The film industry is an exciting place to be, so focus on the right things. There are opportunities everywhere to push your career forward. You can climb this career ladder when you develop relationships and have the right mentality. Focus on the result you want and not on your fears.
When you hear the words, ‘focus on results’, what do you hear?
Let’s think about this in terms of your friendships and relationships. On set, these are how you make sure you’re getting consistent work. You don’t want to be seen as burdensome, or as though you’re thinking more about what a shoot can get you rather than how you can contribute to making the job you’re on as good as possible. Instead of thinking, ‘get get get’, think about other people and what they need. Smile, be thoughtful, and pay attention. Slow down in your mind and be part of a film crew doing great work.
This is a different kind of mindset that the one you might bring with you from your survival job. It’s important that you embrace this shift because professionals in the film industry choose who they want to work with directly. You want to become someone they want to be around on set. Invest in people and dig into your crafts and see what makes people feel good and secure. With a collaborative, giving spirit, you’ll be getting on people’s lists and getting consistent work.
Lauren had an “aha” moment that triggered this shift in her mindset, seeing firsthand how doing great work got someone noticed and called back for more work and more responsibility on set. When you get hired to work on a shoot, other professionals are paying attention to what it’s like to work with you, so make sure your mind is on the work and being great to work with!
When you start out, you don’t have to go in pretending you know everything just to impress people. Most professionals understand that when you first get on set, you are there to learn. What they are most concerned with at that point is how well you work with others. They are looking at your attitude and your work ethic, so those are the things you should be focused on.
Investing in relationships can be more important than coming in with a bunch of technical know-how. You can learn that on set from professionals who will become your mentors and teachers. To make relationships like that, you must show that you will appreciate and utilize the things they can teach you.
