Starting a Career in
Graphic Design for Film & TV

​*Please note that as of Fall 2023, the exam structure has changed slightly. Please see 829's exam page for current information.

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TRANSCRIPT
 

INTRO

Alright, I suppose I will go ahead and get started. So hi, I am Leah Spencer, I am a Graphic Designer for Film and TV based out of New York. And so I am actually a relatively new person in the industry I joined just about 2 years ago, so yeah, so I'm doing this because I remember who difficult it was as someone who came into this industry knowing no one and nothing um and getting from there to just making first steps to get into this career was a real challenge because there’s just so little information out there. So I really hope that this hopes build that informational void and it helps you all get onto your first steps towards this career.

Um and, so yeah, I guess I’ll give you a little bit of background on me so that you know where I’m coming from. I started in the corporate world. I worked as a graphic designer for a printing company. I was in two different roles there: I did both working working with clients’ files and I also worked as a graphic designer on a marketing team and I think as corporate work tends to go, it was just very repetitive. Oh sorry my dog is howling, he’ll stop in a minute. So, yeah, I worked at this corporate job for several years and at the time I was working there, I was also going through a graphic design certificate program at RISD (The Rhode Island School of Design) and I did that because I went to a liberal arts university and I felt like I was kind of missing the academic background that most people who go to art schools get. So I did that kind of to fill that gap for me. And you know, I wasn’t a huge fan of my corporate work and it just so happened that I listened to a 99% Invisible podcast episode with Annie Atkins and found out about her work and this job existing and I was instantly hooked and so I wound up sticking out in that corporate job for another year so I could finish with that and also complete my certificate program. And so I finished it, and I quit my job, and I moved to New York. And it took all in all from the time I moved here to the time I got my first job about 7 months I think. That was also when COVID was more of a factor, so things were a little slow at that point. But yeah, it did take me a while to get my first job and just figure out how this whole thing works. Um and so yeah I hope that this fills that informational gap for you all and helps point you towards a good direction.

Um so know that the information I share today will be specific to New York. There is a lot that is kind of universal no matter where you work. There is also a good amount that can really vary based on your region. Um so just make sure if you are planning on working anywhere outside of New York that you do get verification from someone in that area on regional practices there. Um so just keep that in mind. I will take questions at the very end, so if anything comes up for you, just take note of it and I will take those questions at the end. Um alright.So, I will go ahead and share my screen. [to chat message] Yes, Annie Atkins is amazing.

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OPENING SLIDE

Okay, so Starting a Career in Graphic Design for Film and Television. This is really focused on really just getting you to from like step 0 to step 1; so what you need to know to just get to your first day of work.

WHAT WE MAKE

Alright, so you will find that once you are in this job and anyone asks what you do for work, they will have no idea what you do. Most people don’t even know this job exists. So, what do we do? We are responsible for making anything you see on screen that has text or imagery. And this is a super wide range of stuff. It can be for either film or TV and within that either live action or animation. Sometimes you’ll also see work in commercials or music videos, but primarily film and TV. And just a note on terminology is that you might hear people refer to themself as “graphic designer” or “graphic artist” – they’re synonymous, it’s just personal choice. And you’ll also hear the term “computer artist” – that’s a term that specifically that the union in New York that covers graphic designers uses. Um so it means the same thing, it’s just a term they use. I don’t think anyone outside of New York uses it. So just know that all three terms are synonymous.

Um so within the things that we make, they primarily fall into two categories: they can be props or they can be set decoration. Props are items that characters interact with. So you can see here we have Midge from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She is holding up a sash. It is being described in the dialogue, she’s holding it, so it’s a prop. And also not a prop, but a hero prop because it’s being very specifically focused on and discussed. And then we have set decoration. You will see set decoration abbreviated as set dec. And so that is anything that is in the space around the actors. So in the example here, we see Abe in The Village Voice office. This set is covered head to toe in set decoration. And something you’ll notice really the only items that you can really make out are the biggest posters and everything else is kind of just like pixels that make up a whole image. So you’ll find that set decoration tends to be more about quantity over quality, versus props, which is more quality over quantity because props are really meant to be viewed a lot more closely and set dec is meant to be viewed typically not always more at a distance to fill a space and make it feel on the whole a realistic environment.

WHAT WE MAKE - AS GRAPHIC DESIGNER

So as a graphic designer for film and tv, the items that we make are huge in range. A lot more that you will see in typical corporate or freelance graphic design. And so as a graphic designers, we kind of fill three different roles. And the first one is just as quote graphic designer. And so you’ll see examples here of things that we might make. So that could be posters, menus, tickets, packaging, magazines, and then you’ll also see some screens here. This is an increasingly large share of work that graphic designers do. Because you know as the real world becomes covered in screens, so does that film world that imitates the real world. So there are actually people who are screen specialists and who make both static screens and motion or animated screens.

