tv Syfy made for tv films...

knightly

knightly

How do I get involved in one of these projects? Does anyone here know an "IN" for me? They just look like so much fun to make. I just watched "Triassic Attack" (aside from the confusion between Archaeology and Paleontology) and thought, "not only is that a fun little movie, I'm about at that level in my film making"

I'll PA or a be a grip to get on a crew (depending on pay, since I'll probably have to travel to get the gig) and get my resume built to start getting more gigs. I'm at the entry level paid gigs part of my career... I just have to find that first gig.
 
Studio PAs made WAY more than those on Indie films. I'd like to get onto the gigs of studio PAs who get paid $400 a day to show people where to park in a parking lot. Talk about easy money. Sign me up.

Science Fiction is popular for international films too, from what a sales agent told me.
 
"Triassic Attack" was made by UFO International Productions
based in Los Angeles. They have a studio in Bulgaria. They
shoot a lot of movies and are always looking for PA's. They
pay very little.

They have a website and all their contact info in there. Not
sure what kind of "IN" you want but I know Cherise Honey
who has been a UPM and coordinator on several of their movies.
When you are ready to move out to LA and work for very low
wages I can put you in touch with her. Frankly you don't need
an "IN" - they hire often.
 
I'd have to travel from MN to work... my wife is a SpEd Teacher with tenure and we have a mortgage to fulfill, we're not going anywhere. But I'll gladly travel if I can find some decent paying jobs. I spent 3.5 months in NE for a government GS03 position (just shy of $12/hr FT).

But near to free, won't quite cut it.
 
Oh, and thanks for the vector of attack on the job searches... time to look for prodcos in the midwestern states!
 
I think you should start a production company and birth Hollywood: Midwest. They'll call it Midwood, or something. Better yet, start a new studio (which I've heard is pretty much impossible to do even in Hollywood)...something within commuting distance.

Sorry, seriously though, I hope you find such a position.
 
NE was a 12 hour drive... I'd think 6-8 hours OTR would be doable... I'm in Dead Center MN, so WI, IL, IA, Some ND, Some SD. 10-15/hr. would make the travel worth it and pay the bills. Could be a little lower w/ a per diem.

What do you have in mind?
 
richy said:
I think you should start a production company and birth Hollywood: Midwest. They'll call it Midwood, or something. Better yet, start a new studio (which I've heard is pretty much impossible to do even in Hollywood)...something within commuting distance.

Sorry, seriously though, I hope you find such a position.
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I have been working on it, and will continue to do so... but it's slow going... and thanks for the kind wishes. We're working specifically on leveraging the Not For Profit "YAFI:Underground" into a for profit "YAFI Studios" that gives all the MN talent a place to practice their crafts locally rather than having to travel to Canada, NY and LA all the time. Lots of folks, lots of travel, lots of $$$ going to other state's economies. MN has gotten worse and worse with their incentive programs over the last couple of years.
 
knightly said:
I have been working on it, and will continue to do so... but it's slow going... and thanks for the kind wishes. We're working specifically on leveraging the Not For Profit "YAFI:Underground" into a for profit "YAFI Studios" that gives all the MN talent a place to practice their crafts locally rather than having to travel to Canada, NY and LA all the time. Lots of folks, lots of travel, lots of $$$ going to other state's economies. MN has gotten worse and worse with their incentive programs over the last couple of years.
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YAFI looks very cool. Hope it succeeds. Bookmarked it and will be looking more closely at it.

This reminded me of an article in MovieMaker Magazine, Issue 93, Vol. 18, titled, "Studios Off the Beaten Path," by Julie Jacobs. The MovieMaker site seems to be down at the moment, but if it comes back up and I can find the article online I'll try to link it here later. But it describes how studios are popping up outside of LA and NY.

I don't know if any of them are any closer to you than LA. Too bad one isn't in the Midwest. One planned in Michigan was killed by the bad economy and legislation.

There's one in Mississippi:

Mississippi Film Studios at Canton

But I don't see an employment link on that site. I suppose the contact link.


There's one in Albuquerque:

Albuquerque Studios

Bulletin Boad


There's another in Texas:

Spiderwood Studios


And there are others. Well, I don't know that they're hiring or that the pay would be any good either, but it may mean that LA isn't your only option.


[Edit] Here's that link:

Studios Off the Beaten Path --a MovieMaker Article

Oops, sorry if this is off point as far as finding work on SyFy productions; Sounds like SyFy doesn't get their content from these places. But still interesting?
 
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By the way, my PA salary quote is off the resume of a PA in my files who worked for a studio and listed his job responsibilities. So, the pay rate is for real. I'd like a job like that myself to pay some bills and so I can afford to buy some badly needed food for my kitchen cabinet.
 
knightly said:
NE was a 12 hour drive... I'd think 6-8 hours OTR would be doable... I'm in Dead Center MN, so WI, IL, IA, Some ND, Some SD. 10-15/hr. would make the travel worth it and pay the bills. Could be a little lower w/ a per diem.

What do you have in mind?
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Nothing - just curious.

I don't know anything about the shooting in your area. Most
of the prodCo's that make movies for SyFy are based here in
LA and in NY and many shoot in Romania and Bulgeria. You
might find some PA work at $15/hr but that's pushing it on
a non union, low budget show - $10 is reasonable. Most
companies hire PA's locally to avoid per diem and travel/lodging
expenses especially on the productions you are talking about.
And it's harder to get a skilled position like a grip than people
think.

Sorry I can't help - the only in's I have are local to my area.

How much production is going on in your area?
 
About 1 production every 5-10 years that actually make any sort of news (and hires people)... Several smaller productions per year that tend to use unpaid interns and tons of free work around (and some of that is YAFI projects - 2 to 4 / year).

There's quite a bit of advertising, but most are 2-10 people companies that are never hiring... or using interns for free. The hard part seems to be figuring out where to start looking.
 
directorik said:
Nothing - just curious.
And it's harder to get a skilled position like a grip than people
think.

Sorry I can't help - the only in's I have are local to my area.
Click to expand...

At the risk of barging into this thread - this basically answers my question. Is it safe to guess that companies like UFO hire mostly local crew (art, grips, ACs, etc) when filming in a place like Bulgaria?

For some reason I thought many of those SyFy movies were made in Canada (like their TV shows) - but going farther afield makes more sense budget wise.
 
David.rhsc said:
At the risk of barging into this thread - this basically answers my question. Is it safe to guess that companies like UFO hire mostly local crew (art, grips, ACs, etc) when filming in a place like Bulgaria?

For some reason I thought many of those SyFy movies were made in Canada (like their TV shows) - but going farther afield makes more sense budget wise.
Click to expand...

My impression is that most SF TV shows were made in Vancouver, BC, Canada - Smallville, V, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Human Target (sorta SF), Outer Limits, Relic Hunter, Supernatural, and so on.
 
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