Creating Your Career in Arts, Entertainment & Communications
Laura Neal,
Industry Specialist; Arts, Entertainment, and Comm.
lneal@fullerton.edu
(714) 278-3791
Jobs in the arts, entertainment, and communications industries are found through personal contacts, professional associations, internships, job postings or industry publications, directories, and websites. It is important to become familiar with the companies, educational institutions, and other organizations within your area of interest. Jobs in highly glamorized fields like advertising, entertainment, and the arts are found primarily by networking (i.e., word of mouth and personal contacts).
Résumé formats used in these three industries vary greatly, but as with any other business, the layout depends on the nature of the job and the unique skills and accomplishments of that individual. Generally, they conform to the standard business style layout. You may be an accomplished singer, but if you are applying for an office job with the Los Angeles Opera where they want you to work on a computer, your résumé must emphasize the work experience you have related to that position. Your musical training and performance work may not be the key to getting that job!
Performers
Résumés for actors, singers, musicians, and other performers have a very specific format which includes physical statistics (height, weight, eye color, hair color, vocal range, etc., depending on which craft you practice) along with experience. Performers must have a head shot to accompany the résumé. For careers in stagecraft and skilled trades, the résumé should be a chronological list of your credits, and the shows or productions you have worked on.
Artists
Artists need a portfolio of their work to accompany their résumés. For graphic designers and journalists, the portfolio itself is an additional sample of their work. It is an opportunity to showcase their skills, and it should reflect such an attitude. Marketing, advertising, and public relations portfolios should be created using the same approach. Your portfolio should be thought of as part of the marketing campaign to promote yourself. Take extra time and care with it as you would with any of your other work.
Graphic designers, animators, and illustrators can usually bring color copies of their sample work in a portfolio. Painters, sculptors, and other artists with work that is not portable should have photo prints, slides, or transparencies. Some artists carry a portable light box and a magnifying viewer to meetings as a way to view slides and transparencies. Digital technology enables an artist's work to be saved on a CD or flash drive for sending and viewing. Websites are becoming increasingly utilized by artists as another way to get their work seen.
Journalists, Photographers, and Filmmakers
Journalists, photographers, and filmmakers also need to have samples of their work in addition to a résumé. A photographer's portfolio can be in the form of prints, slides, or digital files on a CD or flash drive.
For filmmakers, camera operators, animators, and others whose work is in a moving picture format, you need a VHS tape or DVD of your sample work. A music soundtrack to accompany and enhance the imagery is standard, along with a title card or animated title of your name in front of the work to identify it. This demo reel, as it is known, should always have approximately ten seconds of black at the head and a few seconds of black between samples.
A practitioner of journalism, public relations, or other writing should have work samples printed out in a portfolio, saved on a CD, flash drive, or have them available on a website.
Interviewing and Auditioning
Interviewing for a job in these three industries is the same no matter what you want to do. The format of the interview may range from a brief, informal conversation, to a very concise list of questions from a panel. It does not matter if you are facing a panel review for entrance to an elite graduate school, an icy art director, or hard-bitten unit production manager; you need to be prepared to show them why they should choose you. Careers in these fields rely heavily on verbal communication skills and personality. The interview is the best place to demonstrate that skill.
Auditions are the interview equivalent for the performing artist, dancer, or musician. Auditions often include some conversation similar to an interview. The artist needs to be prepared to speak articulately about their work. Preparing for an audition is completely different than preparing for a traditional interview. A good audition is contingent upon the following:
- Natural talent
- Choice of material
- Practice/preparation
- Ability to cope with performance anxiety, improvising, and on-the-spot changes
- Subjective criteria and opinion of the person making the selection
Always send a thank you note after a job interview. It will help them remember you better. It also shows that you are willing to do more, and you are sincerely motivated and interested in the job or role.
In every case, for all industries, keep track of your correspondence and follow-up activities. When you get a return phone call, you need to be able to quickly recall who you are talking to, what the job was, and what you said to them!
Additional Resources
This article provides a broad overview about careers within the arts, communications, and entertainment industries. The information is generalized and limited in scope due to the constraints of the size of this guide book, and it should be supplemented by further research. Gather information from people in the industry, professional organizations, unions, and websites specific to the area of work you are interested in pursuing. Information is also available by going through publications specific to that industry or trade, career resource books, and by contacting the Career Center!