WHAT WE MAKE - AS CRAFTSPERSON

And then we kind of have this second category which I have termed “as craftsman” or “craftsperson” and this strays a little bit away from what you would think of as being typical graphic design work. And so these are things that in this fictional world, really wouldn’t have been made by a graphic designer, they would have been made by a specialist in another area. But in the production side of things, we make them all. So you can see things like newspapers, there is some sign painting, some signage. You’ll also see we have an image of a dog in a hat smoking. As you can imagine, that is not really a feasible image to either just find if that’s what you specifically need, or to photograph. That is not something you could really do. So the job of the graphic designer is to create what we call a photo composite or photo comp for short. So we will take multiple images and combine them in Photoshop into one very specific image that is needed. And you'll see this being done for either things that are going to be used in the production. So this could be something that is a framed photo on someone’s desk. Or it could be something that you see used before the production has even started in what we call pre-visualisation or pre-vis for short. Essentially we’ll photoshop basically an image of the set that we’re going to use with how it will look when it’s all put together. So multiple uses for Photoshop there. You’ll also see this stained glass and tile. So one of the things that we’ll often do is make kind of faux surface. Because as you can imagine, for a set that might be built in just a couple short days and then need to be taken down a day later, putting down real tile and real stained glass might not be a great option. So we might print these surfaces on substrate and put them. Or we might also if there’s time and budget for it, we might also actually get these sent out to a craftsperson what we’ve designed or what we want the specialist to make.

WHAT WE MAKE - AS LAYMAN

And then there’s this third category that is probably the furthest from typical graphic design and that’s kind of just as a “layman.” So these are things that would be made by someone in this fictional world who is not by trade doing this. You know this is just a human making human things and from a first glance, it can look really easy, but it is actually really a challenge sometimes to make things that look really natural and authentic. So it’s a fun challenge and also a way to really try to get yourself into the mind of characters. You know, how does this character sign their name, how does their handwriting look, so things like that are really fun thing to try to figure out. So it’s kind of a split between things that you might expect a graphic designer to do, things you would expect another specialist to do, and things that you would expect just any human on the street to do.

THE ART DEPARTMENT

So as a Graphic Designer, you will be working on the production within the art department. And the art department is led by the production designer. The production designer also leads the props department and the set dec department, but those are departments in their own right and not under art, we just share a common lead. And so the production designer is really responsible for high level decision making. They will have conversations with the director and they make all the big decisions that affect things like color scheme and scale and location, things like that. Underneath the production designer, we have the supervising art director. They are responsible for overseeing the design and construction of sets, they’ll make sure we stay on budget, that everyone is getting everything done on time. And under them, we’ll have art director and assistant art director, and they are responsible for drafting the sets, making architectural plans for them, and making sure that they all get built as they should be. And then on the left, you will see art department coordinator. They are kind of like an office manager. And so they will be responsible for things like payroll, organizing meetings, keeping the office stocked, all those sorts of managerial things like that. And they also supervise the art PAs or production assistants. And you will see coordinators and production assistants in multiple departments, so you might also see a dec coordinator, set dec PA, or construction coordinator. And so the Art PAs are kind of the helpers of all things. I’ll go more into their responsibilities in a bit. And then on the right, we have the graphics team. So you have lead graphics and assistant graphics. They both are responsible for producing graphics, except that one (the lead) will be responsible for making sure everything is done on time, they will receive the new requests that we get, and they really are the organizational center of the graphics team. And also you’ll not that I have numbers on all of these roles and so if you’re on a lower budget production, you will see that you skew more towards the lower end of these numbers and might even see some roles being condensed. If you are on a higher budget production, you will see more towards the higher side of numbers, you’ll have more people in more roles, and you might also see additional roles added, like storyboard artist for example. So really the big takeaway from this is that if you are trying to get Art PA work, you should be reaching out to art department coordinators. And if you are trying to get assistant graphics work, you should be reaching out to lead graphic designers or supervising art director because it’s usually a joint decision between the supervising art director and the lead graphic designer on who they hire.

