Help with my Resume

Tyler Leisher · March 27, 2008

Hi guys! I've worked for the past year for a company doing assistant director/cinematography and PA work. I've put together a resume because that company went belly up. So I have a few questions...

I worked for a daily video game called "Epileptic Gaming", now I want to include my experience on this but does having the word "Epileptic" in my resume shy people away from me? I had no say in the name, I was just doing the work they gave me but I'm curious if this looks back to an employer.

Also, a majority of the work I did was from the same company, does listing the company that many times make it look bad?

Lastly, all of the segments that I worked on are online so I linked to them... is this a good or a bad thing. It doesnt take the place of my demo reel.

productionresume.doc

Tyler Leisher · March 27, 2008

Ignore that one, I updated and changed this one a bit that adds more. Plus I fixed some typos and wording problems.

TylerLeisher.doc

Daniel Wallens · March 27, 2008

Just to start you off:

#1: One page! Generally, rule of thumb is to keep your resume to 1 page. Especially with someone of your experience, there's no reason to have all that wasted empty blank space after the word "segments." After you have 10 years of experience as a professional in one specific craft, you can go onto a second page.

#2: Try to focus your Career Objectives more. Perhaps a goal that is something more specific than an AC/assistant editor/post-production/producer/writer/director.

#3: There's no such thing as a "2nd Assistant Cinematographer." Hand this to any professional, and they are likely to see your experience level very quickly. There is such a thing as a "2nd AC" which is a very specific job. I suppose if you're working for a big DP, that person will have personal assistants who get him/her cups of coffee (David M.?). But in terms of cinematographers, there's only 1 of those per shoot.

As for the rest, generally bullet points on resumes are split up by the job, or who you worked for, not by what position you held. Since it seems you really only worked for one place, this may be tricky in your case. Perhaps some others have an idea on how to approach that.

Tyler Leisher · March 27, 2008

Just to start you off:

#1: One page! Generally, rule of thumb is to keep your resume to 1 page. Especially with someone of your experience, there's no reason to have all that wasted empty blank space after the word "segments." After you have 10 years of experience as a professional in one specific craft, you can go onto a second page.

#2: Try to focus your Career Objectives more. Perhaps a goal that is something more specific than an AC/assistant editor/post-production/producer/writer/director.

#3: There's no such thing as a "2nd Assistant Cinematographer." Hand this to any professional, and they are likely to see your experience level very quickly. There is such a thing as a "2nd AC" which is a very specific job. I suppose if you're working for a big DP, that person will have personal assistants who get him/her cups of coffee (David M.?). But in terms of cinematographers, there's only 1 of those per shoot.

As for the rest, generally bullet points on resumes are split up by the job, or who you worked for, not by what position you held. Since it seems you really only worked for one place, this may be tricky in your case. Perhaps some others have an idea on how to approach that.

The first page is more of the cover page than it is the actual resume. I'm not sure what you mean by the blank space after the word Segments.. I dont think there is any space there. I'm not argueing, I'm just trying to make sure I'm clear on what you mean.

I thought about this, should I include my "Objective" as what I want to do as my career, or what I want to do right now?

As for the 2nd AC, I must be niave and I feel like it now! I always thought AC was Assistant Cinematographer. I'll change that to 2nd AC now, my job on that shoot consisted of changing out tapes/managing the cameras/batteries, etc. That would be the 2nd AC right?

What did you mean by the bullet points? I generally wanted to show all the experience I have had, and I wanted the first thing they saw to be my position... should I change that to the title of the project and put my info elsewhere? Does listing the company matter at all? What about the date?

Edited March 27, 2008 by Tyler Leisher

Daniel Wallens · March 27, 2008

The first page is more of the cover page than it is the actual resume.

The content you have there on the first page is not a cover letter. Career objectives and experiences, separated like that, do not go in the cover letter. A cover letter is a short paragraph (or two) written out in standard paragraph form that can highlight general achievements, explain why you are the best for the job, your ability/how you work with others, and whatever else you think they should know about you personally. The cover letter conveys what is not listed in the resume.

