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Old 05-26-2012, 02:04 PM
 
12 posts, read 90,766 times
Reputation: 17

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I'm a Florida college student in my third year studying advertising/public relations and psychology. I really hope to one day have a career doing public relations either in a PR firm that works with film/entertainment clients, or in-house at a film studio. I was just wondering if anyone on this board works at a firm along the lines of film or PR and can give me some tips on how to get my best foot forward to achieve this goal.

What can I do to set myself on the right track as of now as a college student? I am doing internships right now in the fields of PR and marketing but its difficult to find film companies in Florida to intern with.

Has anyone else had the experience of moving out to a big city after college to find their dream job? I know that the film/entertainment and PR fields are really competitive and popular, and the thought of it is pretty daunting.

Also I've always been attracted to life in New York City, but I know that film concentrates around Los Angeles, so of course I would be willing to go wherever my career takes me.
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Old 05-27-2012, 03:07 AM
 
129 posts, read 315,545 times
Reputation: 147
Hey there. I actually have experience in this. Where are you located in Florida? I started my entertainment public relations career while living in Miami. I was an English major and first worked at magazines and newspapers. I then took a BORING corporate pr job to get my foot in the door. After suffering through that and paying my dues, I landed a pr coordinator job at a non-profit theater in Miami, which really got the ball rolling for me. After that, I fought for and finally landed a publicity assistant job at Fahlgren Entertainment, a Ft. Lauderdale pr agency that represented all of the major movie studios. I worked with MGM and Sony, which was fabulous experience. That company has since folded, but Allied Integrated Marketing (look it up) does the same thing now. They have a Ft. Lauderdale office and handle all of the major theatrical releases in South Florida. I think the FTL directors used to work at Fahlgren.

My dream was to work at a studio so I took the plunge and moved to LA in 2005. All of the experience I gained in FL didn't mean much and I had to do administrative assistant jobs at the studios. I did finally get a long-term temp assignment in the Sony Pictures international publicity dept. working on Spider-Man 3, which was fun. After all of the dreaming, the job didn't turn out to be all that. What I loved the most and made it worth it to me was getting to explore the studio lots on my lunch breaks.

If you REALLY want to work in entertainment pr for one of the studios you just have to stick it out. I just got so bored by the 9-5 office environment and hated the commutes in the LA traffic, so I am now freelance writing again and loving it. You will also have to kiss a lot of butt to get ahead, and I am terrible at doing that. My bosses (presidents and vice presidents of publicity) didn't seem very happy and had to work 24/7, and I just didn't want to aspire to that.

Having said that, I would just get as much pr experience as you can while in Florida. Internships are a great way to start. Depending on where you live, check out Allied. Also, offer to help out in a local theater's pr and marketing department - any type of entertainment experience will help. Oh, and develop your writing skills - it'll come in handy when writing press releases and a great portfolio will set you apart from other pr assistant wannabes. When you get to LA, start by temping at a studio (in any department, you can't be picky at first) and work HARD. Prove yourself and then try to get an inside scoop on pr jobs. I devoted about 4 years of my 20s to getting an entertainment pr career going and had a blast doing it. Trust me, all of the applying, making contacts and interviewing was a full-time job full of ups and downs! I would be in tears when I didn't get a job I coveted, and flying on cloud 9 when I did. Just enjoy the ride.

Even though I don't work in entertainment anymore, I still LOVE living in LA! If anything, pursuing the career brought me to my "home." Hope this helped!

Last edited by summerwriter; 05-27-2012 at 03:24 AM..
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Old 05-27-2012, 02:42 PM
 
12 posts, read 90,766 times
Reputation: 17
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the awesome reply!! I'm so glad to hear from someone who's been in my position. I go to school in Orlando, FL right now. Mainly I just wanted to hear from someone, because I always hear stories about people making the move to a big city and working as receptionists at the studios they want to work for to start off, and I just wanted to know after all the time spent on those "foot-in-the-door" jobs, will I eventually get to where I want to go. I checked out Allied Integrated Marketing, and they're pretty much what I was looking for. Thank you for the heads up!

Also, did you leave the entertainment industry because you felt like it wasn't for you after you experienced it? What were the negative aspects of working in entertainment PR?

Thank you again!!
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Old 05-27-2012, 11:00 PM
 
129 posts, read 315,545 times
Reputation: 147
No problem! I'm so glad that my experience could help someone. Hmmm, I left the industry because I realized that I really am more of a writer than a publicist. I started out as a writer and my favorite aspect of pr was writing press releases - I'm shy and was never good with calling people and straddling that line between being pushy and persistent. Another big reason is that I really feel that I wasn't cut out for the 9-5 office thing. I'm much, much happier working from home as a freelance writer, especially now that I'm a new mom.

If I HAD to work in an office again, it would definitely be in a movie studio or entertainment pr agency - those were the best jobs I had, so don't be discouraged. By my late 20s, I had to decide if I wanted to become a senior publicist or even VP or whatever, or pursue my writing career. If you have the desire to work in a studio I think you should definitely give it a try - I had to do it because I never wanted any regrets.

One of the negative aspects of working in ent. pr was the kiss-butt factor, which I mentioned. I'm just not good at it, and you need to know how to really get on a boss' good side to hold on to your job during layoffs and stuff. Other industries are probably like that. I was a pro at interviewing, though. Another negative was the occasional long hours, like on days when new movies are released. When I worked at Fahlgren, I had to be at work by 5 am on those days to get the reviews to the LA studios. You'll have to work really late during special events, such as film premieres, but that can be fun.

You WILL have to do a lot of admin type work at first for a while, but it should pay off if you really, really want to be successful. I was pretty close to getting that full-time studio publicity job, but quit it all after the Sony temp job. As for a timeline, I started working at the theater in 2003 and was in the Sony pr department by early 2007. One of the hardest parts was going from having my own office in Ft. Lauderdale and working movie screenings, to answering phones when I first arrived in LA. Your experience will count, but you'll have to prove yourself all over again.

Wow, I guess I should write a book about this, LOL. Good luck with Allied if you decide to pursue that. It might be a good idea if you want to stay in FL for a few years after graduating.
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Old 05-28-2012, 11:52 PM
 
12 posts, read 90,766 times
Reputation: 17
Wow! Congrats on your new baby! Thank you so much for all the details! This is exactly what I've been searching for. So many people make it seem like it's impossible, so thank you for the encouragement. Best of luck to you, and hopefully I'll still be able to get advice from you in the future when I make my jump into adulthood lol! Thanks again!
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Old 05-30-2012, 02:12 AM
 
129 posts, read 315,545 times
Reputation: 147
Thanks! It's definitely not impossible - you just have to put your mind to it! Good luck with your career- keep us updated.
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