THE UNION

So if you are looking for work and especially if you're in a big city you will find that most productions are union productions. And so the union that we are under In the US and Canada  is IATSE, which stands for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. And so that covers everyone who works in film, tv, and theater. And for us working in the northeast, as graphic designers, we work under a local, which is the regional chapter of the union, called USA 829. USA stands for United Scenic Artists. So originally, this local was just scenic artists, but now it also includes computer artists, scenics, set designers, costume designers, lighting designers, and art department coordinators. So if you want to work on a union production, membership is necessary to be eligible for that work. The exception to that being if you want to get work as a PA, because PAs are kind of like an entry level position so you don’t yet need to be in the union to get that work. Um there are a few fees associated with being part of the union. One being a fee for the entrance exam that you’ll have to go through. There is a one time initiation fee once you are accepted, and then there are also quarterly and weekly dues. And so some jobs within some locals function with a job pool where your name is basically on a list and when work is needed to be done, they will call people in from that list and that’s how you get work. In the case of graphic design in New York and I think in most places, it is not a job pool, so you’re offered jobs because you are in the union, you are eligible and also you are given access to some private listings that help you get jobs on your own. Um to note that membership covers a specific region so if you move permanently you may have to join a new region. And you know because we are essentially freelancers, we do not have an HR department, so the union kind of fills that role. Mainly in running our benefits programs and in being an accountability point for productions. So the union is where we get our health insurance, our pension fund, and our annuity fund. And a note on that is that once you are accepted, you do have to accrue a certain number of worked hours to become eligible for benefits. So it’s not immediately offered. It typically takes around three weeks, sometimes more depending on the tier of production you’re on to become eligible. And as an accountability point, if you ever have any concerns about things like safety or being paid accurately or hours you’re working or harassment or anything like that, the union is there to help you.

WHY BE AN ART PA FIRST

So, why be an art PA first? It was recommended to me when I was starting out by pretty much everyone to be an Art PA and now that I’ve been through it, I am totally on the same page. I really think it’s an ideal way to get your start in a graphics career, or really any art department career. And so you know the first reason being it’s just because you can. You don’t need to be in the union yet, so it’s open to everyone. And you know the film & tv world is quite complex and  there is a lot happening and a lot of moving parts and so by being a PA first, you really get to understand what’s happening and how everything works before you’re in a higher responsibility role and things happen even faster and your knowledge of the system is even more important. So it’s a nice way to kind of acclimate yourself to this world. You also really get to make a lot of connections, which is super important because this industry is all based on who you know and who knows you. There are no public job listings like there are with typical jobs, and so just increasing the number of people you know and who know you do good work is really vital in becoming consistently employed. And you also get to learn from the Graphic Designers you work with. You might be able to observe them doing tasks you want to learn more about or just observe how they deal with daily activities. And you will see in this image, we have besides my large dog who is a certified tripping hazard you will see a very large printer and a stack of lots of ink and paper for that printer and other printers in the office. And as a PA you will be responsible for using printers like this and knowing how to change the inks, knowing which inks to use, knowing which papers to use, how to change those papers, all sorts of things like that. So getting experience running equipment like this is really valuable. And also you will have to go through an exam process if you live in New York or Boston to become a Computer Artist within the union and when you are going through that exam process, the people on the committee judging your application really love to see when people have PA experience because it says to them that this person really understands this job and that they have the knowledge to really hit the ground running as a graphic designer. And you know in the future when you are a graphic designer and you rely on the help of PAs, it’s really nice to understand from their viewpoint what happens throughout their day, what kind of parts might be super busy for them, when they might need extra information to assist with a project. All that kind of stuff is really valuable to know. And alternatively, this is all kind of mostly for being a PA on a union production, but you can also certainly look into getting work on indie films or non-union productions. You know, you never know who might remember you as someone who really showed up and did good work on a lower budget production and then maybe they move up to a higher level production and they remember you and hire you back, so you know it can always pay off in the future. And really any experience is good experience in this industry.

