A Blogger Is Born

The economy is in a funk (at least that's what a Googlism search tells me). California hits its highest unemployment rate since World War II. Worst of all, Lindsay Lohan is speaking with a British accent.

If these aren't signs of impending doom, I don't know what is.

Okay, so maybe the world isn't that bad right now. But the fact is, despite my Bachelor's degree from one of the top universities in the nation, the University of California, Los Angeles, I can't find a job. Maybe it's because I haven't really been looking. But when I did search, boy was it rough. I couldn't even get a gig walking dogs without a degree in engineering.

Joking aside, I've decided to create a blog detailing my quest for a career. Why? Several reasons, actually.

1. I watched Julie & Julia earlier this week. It made me want to do three things: cook, eat, and blog. Mostly eat.
   
2. I wanted to share my job search experiences with my fellow unemployed college graduates and other Hollywood hopefuls.

Okay, that list was shorter than I was imagining. But #2 can be broken down into several more reasons and it'll help explain more about who I am.

I've always had an interest in film, ever since I took the Universal Studios Tour when I was a kid. I wanted to study film at UCLA, but I somehow ended up a Design major, then switched to Psychology. I worked as a high school peer advisor and with the campus newspaper. Upon graduating, despite my many detours, I realized I still wanted to go into film.

So I walked in my cap and gown. Friends and family wished me luck in this thing called life. So far, I haven't had much. All I had in my alumnus arsenal was a minor in film and television--which, by the way, didn't give me any practical information and definitely not a single ounce of experience.

I've heard that the film industry is 5% talent, 5% hard work, and 90% who you know. Or something like that. Unfortunately, I know psychology majors, and a Spanish major, too. I didn't realize I absolutely wanted to go into film until I graduated, so I missed out on all the student filmmaking and the networking.

But I want to try anyway. Wait... Where exactly do I start? Actors get into film by auditioning. What do directors do? Do they send a film reel somewhere? Doesn't matter, I don't have a film reel. How about writers, do they send writing samples to someone? But all I have are B-grade papers in psychology. Who do they get to see their work? And how? I've read a lot about producing, probably the most practical part of the film classes I've taken. But I learned that $1 million for a film is considered low budget, and it's the producer's job to secure these finances. Um, what?

And it's not like they post these things on Craigslist. "Top director needed for final Harry Potter film." "Looking for DP to work with Steven Spielberg." "Work behind the scenes with Brad Pitt." Alright, I'm exagerrating a bit. Of course they wouldn't post those jobs on Craigslist. I did find listings for student projects and indie films. But even those jobs require experience. People who are trying to "make it" like me aren't going to hire someone like me with no experience.  Back to square one.

Still, there has to be something.  Maybe that 5% of hard work just might get me somewhere. Wait... one more thing. What exactly do I want to do? I talk about getting into film, but that can mean almost anything. Directing, producing, writing, cinematograpy, grips, gaffers, props, art direction, post production. The list goes on and on, and I'm still learning what all these people do. How can I begin to even network with others--the other 90% I need--when I'm still finding my way through the industry's vocabulary, what people "in film" actually do?

Writing is probably what I'm leaning towards most right now. I've taken several writing classes at UCLA. I've written a complete spec script for an episode of 30 Rock. And now I'm writing this blog. Perhaps this is my first step in my foray into the entertainment industry. So begins the chronicles of a recent college graudate forcing my way into film and television.