If you wish to get the best film jobs it always helps to have skills and training, choose a school  based on its contacts with industry, the background of the staff and wether or not there is a high output of quality student films.

List of most film schools in the ‘western’ world. If you know of any I have missed please email info@filmjob.info

Featured School:    The Film School (Wellington, New Zealand)

A

Academy of Arts, The Department of Drama (Novi Sad, Serbia)

Academy of Media Arts Cologne (Cologne, Germany)

Act Capetown International (Cape Town, South Africa)

The Art Institute of Tennessee – Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Nashville Tennessee

The Art Institute of Dallas – Video Production Program | Dallas Texas

The Art Institute of Houston – Video Production Program | Houston Texas

The Art Institute of Salt Lake City – Video Production Program | Salt Lake City Utah

afilm International Film Workshops (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain)

APA International Film Schools (Sydney, Australia)

Ariege Arts DV Filmmaking (Ariege-Pyrenees, France)

Asia Pacific Film Institute (Manila, Philippines)

Asian Academy Of Film & Television (Noida, India)

Australian Film, Television & Radio School (various locations, Australia)

American Film Institute | Los Angeles California

The Art Institute of Washington – Film Programs | Arlington Virginia

The Art Institute of Portland, Digital Film & Video Program | Portland oregon

The Art Institute of Philadelphia – Film Programs | Philadelphia  Pennsylvania

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Video Production Program | Pittsburgh

The Art Institute of Charlotte, Video Production Program | Charlotte North carolina

The Art Institute of Ohio -  Video Production Program | Cincinnati Ohio

Pennsylvania

Adventure Film School (Boulder, CO)

Alpha Pacific Institute (Phoenix, Arizona)

American University School of Communication (Washington, D.C.)

American Intercontinental University-Buckhead (Atlanta, Georgia)

American Intercontinental University – South Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

Arizona State University School of Theatre and Film (Tempe, Arizona, USA)

Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design Film Program (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Aria Films | Jamul California

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | San Francisco California

The Art Institute of California – Sunnyvale, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Sunnyvale California

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | San Francisco California

The Art Institute of California – Sunnyvale, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Sunnyvale California

The Art Institute of Phoenix – Video Production ProgramThe Art Institute of Phoenix – Video Production Program | Phoenix Arizona

The Art Institute of Seattle – Video Production Program | Seattle Washington

Ames Media Institute | Naples Florida

The Art Institute of Tucson – Digital Filmmaking & Video | Tucson Arizona

The Art Institute of California – Los Angeles, Film Programs | Los Angeles California

The Art Institute of California – Sacramento, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Sacramento California

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | San Francisco California

The Art Institute of California – Sunnyvale, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Sunnyvale California

Academy of Art University (San Francisco, CA)

The Art Institute of Las Vegas, Video Production Program | Las Vegas Nevada

American Intercontinental University – Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)

American Film Institute Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies (Los Angeles, CA)

Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, CA)

B

Berkeley Digital Film Institute (Berkeley, California)

Brooks Institute (Santa Barbara, CA)

Baltic Film and Media School (Tallinn, Estonia)

Bond University Centre for Film, Television & Screen-Based Media (Gold Coast, Australia)

Brooks Institute | Santa Barbara California

Brown Mackie College | Cincinnati Ohio

Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana)

Blue Ridge Motion Pictures Film Institute (Asheville, North Carolina)

Boston University Film Program (Boston, Massachusetts)

Brooklyn College Department of Film (Brooklyn, NY)

Burlington College, Department of Cinema Studies and Film Production

Brooklyn College, Film Department | Brooklyn

(Burlington, VT)

C

Columbia College Hollywood | Tarzana California

Collins College | Tempe Arizona

City College of New York, CUNY, Media & Communication Arts Department | New York

CalArts School of Film and Video (Valencia, CA)

California State University, Dominguez Hills Digital Media Arts Program (Carson, California)

California State University, Fullerton Department of Radio-TV-Film Department

California State University, Long Beach Film & Electronic Arts (Long Beach, CA)

California State University, Los Angeles Television/Film/and Media Studies (Los Angeles, CA)

California State University, Monterey Bay Teledramatic Arts and Technology Department (Monterey Bay, CA)

California State University Northridge Department of Cinema and Television Arts (Northridge, California)

Cinema Arts Tech (Los Angeles, CA)

Chapman University School of Film and Television (Orange, CA)

