Congratulations on your interest to become or filmmaker! I'm sure you've had plenty of sugar plum dreams of all the fantastic block-buster smash hits you'll direct someday, but in the mean time you have been wondering happens between your ravishing success and where you are now. Here are my step by step reccomendations to becoming a success person in the entertainment biz.

1. Get Educated

To be brutally honest, a degree in film or media will not land you a job in the industry per se. Indeed you can learn a lot of artistic ideas as well as computer based skills that are in demand in the Film/TV industry. You can learn to write really well, which can get you far. Having a degree can take you far in any walk of life, but if you already have a degree or are considering moving out of your old job right away into the Film and TV Biz, there are many 1 year certificate programs which may be of use.

You go to film school to learn some of the basics, make mistakes, make friends, form ideas, build a portfolio (or "reel") of your work.

2. Get an internship or a very low level job on a Film or TV production

While you might the bees-knees of student film out on the web, it can be hard to get future employers to notice this type of work. If you have something on your resume from a more widely known production or company, you're in much better position for jobs in the future. Some may reccomend going after production assistant jobs, but if you're just starting out consider applying for a job in the Art, Props, Wardrobe departments or other positions in Locations, the office, or craft services. Often these jobs fly under the radar, even amongst  the mose ambitious film students or graduates.

Also, the professionals you meet and work will likely have something of great value and use to you.

3. Join the IATSE Union

Nearly every job or department on a film or TV set is unionized at some level. The IATSE (or "International Association of Theatrical Stage Employes" [sic]). The cameramen, the art department, the production assistants... most every one has some affliation with a union, even big shot Hollywood directors have a union (Directors Guild of America). 

If you do well at the entry level with those lower paying jobs in mailrooms, as set dressers, or as someones personal assistant, your boss may reccomend you to join the IATSE union. This can be a big game changer because you now you can get calls to work on movies and television! Having someone from within the ranks of the union reccomend you can fast-track your progress in the film and video industry in a remarkable way. Whatever your aspiration in the entertainment biz, you're now in much better position to realize it as you are more regularly in contact with the people you might want to hire someday or work more closely with. 

3. Be online

This doesn't sound hard, but you ought to do more than just poke your friends on Facebook. Use sites like LinkedIn, NextCat, and other blogging services to make your name pop up all over search engines. You can show off your personality and your work history creatively and and convincingly. You could even run into some incredible opportunities if you look in the right places.

4. Attend conferences and film festivals

If you're looking for a fun way to explore another side of the industry or just meet some interesting new people, attend events where film and television professionals are gathered for some competitive reason, social cause, or simply professional development. This includes workshops and classes too.

5. Enter a film festival

Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money. If you have a well polished piece and a few hundred or thousand dollars, send your work as a submission into a film festival. You can win money or simply meet people who genuinely like your stuff and would like you offer additional funding or even a job.

6. Be realistic, Be Technical

Not everyone gets to be a director or a producer or some other high-powered creative position. That works for some people and that could be you. You may find yourself more attracted to working in the electric or grip departments. Nonetheless, stepping out into these positions even for a short while in your career can make you an infinitely wiser director, producer, or all around filmmaker.