GETTING ART PA JOBS

So, how do you get an Art PA job? One of the best ways you can try is to cold call slash cold email Art Department Coordinators and send them your resume and introduce yourself and explain that you’re interested in getting Art PA work. One of the ways you can do this if you are in New York is you can go to the USA 829 website which I have a screenshot of on the right and there is a tab that says “member search” and you can go there and you can click on “art department coordinator” and put in a zip code for New York and then it will give you all of the art department coordinators in that area. And most will have contact information that you can use. So that is a great way to get in touch with people. And you know when you do email them your resume, I encourage you to edit the descriptions of your existing work experience to really tailor them to what a PA does. I think you’ll find in most work that there’s something that’s applicable to being a PA, so in the next slide I’ll give more examples of what PAs do, but just keep that mind and you know present yourself as someone who is ready for this work. And optionally, you can attach an image or two of your work/portfolio pieces just to show what you’re working towards, just to demonstrate that you’re serious about this career path. But make sure that you make it clear that you understand that PAs don’t do graphics and this is just an example of your goals. And so keep in mind that if it can really take a while to get your first job or jobs plural, so you know, it’s really a numbers game. You might have contact many people before something works out. It’s really a right person at the right time kind of situation and so just be persistent. You know, keep reaching out. It might take a long time, it might happen quickly, it’s hard to know. And so I recommend that you track who you’ve reached out to with a spreadsheet to make sure that you don’t contact the same person twice and also if the person responds and seems receptive, you can reach out again in a month or so and say hi just checking in wondering if anything has come up. So that is my recommended tactic. You can also contact graphic designers. They do not hire PAs but they might know of something. And also know that the art department coordinators keep a spreadsheet of available Art PAs and they communicate with each other. So if you reach out to someone and they do not have any availability, they might know someone who is looking to hire someone. And as far as places that you can look for work, there isn’t a ton, but you can try these places. ArtCube is kind of like Craigslist for film and tv, so you can try posting your availability there or be on the lookout for job availability postings. And then mandy.com, staffmeup, and backstage are all film and tv hiring sites. I found when I tried using them that they didn’t have too much in the way of art department work, but certainly take a look and you can also try looking on Facebook for groups that are about, you can try searching like “ohio film and tv art department,” something like that. So just try putting in key words for your region and the art department and see if you can find any groups because there usually are some where people might be posting. And alternatively, if you aren’t finding work as an Art PA, you can also go for work as a set dec or props PA and use that kind of as a jumping point towards Art PA work. Or really any other department. Set dec and props are just the closest cousins to the art department, but for example, one of the PAs on Maisel started as a costumes PA and decided that she wanted to be in the art department, so she went over to the art department one day, introduced herself, and the next season she got hired as an art PA. So however you can get your foot in the door is a good way to get your foot in the door.

ART PA WORK

So generally, art PAs work from 8 am to 6:30 pm. You do have to be on site and cannot be remote because there is so much hands on work to be done. Examples of that being, trimming prints, so just like trimming the white edges off prints, mounting those graphics onto substrate like matboard is a common one that we use. Wrapping graphics around items that need to be covered. So an example of that could be you have a stack of magazines and we don’t need to see inside of the magazines so it’s okay if they’re still the same on the inside, but we will see the outsides, so we wrap them in kind of like a label to go over the outside and make sure it fits into this world without having to make an entire magazine from scratch. Writing on gak. You will see an example of gak on t right. Gak stands for general area coverage. I know it’s a c, we use a k, I don’t know that’s just how it’s spelled. And so examples of that are mail, paperwork, just anything that helps fill the space. So in that example of set decoration in teh office, there’s tons of this kind of stuff. And you probably won’t see everything up close. Like for example, there’s a cancellation mark on one of these pieces of mail from 1921. That’s just the stamp that we had, you probably won’t see that ever. So it’s really just for the purpose of creating a really believable world when you step back. Research. You might be asked to looked up images of something specific so it can be used to make design choices, you might be to see if something existed at a certain time, things like that. Ordering materials, both for the office and say, ordering paint for the scenics to paint walls with. Getting lunch. We get lunch ordered for us every day, so the PAs help with making sure it gets to the office. Doing deliveries and pick up runs of stuff that we need. Bringing items to set, distributing drawings. Drawings are essentially architectural plans for the sets. Set lists and work notes are also items that we distribute to make sure everyone they have all the information they need about how a set will be built. You might be assisting the Art Department Coordinator with payroll. You might help stock crafty. Crafty is our term for craft services slash food services. So stocking the office with snacks. Stocking the art department with materials we use and making everything organized. So a note that you cannot do graphics as a PA, but you can do graphics-adjacent work. So an example of that being making mail like this or filling out fake paperwork or if the production ever wants something to be used for like you know they have a wrap party and they want a poster made for the wrap party, you could make that because it’s not going to be seen on the screen, so that’s okay to do. Occasionally, not usually all that much, you might be asked to work on a weekend day. And you can really utilize this time to learn more about graphics. If you know, you want to learn about how the graphic designers do photo comps and you want to see them photoshop some stuff, you can ask if you can observe them doing that if things are slow enough. You can try making your own version of a graphic from the script. Or you can also try making what I call master copies, which is the term that’s usually used in painting when artists will copy stroke by stroke the work of someone who is more established. And I think that’s really a great way to really delve in and understand how things are made and why things are made the way they are. Oh yes and also just let the graphic designers know and anyone else that you are really interested in graphic design. They’ll try to weave you into projects as they can and it’s good for them to know that because if they see you doing really good work, once you are eligible to do graphics work, they would probably love to hire you in a future situation where they can. And so generally art PAs make just about minimum wage or close to it. You typically will be working 11 hours but you will always get paid for 12 and so since anything over 8 hours is overtime, those last 4 hours are paid at time and a half. So cumulatively, it’s not the worst, but hourly, it is quite low. So in addition to your hourly rate, you will also be paid usually $20-25 per week for you to bring in your own laptop. I’ll go into kit fee and what that means later, but as a PA, you are expected to bring in your own computer. Lunch and crafty slash snacks are provided and as I said, the pay is on the low side and the hours are long, so those can be restrictive factors for some. So just keep that in mind.