Columbia College Hollywood (Tarzana, CA)

(Fullerton, CA)

Colorado Film School | Denver  Colorado

The Center For Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University District of Columbia

California College of the Arts, Media Arts | San Francisco California

California Institute of the Arts, School of Film/Video | Valencia California

Chapman University | Orange California)

Central Film School London (London, England)

Centre for Arts and Technology (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada)

Centro (Mexico City, Mexico)

CICE – Escuela Profesional de Nuevas Technologias (Madrid, Spain)

CityVarsity School of Media & Creative Arts (Cape Town, Johannesburg, South Africa)

Columbia Academy – Video and Film Production (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

Conservatoire Libre du Cin�ma Fran�ais CLCF (Paris, France)

CRAFT: Center For Research in Art of Film and Television (Delhi, India)

CRAFT (Costa Rica Art, Film & Television) Media Course (Tamarindo, Costa Rica)

Carolina Film Institute (Greenville, SC)

Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts)

Cleveland State University Film and Digital Media Program (Cleveland, Ohio)

College of Santa Fe Moving Image Arts (Santa Fe, NM)

Collins College (Tempe, AZ)

Colorado Film School (Denver, Colorado)

Columbia University Film Division (New York, NY)

Columbia College Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

D

DePaul University Center for Cinema and Interactive Arts (Chicago, Illinois)

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (Berlin, Germany)

Digital Film Academy of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Digital Film School (Dublin, Ireland)

Digital Studio College (Jakarta, Indonesia)

The Documentary Center, The George Washington University (Washington D.C.)

The Documentary Institute, The University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida)

Darwin Mitchell | Agua Dulce California

The South African School of Motion Picture Medium & Live Performance

Southseas Film School (Auckland, New Zealand)

South Thames College Film School (London, UK)

Summer School in Filmmaking at Melbourne University (Melbourne, Australia)

Sydney Film School (Sydney, Australia) (Karachi Pakistan) (Capetown and Johannesburg, South Africa) (Staffordshire, UK) (Johannesburg and Capetown, South Africa)

San Diego State University School of Communication (San Diego, CA)

San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (San Francisco, CA)

San Francisco State University Cinema Department (San Francisco, CA)

San Jose State University Department of Television, Radio, Film, and Theatre

Stanford University Graduate Program in Documentary Film & Video (Stanford, CA)

Steinlein Productions (Los Angeles, CA) (San Jose, CA)

Seattle Film Institute | Seattle Washington

School of Visual Arts MFA Social Documentary Film | New York City

San Diego State University, Television, Film, and New Media | San Diego California

San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking | San Francisco California

San Francisco State University, Cinema Program | San Francisco California

Stunts-Ability | San Diego California

Saint Augustine’s College Theatre and Film Program (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, Georgia)

Scottsdale Community College Film Program (Scottsdale, Arizona)

Seattle Film Institute (Seattle, Washington)

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Department of Cinema and Photography (Carbondale, Illinois)

Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Public Communications (Syracuse, NY)

T

Temple University, Department of Film and Media Arts (Philadelphia, PA)

Trident Technical College Program of Film, Media and Visual Arts (Charleston, SC)

Toronto Film College (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Toronto Film School (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

U

University of Nevada – Las Vegas, Fine Arts Departments, Department of Film | Las Vegas Nevada

University of British Columbia, Continuing Studies, Entertainment Administration

University of the Arts London, London College of Communication (London, UK)

University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) (Quezon City, Philippines)

University of Westminster Film School, Harrow Campus (London, UK)

University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa) (Vancouver, Canada)

University of California – Berkley, CinemaSpace | Berkeley California

University of California – Los Angeles, Theater, Film & Television | Los Angeles California

University of Texas at Austin – College of Communication, Department of Radio, Television & Film | Austin Texas

University of the Pacific, Film Studies | Stockton California

University of Southern California, School of Cinema-Television | Los Angeles  California

University of Utah – College of Fine Arts, Film Studies | Salt Lake City Utah

The University of Arizona, Department of Media Arts | Tucson Arizona

UK National Film & Television School (Beaconsfield, UK)

Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts (Auckland, New Zealand)

Universidad de la Sabana (Bogot�, Colombia)

Universidad del Cine (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Universidad Manuela Beltran (Bogot�, Colombia)

Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogota, Colombia)

Universidade Lusofona (Lisbon, Portugal)

