How to get a crew job on a film or TV production

Timing is most of it

A production goes through the same stages every time: development, pre-production, production (the shoot), and post. Crew hiring happens almost entirely in pre-production. On a feature that is typically four to twelve weeks before cameras roll; on a series it can be longer, with core crew carrying over between seasons. By the first day of shooting the crew list is set and the only openings are day calls and replacements.

That means the useful question is not “what is filming near me” but “what is about to film near me.” A production in pre-production with a shoot start six weeks out is hiring now. One that is already shooting is, for most departments, done hiring.

Who actually hires

Hiring on a production is decentralised. The line producer and unit production manager (UPM) set the budget and hire the department heads: the director of photography, production designer, costume designer, first assistant director, key grip, gaffer, sound mixer, and so on. Each department head then staffs their own department, usually from people they have worked with before, then from recommendations, then from applications.

So the person who can hire you is almost never “the production.” It is the head of the department you work in, or the production coordinator and UPM for office and production-department roles. The names attached to a production are the first thing to look for on any listing.

What to send, and to whom

A short email with a one-line subject naming the role and your availability, a résumé that leads with your last three credits, and no attachments beyond the résumé. Department heads read dozens of these in pre-production; the ones that get a reply say what you do, what you have done, and when you are free, in that order.

Send it to the department head if the name is known, otherwise to the production office marked for the attention of that department. Production offices open early in pre-production and forward crew inquiries; that is part of the coordinator’s job.

What Production List holds

Every production on Production List carries its stage, its shoot dates where announced, its locations, the production companies attached, and the named people attached with their roles, including line producers, UPMs and casting directors when they have been announced. Production office contact details, phone and email, are on file for members. The weekly list is the roundup of newly announced productions, and each location hub shows what is in pre-production in one market with dated shoot starts.