This question is actually for Doug.

My name is Logan and I'm currently enrolled in video production at The New England School of Communications. I was wondering what you did to get to where you are now? Is there a certain school that I should attend? Is there a certain level of schooling that I should get? Is there a certain path I should take to help me get into the business, because I keep hearing that the business is very hard to get into unless you know somebody already in the business. If you could tell me what you did and how you got into the business it would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,



Logan Briggs

Hi Logan,
Thanks for the question.
There's debate about whether going to school for film helps or not. I went to film school and while I didn't know anybody in the business at the time, I met a lot of long time friends and collaborators while in the program. I still work with some today. School allowed me to shoot film (probably video these days) every weekend. We didn't have a lot of equipment so I had to make due with what I had and be inventive.
I volunteered with anyone I could meet in the business to work for free at first just to meet anyone. I eventually got hired by one of them as a camera assistant and began my career that way. I also continued to shoot my own projects on weekends.
I eventually chose to become a D.P. full time and just sort of transitioned into it. I shoot low budget features, documentaries, and commercials. I just happened to fill in for a friend on Dirty Jobs for a day and it turned out he couldn't work on it anymore. I never thought I would be here three years later.
If you want to continue going to school and want to work on larger projects you should seriously consider moving to New York or L.A. U.S.C. graduate school and AFI are two great cinematography programs. You just have to be determined and meet as many people as you can. It is a very tough business to break into and now that I'm in it, it's a very tough business to maintain. You constantly have to network and meet people while creating a reputation that gets you recommended for future work.
I hope that helps.
Doug

Doug do you have any suggestions on any good companies to work for?

nothin' to see here.