Universitatea Hyperion (Bucharest, Romania)

Universitatea Media (Bucharest, Romania)

Universitatea Nationala De Arta Teatrala Si Cinematografica (Bucharest, Romania)

University College Dublin Centre for Film Studies (Dublin, Ireland)

University of Applied Sciences: Audiovisual Media/Cinematography (Berlin, Germany)

University of California, Los Angeles Professional Programs in Screenwriting and Producing (Los Angeles, CA)

University of California, Los Angeles School of Film, Theater, and Television (Los Angeles, CA)

University of California, Los Angeles Extension’s Entertainment Studies and Performing Arts Department (Los Angeles, CA)

University of California, Riverside’s Media and Cultural Studies Program

University of California, San Diego Department of Visual Arts (San Diego, CA)

University of California, Santa Cruz Film and Digital Media Program (Santa Cruz,California)

University of Southern California School of Cinema Television (Los Angeles, CA)

University of Southern California School Summer Film School (Los Angeles, CA) (Riverside, CA)

University of Toledo, Department of Theatre and Film | Toledo Ohio

University of Tulsa, Film Studies | Tulsa Oklahoma

The University of The Arts | Philadelphia Pennsylvania

University of Art and Design Helsinki, Department of Film and Television (Helsinki, Finland)

University of Kansas, Department of Theatre and Film | Lawrence Kansas

University of Miami, School of Communication, Video & Film | Coral Gables  Florida

University of New Orleans, Drama & Communications | New Orleans Louisiana

V

Valencia Community College Arts and Entertainment Program (Orlando, FL)

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Cinema Program (Richmond, VA)

Vancouver Film School (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Victoria Motion Picture School (Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada)

Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne, Australia)

Video Symphony (Burbank, CA)

W

Watkins College of Art&Design Film School (Nashville, TN)

Worcester State College Communications Department in Film/Media (Worcester, MA)

Westbridge Film School (Mexico City, Mexico)

Whistling Woods International Institute for Film, Television, Animation & Media Arts (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

X

Y

York University, Department of Film (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Z

Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking (Sedona, Arizona)

The Art Institute of Tampa – Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Tampa Florida

The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Chicago Illinois

The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Schaumburg Illinois

Thrillseekers Unlimited, Hollywood | Hollywood California

The Los Angeles Film School | Hollywood California

The Art Institute of Colorado – Film Programs | DenverJ Colorado

The New England Institute of Art, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Program | Boston Massachusetts

DeSales University, Department of Performing and Fine Art, TV/Film | Center Valley Pennsylvania

Unit Production Manager / Production Supervisor / Production Co-Ordinator / Assistant Production Co-Ordinator / Accomodation Manager / Accomodation Assistant / Production Secretary / Receptionist / Driver/PA / Producer / Production Runner / Production Assistant / Associate Producer / Production Manager / Producers Assistant / Travel Assitant / IT Support / Administration Assistant / Distribution Clerk / Accounts Liason

Whilst the lowest paid within Production, and long hours make this job a hard one it is ideal for those willing to ‘do their time’, since film jobs are contracts and don’t last for ever the best advice is to keep your head down, be pleasant and fun and work very hard. From there you get to make contacts, meet lots of important people and to learn about what other roles and jobs within the department that you would like to progress to. This job title can be used for a broad range of roles – not just as described here – for example I have heard of duties that include child minder to the Producer.

On a day-to-day basis the kinds of things a Production Assistant does might seem menial; filing, photocopying, using phones, data entry, delivering of call-sheets and per-diems, script copying and compiling, office cleaning, meeting preparation – on other days you may be asked to perform stop gap duties on-set such as extras co-ordination or driving actors to locations. If you love movies and have graduated from a film studies course (rather than a film production course) this is a good place to start, alternatively you may have no professional film training, instead desire to develop a career as an office skills/managerial expert – well why not do the same things you would in other companies but within the fascinating are of film production. Perhaps the only reason would be the freelance nature of the work, that is the fact you end up between jobs out of work… but for me this just means nice long holidays! Certainly you will get to move all around the studios, meet and witness the whole process of film production and be constantly inspired and challenged!

Tips:

One of the key skills for this job is to be able to accept crticism even when it is not deserved, often as Production Assistant you will be taking directions from very stressed people with a lot of responsibilty resting on them. If they snap at you because you got a detail wrong you need to be able to not take it personally and to remain calm and efficient – this will stand you in good stead as robust enough to work in stressful postions yourself one day.