829 ENTRANCE EXAM

So in New York, you have to go through an exam process, also for Boston too. If you are outside of this area, it might be that you have another sort of exam process that you have to go through. It might be that there is no exam process, that it’s just a portfolio review, it might also be that you are required to have a certain number of hours or credits to your name before you are accepted. So this is something that can really vary depending on where you are working. So this is just specific to New York and Boston. So for 829, you will be applying to the computer artist category, which as I said earlier, is the same thing as graphic design. The exams are held twice a year and the whole process takes 4 months if everything goes well. There are several stages and so you are expected to pass all stages to pass. If you do not pass any of the stages, you can restart the exam in the next round at that same stage and go from there. And there’s no limit on how many people are accepted. So if everyone who applies is ready to start work as a graphic designer, then they will accept everyone. So there is no number assigned to this. And it is beneficial to have film or TV experience when you start this exam process, but it is not necessary. For me personally, I did not yet have my first job when I started the exam. I did get my first job part way through so that did help me towards the end. But just know that it’s nice to have, it definitely helps you, but you can start it before you have gotten your first job. And it’s really important to follow the directions carefully and submit everything on time. There is a very detailed PDF online that will tell you everything you need to know about this exam process and you know, following directions and doing everything on time is something that’s really important in your future graphics job. Timing and getting everything to set that needs to be on set and following the directions you’ve been given is really important in that work, and so it’s also really important in this exam process. And you know, as far as what the committee is looking for in the applicant, they really just want to know that you have strong fundamental skills and that you are ready to hit the ground running and go. You don’t need to be a perfect graphic designer at the time you apply, they know that over time, you will develop skills, but as you stand as an applicant, that you are ready to start work. So if you have really solid Illustrator and Photoshop skills, if you understand what this job is, and if you show that you are genuinely interested and invested in this career path, those are all really good signs for the committee. So if everything goes well and you pass, there are some forms you fill out, you pay a $500 initiation fee to join the union, and $330 in dues and fees, you will get sworn in, you will go through a seminar that is run by the computer artists that will kind of give you a crash course on everything you need to know to start work, and then you can start working. So it is possible to join the union without going through the exam, but the initiation fee is about $3000 more and it is pretty unlikely for that to happen. You do need to have a job offer basically, so someone would have to say, I see you person who has never worked in film or tv, do you want to be a computer artist. So that’s pretty unlikely. It is possible though, so just know that the initiation fee is much higher and it’s just generally unlikely.

THE EXAM PROCESS - STAGE 1

So the first stage of the exam process is the prescreening portfolio. And so if you feel like you are ready to start the exam process, know that this is due September 2nd, which is coming up pretty soon, so if you feel like you want to get started, yeah now’s your time, there’s only a few weeks until September 2nd. So for this stage, you will be asked to submit some forms, your resume, a $200 application fee, and your prescreening portfolio. And so I have items required in that portfolio listed out on this little sticky note.  And so there will be more direction on the PDF given online of what exactly you need, but basically, this is really just an untimed portfolio practice round kind of where they just want to see what you’re capable of and where you’re at in your technical skills. And so because it’s untimed, you can really take your time to do really good tidy work and make sure that the work that you share is really representative of your skillset.

THE EXAM PROCESS - STAGE 2

So, let’s pretend that goes great, congratulations, you are onto stage 2, which is the practical exam. Currently this is done remotely over Zoom, or sorry, over email. They’ll email you the things you need to create. So on October 15th for this next round, which is a Saturday, you will get an email at 9 AM with a list of specific things for you to make and you will be expected to email those things back by 3 PM that day. So that’s just 6 hours for you to do what is really a decent amount of work. So it’s supposed to represent about half of what is a busy day for us. So they want to know that not only can you keep up with the technical abilities or technical demands of this job, but also that you can keep up with the pace and do good work under time constraints. So the projects will have specific parameters for you to follow. Everything can be created with Illustrator and or Photoshop. And you digitally submit everything, so you don’t need to print anything, you don’t need to physically make any of it, it’s all just sent to you and sent back digitally. You do not need to be 100% perfect to pass. I was not and it still turned out okay. So really just focus on following the instructions, being efficient, really showing what you are capable of, and if there is anything you don’t know, just make your best educated guess at it. And really try to show attention to detail and if you find yourself really in a time crunch, try to prioritize doing good work over rushing.