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Cover-Letter

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverletters/a/aa030401a.htm

http://chronicle.com/jobs/2000/03/2000030302c.htm

I'm not sure what you mean by the blank space after the word Segments.. I don't think there is any space there. I'm not argueing, I'm just trying to make sure I'm clear on what you mean.

Sorry about that. Maybe the formatting is wrong on my machine. This is how it looks on my computer:

If that's not how it looks on yours, then maybe something happened in the transfer. If it is how yours look, then you don't need that blank space there, after "segments." and before the next section.

I thought about this, should I include my "Objective" as what I want to do as my career, or what I want to do right now?

This is really up to you, whatever you think works best. It is also fine to tailer this to each individual job you apply for. Perhaps some others have some ideas on this as well.

As for the 2nd AC, I must be niave and I feel like it now! I always thought AC was Assistant Cinematographer. I'll change that to 2nd AC now, my job on that shoot consisted of changing out tapes/managing the cameras/batteries, etc. That would be the 2nd AC right?

2nd AC is 2nd Assistant Camera. While this may seem similar to a "2nd Assistant Cinematographer" idea, it really isn't. There is a very set and specific bunch of jobs the 2nd AC has, and as you work on bigger and more involved productions, you will realize that this is quite separate from the DP's job. And yes, tapes and batteries are the responsibility of the 2nd AC.

What did you mean by the bullet points?

My apologies, I guess I wasn't clear. I just meant different jobs, or listings of each "thing."

I generally wanted to show all the experience I have had, and I wanted the first thing they saw to be my position... should I change that to the title of the project and put my info elsewhere?

Honestly, I don't really know. Perhaps someone else can field this better than me. I haven't really come across many resumes where one person held so many different jobs for the same company.

Does listing the company matter at all? What about the date?

Usually, I'd say yes, listing the company is a good thing. Although this is not present on all resumes, I generally recommend it. And a definite yes to the date. All jobs, at this point in your career, should have a date.

-Daniel

Tyler Leisher · March 27, 2008

Here is the latest version.

TylerLeisher.doc

Daniel Wallens · March 27, 2008

Looks much improved, IMO. I'm still not really sure what the difference is between "Professional Experience" and "Film Experience" in the general sense of the terms themselves. Also, it may be a bit misleading to say that working on an "Up All Night Episode" is film experience, when it isn't really a film. I'm not really sure what to do about it; perhaps some others have some ideas.

Tyler Leisher · March 29, 2008

Any other opinions are greatly appreciated. I know it's not directly related to Cinematography but it's a little related.

Also, since I'm mostly doing AD/AC work, can I really have a demo reel? Should I Just give links or edit something together of the stuff that I AD/AC'd on?

Here is a .pdf version of it for those who don't want to/don't have Microsoft Word:

http://www.tylerleisher.com/TylerLeisher.pdf

Edited March 29, 2008 by Tyler Leisher

Daniel Wallens · March 29, 2008

ADs and ACs (again, both very different jobs in different departments) generally do not have reels. Although film production in general is a creative field, and, I believe, everyone needs to have some element of a creative sensibility, I would not say that the AC or the AD has the most creative job on set, at least not visually, and hence no need for a reel. Generally, if you see a position requiring a reel for an AC or AD job opening, then you can pretty much assume the one posting the job is not very experienced. ACs and ADs are not really hired on the bases of people looking at clips of productions they've worked on -- they're hired based on their prior work, and recommendations.

The people who generally have reels are DPs, camera ops, directors, sometimes producers, editors, etc. A DoP will make a reel which shows off his/her lighting skills and creativity with the camera. An editor's reel will show off his/her ability to cut something together coherently and with creativity. Oftentimes, once they have a large enough body of work, a DP may make more than one reel, say, a commercial reel, and a narrative reel, to show that he/she is marketable and skilled in both styles.