Film School, Film Industry, and In-Between
My name is Alara Jones and this article contains my own personal opinions and beliefs. I am a producer and assistant editor for Cairns Film. I graduated from MSU’s film program in May of 2021, and immediately started working for Greg Cairns where I found something really unique and special. We are taught in film school that LA is the place to go to work your way up the ladder and get into the industry. The big LA “industry,” the place film students long for... before they know better.
From year one we are told that being on set won’t be easy- expect 12 hour days for weeks on end, expect to be a PA for a few years, because it will take that long before you will make a connection that MIGHT lead to working in a different position, where you MIGHT have a sliver of creative control. They fill you with niche film vocabulary, rules and etiquette, because if you even stand in the wrong spot on set (like in the actor’s eyeline), that can get you fired- and don’t forget, you are replaceable. They tell you to become an expert on one thing, and that’s how you’ll get the job.
I think recent events like the IATSE threat to strike have brought some attention to how bad these working conditions can get. IATSE is the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and thousands of workers in the alliance recently planned to go on strike if they couldn’t negotiate with AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) for better hours, a livable wage for those who are lowest paid, and adequate food breaks and rest periods. Crew working 16 hour days and then being sent to drive home, sometimes multiple hours away, in the dark, is such a dangerous thing to require of someone, and for what? So the producers can save some money by taking less days to shoot? These are peoples’ lives they are risking, and for entertainment? These conditions aren’t necessary to make good films. IATSE did end up making a 3 year tentative agreement with AMPTP which stopped the strike, but I think people are going to need to continue pushing to get to the conditions they deserve.
Luckily I decided to stay in Bozeman a while before trying to go to California, and found Cairns Film. Where you don’t have to be an asshole to contribute to making art, you don’t have to be a PA for years before you get to have an opinion, and where you don’t have to be an expert on ONE thing to be hired. From the start, Greg gave me something that I thought I’d be fighting to find after film school: respect. He saw the value in learning not just how to edit, but also writing, producing, and interpersonal business communication skills, and he knew how I could use them all to help his business.
I’ve met some really talented people, who I never want to work with again. I’ve also met a lot of really great people that are still learning and honing in their skills. I would much rather work with the latter- being a good human and learning how to work together with others and stay positive on set are invaluable characteristics and can’t be taught the same way you can teach someone how to use a piece of equipment. Being in the film industry doesn’t have to be awful, the conditions don’t have to be grueling, we don’t have to belittle each other and be condescending when someone doesn’t know something. We can change these things, and the finished product will be just as good, if not better. We need to stop doing things one way just because, “that’s how we’ve always done it,” that is simply not a good enough reason.