THE EXAM PROCESS - STAGE 3

So  great, that’s gone well and you can continue well and you can continue onto stage 3. And so stage 3 is the complete application submission. And for this, you submit some forms, you’ll be asked to submit 3 letters of recommendation, and your resume. If you have not yet gotten film or tv work and your letters of recommendation from people outside of film and tv, which was the case for me since I did not yet have my PA job at this point, you can ask for them from anyone who knows your work. Just make sure that you give those people kind of a brief description of this work so that they can say what skills they’ve seen in you that apply to this job.

THE EXAM PROCESS - STAGE 4

And so then from there, the last stage is the final portfolio review and interview. This will be scheduled with you ahead of time and you’ll be asked to email your presentation in before you present so the board can go through everything and review it before you show them your work. Before you do all this, you are allowed to ask a graphic designer you work with to review your portfolio with you beforehand. So that’s totally allowed that you are welcome to get feedback from someone before you submit and present your work. There will be 5 computer artists and sometimes an exam chair sitting in on your presentation. And they will give you 20 minutes to present your work and explain your work and how you created it and then they will ask you some questions about it and also ask you some questions about your background and your skillset. So all of this currently is done over Zoom and so it’s all remote, done from the comfort of your home. And so you will have a few different things you need to include in your portfolio as well as some things that you can choose on your own. The required elements are listed on the sticky on the right, so there are some photo composites that you will be making and you will also be making a complete project, which is really a self directed portfolio project that you can decide on specifics so that it really represents your skillset and what you’re interested in. So this is really a chance for you to show what makes you special as a graphic designer. So you know while you can do that for your complete project, it is important to make sure that the whole body of work that you show does include a variety of things like how you made them, what they look like, what time period they’re from, what kind of item you’re making, and how you made them. So just make sure that it demonstrates that you have versatility, because that’s a really important trait to have in this field. Optionally, you can make a few pieces physically if you would like so that you can both photograph it as a 3D object and also hold them up to the camera to show that you really have the ability to make it physically. Examples of that that would be good for would be something like a die cut box. You know if it’s just a poster and you’ve printed it out, it doesn’t really say thing, but making a die cut and showing that you know how to create that is a really cool skill to show, so that’s an example of something you could make. Any other kind of packing, anything that shows that you used physical skills to incorporate into your final product is great. And so you know, outside the required elements, you can include any work that you’ve done in corporate or freelance graphic design, you can include examples of illustration, animation, website design, anything that includes skills that would be used in this work is great to have. And you know the committee doesn’t just want to see your final result, they want to see how you go to that result, so they love to see any sketches, anything that is representative of your process is great to show. There isn’t a set number of items that you need, so really just focus on creating a good amount of content to fill 20 minutes.

GETTING GRAPHICS JOBS

So the exam has gone well, you are admitted, congratulations, and now you can get graphics work. So as I said before, you can be hired by the lead graphic designer and or the supervising art director. There are not public job listings like there are with corporate jobs so everything is really by word of mouth and by private listings. So the ways you can get jobs are by marking yourself available on an availability spreadsheet that the computer artists keep, you can reach out to art directors with your portfolio and resume from a report that you will be able to access as a member. There is a redacted screenshot of that on the right, so it will show you what is being produced currently and what is going to be produced in the upcoming months usually, so it will show you the title of the production, and who is signed on for it at the moment, the start and end dates, and where it will be shooting. So this a way you can kind of do some digging for contact information and contact people from this list. So it does take a lot of legwork, especially at the beginning to become employed. There’s a lot of work you have to do on your end to start to get jobs. But as you gain experience and more people get to know you and just become established in your field, you will be reached out to more with job offers. So it does get easier as time goes on. And so when you do contact someone who would like to potentially hire you, they will organize an interview with you. They’ll give you the basics of the production, and they will ask about your experience just like any typical interview. And to know that when you’re interviewing for first or second or you know just your first batch of jobs and you know if you feel self conscious about being new, just know that you are being interviewed because this person saw really great work in your portfolio and thinks taht you are capable. So don’t be too self conscious about it. Really put yourself in a position that makes you a great person to hire, make sure that your portfolio is great and resume is polished and you should be okay. And a note also that over time, your resume will just become a list with dates and names. So if you see resumes of anyone who is established in this field, it’ll just be a list basically. So that is typical. When you’re starting out, you can keep the format you have, just make sure you tailor any descriptions of work to show what relevant skills and experience you have. So you might be hired as what’s called a “day player” or you might be hired for a whole season or production. If you are hired as what’s called a day player, it’s kind of just like filling in for a few days, so that’s kind of just a temporary role, versus being hired full time for a whole production. Typically, productions last about 4-5 months, but that can really vary. And know that there is often very little heads up before you start work. Of the three jobs I’ve had so far, the most heads up I’ve had before starting work is a week, so things happen very quickly. It is very hard to plan anything, so just know that things change very quickly. And if you go through the 829 exam process, you’ll go through that New Member Seminar, so more information will be provided at that point on all sorts of things like vendors and how to read scripts and all sorts of things like that. So more information will be provided at that point.

