by Larry Richman
October 4, 2006 2:04 PM

First, it might help to know how I got started. I've been in the business for about 30 years and have done many jobs and had many titles along the way, so it's hard to summarize it in a short paragraph or two.

Basically, I spent many many years as a performer first. I started out as a radio dj in college and then at a professional radio station. I was also a record producer, recording engineer, concert promoter, band manager, club booking agent, and I started my own record label.

The union I had to join for radio artists (AFTRA-SAG) was the same union as for TV and movie actors (models too), so that opened the door for me to appear in films and get involved in the film industry. So that's my experience in a nutshell.

Now as far as getting into the industry is concerned, the 3 most important things are education, experience, and knowledge about how things work.

Do you have schools there where you can take classes in film or television? Many colleges and universities (and some high schools) have courses of study in broadcasting and communications. That's a good place to start.

Are you more interested in the business side of it or in front of the camera? If you want to act, you should try to keep on the lookout for auditions for parts in local plays or ads, or even as an extra in film or television projects. Sometimes they are posted in local newspapers or online.

Whether you want to act or just be on the other side of the camera, you may want to go on Amazon or to a local bookstore or library and ask for a book about how the business works. I've recommended several books on the industry, and there isn't one in particular that's better than the others, so I usually just recommend going to Amazon and looking around.

Perhaps there is a local organization you can join, like a union. I joined AFTRA-SAG, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists-Screen Actors Guild. For stage performers there is Actors Equity. In Canada there is ACTRA. Writers have the Writers Guild, and so on. In most cities where there is a chapter of AFTRA-SAG (you can just look online or in a phonebook), you can just give them a call and ask for help. They will be friendly and direct you to the resources that will be best for you.

Finally, in addition to those 3 things, who you know and being in the right place at the right time are the final points. Try to meet people in the business. In person, by phone, mail, email, etc. Anyone at all. And ALWAYS ask them, "who else can I talk to?" That's called networking. Never ever leave a meeting or a conversation without getting another name of someone else. Then just keep going.

The rest is luck. Be persistent and don't give up, if that's what you really want to do.

The most important quality to have is to be considerate of others. Treat people the way you'd like to be treated. And then anything can happen.