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Issue #49 – Job Opportunities & Student Successes
by L. Swift and Jeff McQ
From the beginning of Tim’s apprenticeship with Csaba Bereczky at Hollywood Sky Entertainment in Beverly Hills, CA, he was immersed in the actual workings of the film industry (even his preliminary mentor interview took place on-set). “Working with [Csaba] was really, really fun,” says Tim. “He would be honest with me and demand that I did the best that I could. I was just willing to work hard.”
Learning hands-on with Csaba turned out to be just what Tim needed to clarify his own career path. “As I started to work on-set and saw what each of those person’s lives entailed, I thought, ‘Yeah, directing would be cool, but it’s not something that I would be.’… It’s not something that I could see myself doing long term.”
What he did discover while training on-the-job, however, was that he was very interested in the art department, and set design in particular. While working with his mentor on the set during a shoot for AT&T, he made a seemingly random connection that would change his focus completely.
“I ended up meeting up with a production designer who asked me about my background, and I told him it was in construction,” says Tim. “He called me a couple of months later and asked if I would come to work. And they saw that I was really good at building, and they said, ‘Hey, you want to continue to build stuff for music videos and commercials that we do?’ And I said, ‘Yeah!’
Since completing his Film Connection apprenticeship, that connection Tim made on-set has led to steady work in production and set design in Los Angeles. “The art department is not a lax job,” he says, but he enjoys the challenge, and sees himself continuing long-term. “It would be wonderful to be in the union on a TV show,” he says. He also likes the consistency of work that comes with the job: “Working on the construction side, you have five days of work,” he says, “so it’s nice because you get more days of work rather than just working one day if you were camera department.”
Working on-the-job with the Film Connection not only helped Tim figure out what he really wanted to do in film, but the connections he made led directly to his successes today. His advice for other film apprentices? Make connections.
“Get to know everyone,” he says. “Just talk to every single person. Get their email, get their phone number, and continually email, text, or call them and let them know what you’re up to. Ask them what they’re up to, because when it comes time that someone says, ‘Hey, we really need this. Do you know anybody?’, then you’re going to be the first name they think of.”
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