N.Y. LOCATIONS

Um, so if you’re working in New York, there are a few places that are typical to work. These are popular production facilities. So there’s places such as Steiner Studios, Kaufman, Silver Cup, and Broadways Stages. Most of those are in Brooklyn and Queens. And so if you’re looking for a central place to live, good points to look at are Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Long Island City, since those are kind central to those studios. There is some work in New Jersey. They’ve reinstated some tax credits that have incentivized production over there and they’re developing studios, so there is some stuff over in Jersey. There is a little in Connecticut too but it is mostly lower budget. Same with Boston, there is some stuff up there too but it does tend to skew lower budget than New York. Having a car is helpful but not necessary. Probably about half the people I work with have a car, so it really depends where you live. And you know, parking is typically available at studios, not always. But even if it is available at the studio, keep in mind that you also have to park when you get home, which is a really big pain in the butt in New York, so just keep that in mind. Alternatively, you can rely on public transit or carpools, but a note on public transit is that as you can see in this satellite image, this is Steiner Studios, production facilities take up a lot of room, and so they are typically in less populated areas and typically less populated areas have less public transit, so something to just keep in mind. There certainly are bus routes most places, but they tend not to be super consistent and are a little slow in the city, so just keep that in mind. Also you will see in this image, so all of these light buildings and this building with the black roof, those are all soundstages. So this is Steiner Studios, it has about 30 soundstages, so it is a really big facility. And then this brick building is an office building. And so that is where the art department and many other departments are in this production as well as many other productions. So this is where Maisel is produced, as well as a lot of others. And so typically your office will be in an office building adjacent to the stages and so if you need to go over to the stages to measure something or see how something is working, it’s a pretty short walk away, you can just go over there. Some graphic designers are remote, but most have to work on site. Sorry my dog’s barking. So it can be an option, but for most people you need to be on site because there is so much work that is really hands on and when people have requests, it’s really ideal to be able to have a conversation in person and look at resources together and make decisions in person, so you’ll typically see that the only people who really do remote work are either those with some seniority or those who do screen graphics primarily because if you’re doing screens, they don’t need to be physically made, so that is more applicable to remote work than most graphic design work. Especially if you’re in a city, the work is local most of the time. There’s so much around you that there really isn’t need typically to travel anywhere. Some offices are dog friendly. So far I’ve gotten lucky in being able to take my dog to work, but some are not, so you might have to look into care if you have a dog for them. The dress code is pretty casual I think because you know you have scenic painters walking around with paint splattered torn cargo pants, kind of the overall environment is more casual than a typical office setting.

N.Y. LOCATIONS - MAP

And so this is just a map of common places in New York. You see Steiner Studios, which is where I was just talking about, is in the bottom center, and so that you know most places are within Brooklyn and Queens. There’s a little bit in New Jersey. And then I also have a blue pin on Columbus Circle. And Columbus Circle represents the center of what we call “the zone,” which is a 30 mile radius around this point. And everything within that radius is contained in our contracts and doesn’t include any additional stipulation. And anything outside that range will include additional stipulations and you know you might be compensated for your travel outside of that. So everything inside that is what is considered standard work.

HOURS

Um so typically you will be working 9 to 10 hours a day, maybe more, but I think 10 hours is probably the most common. So that will mean you are likely going to be working from around 8 AM to 5:30 or 6:30 PM. Just with PA work, you are paid time and a half over 8 hours, so by doing 10 hours instead of 8, your pay actually increases by about 30%, so that’s a nice result of working so much. You will have a 30 minute unpaid lunch break and for anyone who works in the office, we get lunch ordered from a restaurant every day and delivered to us. If you were working on set, you would get lunch catered, but for the office, we will pick one or two restaurants and you’ll get to pick what you want to order within usually a $13 to $15 range and the office will pay for it and deliver it to you. And you know depending on COVID restrictions on where you’re working, you might be able to have a group lunch with the department, which is really nice and fun when you’re allowed to do that. I know COVID has kind of changed things, but it is a really nice way to you know have conversation having a busy day and take some time to relax with your coworkers. It can be tricky to take vacation time or leave for appointments when you are on a job. Especially in comparison to corporate work where the schedule is a lot more relaxed and flexible, there’s just so much going on in film and tv and such a regimented schedule that it does become more difficult. It is possible, it just necessitates a lot more planning and making sure that you’re leaving at a time that is good. But of course, you know, if you need to go to the doctor, go to the doctor. Like make sure your wellbeing is your priority, but just know that it is harder to fit into your day. You might occasionally be asked to stay late on days where things just need to get done for upcoming days of production or you might be asked to come in on a Saturday or Sunday. Again, you do get overtime so that’s nice, but it does really suck up all of your free time when that happens, so know that. And as I said you know the hours are long, so if you are a caretaker for either humans or pets, that might mean that you need to make arrangements for care. And we do have all federal holidays off, but they are not paid. We will also typically have Christmas week and one week in April or around then in the spring off. We do have one paid holiday which is MLK day, and for that we are paid 8 hours, but all of the other time off is not paid. So essentially, if you are not working you do not get paid.

