they really only need them going into production. It's an economical way
for companies and producers to be able to have all the vital necessities of
physical production handled for them at a fraction of what it would cost
them to maintain that staff full time."
Special Skills
Production executives must possess leadership skills, the ability to work
with diverse personalities, and a solid working knowledge of the produc-
tion and filmmaking process. Clawson also credits his success to having
experience working in different media: feature films, commercials, videos,
and television. "Each of those has what I call their own etiquette. Each is
different in terms of how they are administrated . . . I understand the eti-
quette of each type of project because I have a solid knowledge of the pro-
duction process, and am able to apply what works in one area to another."
Learn the craft of filmmaking. Get your hands on a camera and shoot
film. "You have to run film through the camera and make mistakes; have
things come in and out of focus. You have to learn to edit things together,
and see how things don't work and how they do work. Whether it's film
school, with friends, or an internship, you have to get your hands on
some basic equipment. It doesn't matter if it's film or video. You can learn
about the filmmaking process even shooting a little DVD camera and
editing on an Apple computer. It's also important to understand the film
process--what happens when light hits film, what happens when film
runs through a processor--understanding the basics of filmmaking from
all aspects. There is no substitute for getting your hands on equipment
and doing it.
"You don't necessarily have to get a degree. It's what you learn at the
school that means everything. If you're a person that isn't great at school,
you might find it easier to take an internship someplace or work for a
lighting and rental company. Go to work for a theater company. Anything
where you can get your hands on equipment and you're able to work with
lighting, scenery, editing, or with cameras. You've got to get that experi-
ence. I was good at school, so school was a good structure for me. Film
school worked for me because the structure of school worked for me."
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
"It's a combination of who you know, and being in the right place at the
right time," says Clawson, "which can sound really demoralizing to some-
body who doesn't know anybody in the business and is sitting in their
apartment thinking, `How do I find that right place and right time?' You've
got to learn to network. It's important because there aren't formal ways of
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