to applications and found that the main feedback I was getting was a lack of experience. At first, I found this paradox frustrating; unable to gain relevant experience due to a lack of having relevant experience, but I decided to look outside of the companies I had originally considered and thought about broadening my search. This led me to contact the XR Film Festival[1], a branch of the Belfast Film Festival[2] in its inaugural year. 

Upon applying and receiving an interview with the Belfast XR Festival, I prepared by considering what transferable skills and relevant experience I might have for the role. Whilst I have never worked with extended reality before, over the summer I volunteered as an Artist Liaison at Greenbelt Festival[3], a large, weekend long artistry and activism event. I drew upon this experience in my interview to demonstrate an interest in festival production and to demonstrate my experience working in a fast paced, customer facing environment. This experience was highlighted to me by my placement provider as a key factor in her decision to offer me this placement. I accepted the placement and whilst apprehensive was incredibly excited to get started!

Overall, my search and application for a placement was successful, I was able to obtain two different offers for a placement accepting my role with the XR Film Festival. I was also offered a production assistant role on an upcoming short film with Village Films which I have also accepted as additional work experience outside of my placement module. Referring back to Borton’s model of reflection I can assess what elements of my approach I was proud of and what elements I would tackle differently if a similar situation arose in future.

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[1] Belfast XR Film Festival 2022

[2] Belfast Film Festival 2022

[3] Greenbelt Festival 2022

What?

I applied to a variety of different placement opportunities with lots of different companies across Belfast and London, where I am based when at home. After several months of searching, I was offered two placements. The first, which I accepted for this module, with the Belfast XR Film Festival and the second as a production assistant with Village Films.

So what?

I found it challenging to find a placement initially. I faced a lot of rejection or worse, no response at all. I found this rejection difficult and definitely allowed this to tarnish my self-esteem the further into the process I got. When I finally had my placement confirmed, I realised I had needed to be slightly more persistent. When contacting the XR Film Festival rather than speaking over email, we spoke via phone. This was far more effective for creating a line of communication with a potential employer. Similarly with Village Films, we communicated via Teams offering another route for direct interaction.

Now what?

Going forward, I would use this approach more widely. Rather than simply sending an email, I would be inclined to follow that email up with a phone call to the company just to keep myself on their radar. I have also learned a great deal in the process of crafting a showreel. Feedback I received from one company was to have a showreel on Vimeo rather than uploaded to YouTube as it is easier to view and looks more professional. This is something I will ensure to do in future. Also, some places requested links to my short films so I decided to add on these links at the end of my CV to showcase my work in a way that employers can access quickly and easily.

I learned a great deal from the process of applying, interviewing, and accepting my internship with the Belfast XR Film Festival. I am very proud to be offered this placement but I’ve also made a lot of adjustments to my approach to reaching out and communicating with companies in the film industry that I will take forward with me.

Bibliography

Articles & Websites

Nicol, J.S. and Dosser, I. (2016) Understanding reflective practice. Nursing Standard(2014+)

Belfast Film Festival (2022) https://belfastfilmfestival.org/

Belfast XR Festival (2022) https://www.belfastxrfestival.com/

Greenbelt Festival (2022) https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/

Photographs

Elmwood, S. Developing pragmatic learning principles through embedding human centred design. Research Gate, Figure 29 (2018)

Northern Ireland Screen. Belfast XR Festival announces line-up (2022)