RATES

So how much you make is determined by what tier your production is on. So in New York, we call the highest tier “majors” and so that is the highest budget. For that, the rate currently is $83.25 an hour. Below that are tiers 3, 2, and 1, 1 being the lowest, so those pay lower than the majors. If you’re working in Boston, you will see the term “Area Standards” and that is a rate slash contract that has been negotiated specifically for Boston. Some networks will also have their own contracts, examples being HBO and Netflix, so they have negotiated their own rates and they have their own contracts. So generally if you are working in New York and you are getting work consistently, you can expect to make a six-figure income. The range from the lowest tier to the highest tier ranges all the way from $28 an hour to $83 an hour, so there is quite a big range depending on what tier slash budget of production you are working on. You will see on your pay stubs at least in the New York area that your title will be described as assistant art director. We’re not assistant art directors, it’s just that we have the same rate as them, so that will be your title on your pay stub. And then you will be also be given some money for your kit fee. So instead of a production having to buy computers and printers and like all the tools at the start of every single production and lending them out and making sure that they have everything fro everyone, they will just pay you to bring in your own equipment. So I will give more information on this in a bit, but in general, you are paid about $200 a week for that in New York. Your kit fee is not regulated by any contracts, so it is negotiable.  Funds are deducted both on a weekly basis and a quarterly basis that goes towards the union. So if you’re on a majors production, that comes out to 2% of your weekly paycheck, plus $125 per quarter. Your production will also support your IATSE National Benefit Fund, so they will add money to basically the cost of having insurance, so you have a benefits fund account and the production will contribute money to that account. So that goes towards your health insurance, your annuity which is similar to 401k, and your pension. And so when it comes time for taxes, for every production you have been on, you will have a W2 for your hourly wages and a 1099 for your kit fee. So to give you an example of how much you can expect to make, this is if you are in New York and today in 2022, so the rate for majors is $83.25 an hour and if you’re working 9 hour days for a week, your gross wages are just about $4000 minus about $1500 in taxes plus about $200 in kit fee minus $80 in union dues for that 2% of your weekly income comes out to about $2559 a week. So that is quite good. There are some things to keep in mind of why it’s so high that I will go into in a minute and also keep in mind that this is specific to New York. And to the best of my knowledge, I don’t think there is anywhere else that has higher rates than this, so just keep in mind that your rates might be lower and that I think is both attributed there just being a really high cost of living here and also that our local has negotiated a really great rate for us, so just keep that in mind.

KIT

Okay, so your kit. So this is stuff that you are expected to bring that you own, that you maintain, and that you are paid for to be able to use by the production. So it is all maintained by you, no one else uses it but you, and the production will pay you to bring it in instead of for them to have to buy all of this stuff and maintain it. So typically you’re paid about $40-50 for this. Again it’s negotiable, so the higher the value of your kit, the higher you can negotiate for your kit fee. And everyone has a different kit. It really depends a lot on your personal preferences and what kind of work you tend to do and just want you find that you need versus what you don’t need. So the things that are really necessary for everyone are the computer and a printer. Typically 13 to 17 inches is the best for what we create. And then you will also need software, mostly being Adobe Creative Cloud. Most productions but not all use Dropbox, so you might also need Dropbox. Your phone, tape measure, and font library. If you ever need to get new fonts on a production, the production will pay for those new fonts, but it is really helpful to come in with your own set of fonts at the beginning. Nice to have items include things like scanner, Wacom tablet or other drawing tablet, Cricut or Silhouette which are computerized cutting machines, lightbox for tracing, paper trimmer, backup hard drive, Pantone swatch books, reference books, any ephemera you like to reference if you’re on a period production, and any art tools or supplies that you like to use. So the items here are examples of things that I have. Everything is personal to what you prefer, I have a typewriter. It’s because I love doing period design and I really love spending more time than you need to make them super detailed, so that is why I have a typewriter, but it is certainly not expected. I think most people do not have a typewriter in their kit. So this just being an example of your kit being personal to you and what you need to be successful in your job. And all consumables, which are things that are used fresh and then have to be discarded, so things like ink, paper, mounting materials, new fonts, and any stock imagery, are bought by the art department. So you are not responsible for putting ink into your printer, but you are responsible for bringing your printer in.

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