Attention to detail: keeping accurate notes of your own expenditure and information management is critical, but additionally staying focussed and attentive to discussions you over hear or are involved with so that you can be a second memory for you immediate superiors. Film Production is a fluid and constantly changing field, decisions are made revised and reversed on the move, and it is easy for a very busy production manager to forget small details. If you can stay attuned to what is happening around you rather than succumbing to chatting about your weeknd, or planning your evening then you will be an ideal Production Assistant.

To increase you chances of being hired over the competition; demonstrate that you have coped well with pressure in past challenges or jobs, learn how to use spreadsheets, know how to prepare basic notices or posters eg Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, do a basic accounting course or teach yourself some software, get a heavy vehicle licsense, do a basic workplace Health and Saftey course appropriate to your country and its laws, join a film club and/or read up on basic film terminology so you understand what you are hearing e.g. ‘call-sheet’, when you are within at the production asking about employment opportunties and Production Assistant Jobs.

The finishers may create fake stone work from polystyrene, paint effects such as marble or wallpaper, ‘age’ down sets creating weathered timber from new or assist with props and scenic finishing and effects. In some countrys such as England the finishers or scenics fall under the control of the Construction department. This is also typical on smaller productions.

Their are various names for the Head of this Department, the  ”Key Scenic’ or ‘Set Finishing Supervisor’, ‘Lead Scenic’ – as often the case it depends on the scale of the job. The term ‘Supervisor’ coming in on larger jobs where the role requires more management of a team of scenics, sculptors, painters and laborers, whereas on a smaller job the same expert would be more hands on and just call themselves ’scenic’ or ‘key scenic’. Other jobs in this area are;

Key Scenic / Scenic Artist / Brush Hand / Painter / Rock and Foam / Laborer / Runner / Signwriter / Set Finisher / Sculptor / Carver / Paint Runner

The Head of this Department is the Props Master or Props Supervisor with the Set Dressers the next in seniority as they take resposibility for the look, taking direction from the Production Designer, Art Directors and Props Master. Other jobs which support these people in the prepartion of props for the set, and in the on-set management and adaptation of proprs are;

Boat Builder / Furniture Maker Mold Maker Props Buyer / Props Maker Set Dresser Standby Assistant / Standby Props Sculptor /

The Head of the Department is the Costume Designer or Wardrobe Supervisor, who has a hot line to the Director in most cases because typically the Production Designer will not have a Costume Design background. This means they will leave more of the decisionas and ideas for this area to the Costume Designer.

Armourist Best Casual Workroom /Breakdown (wardrobe) /  Costume Supervisor / Costume Designer / Costume Designer Assistant / Cutter / Costume Buyer / Dyer / Extras Coordinator Wardrobe / Extras Casting Coordinator / Machinist / Milliner / Printer / Wardrobe Assistant

When on location the greens department can be called on not just to prepare plants for the set, but behind the scenes they may be managing the protection of existing vegetation. In some countries, particularly in protected areas, film crews can do huge damage to the natural environment and it is becoming increasingly important to leave a location in the same state as when the crew arrived. Thus I have seen whole roads of tussock get removed to nurseries to create access roads, then after production the Greens people will return them exactly to their original sites.

Greensperson / Laborer / Landscaper / Runner /

Construction has a systematic approach to the shop floor, where it is possible to set out with a trade qualification, and work you way up from Hammer hand through Leading Hand and to Foreman, and Construction Manager. A good all round job with varied work and a nice balance of responsibility is mid way up the ladder leading your own team of several builders to complete your ‘own sets’, leaving hiring, pay and politics to the Art Directors and Construction Managers.

The ideal person who will progress and succeed within film construction is somebody who does not mind creatively working with designers, who often do not have a building or architectural background, helping them reach the outcomes they seek but without getting too pissed off at the constant changes and high or odd  expectations.  Constructively predicting problems and seeking efficient solutions that don’t compromise the look will always be appreciated by the Art Department designers, and will in the long term open the door to film jobs outside the construction department such as Art Director.

Carpenter /  Construction Foreman / Crane Driver / Craft Services / Fitter or Fabricator / Furniture Maker / Hammerhand / Health and Safety Coordinator / Head Cutter / Laborer / Leading Hand / Onset Carpenter / Runner / Steel Fabricator / Sculptor /  Welder / Set Finisher / Boat Builder