How I became…

Interested in making your way into the film and TV industries? There are many different routes into a career in the screen arts, from university to traineeships and making your own short films. Hear from actor Tom Cullen, director Tom Harper and trainee editor Ruth Antoine about how they made their career dreams a reality, and what advice they’d give to those starting out.

Ruth Antoine became a trainee editor on Les Misérables after doing a media degree. “Whilst on the media degree, it was so broad I was able to do a bit of journalism, a bit of TV, and we covered film, then I found that – hold on a minute, I quite like film!” After graduating, she applied for a placement scheme where she made short films and discovered she enjoyed editing.

Antoine describes work experience as “the number one thing you have to get” to enter the film industry. Personally, she gained experience as a runner which led onto her trainee editor role. She added that because practice makes perfect, it’s important to develop your skills in your spare time. She suggested using web tutorials to master editing and getting access to the programs you need: “If you love doing something, if you want to become an editor, you have to get the software. Otherwise, how are you going to learn and how are you going to help your friends who are doing music videos?”

Tom Harper got interested in working in film by making short film alongside his Drama degree at university. To get his films out into the world, he submitted them to film festivals, “right from way back when I started making my first shorts, I sent them all out there… I never really got a bite on it but I did get to know the lay of the land and understand what the good festivals were.”

He was surprised to find that when his BAFTA-nominated short film Cubs gained traction, it was still challenging to break into the industry as a director. He recalled “hoping that it would immediately lead to a whole lot of job offers and opportunities and it took a bit longer than that really. It was a slow process and it still took a hustle and a bit of time, but it did certainly expose me to the right people.”

Harper’s top piece of advice for budding directors is getting stuck into making films and being creative. He said: “If you want to be a director, you’ve got to be directing. That means you’ve got to get out there and make films. It doesn’t matter if that’s on a mobile phone or a digital camera that you can blag… whatever means you have, you have got to get out there and be making films and telling stories because that’s the only way you’re going to get that experience.”

Actor Tom Cullen dreamed of acting since he was young, but didn’t have enough confidence to give it a go straight away. He recalls that “it took a lot of time for me to get to a point where I felt that I could go to drama school and apply.” Enrolling in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama aged 22, he was signed by an agent during his third year. Although he received multiple offers, he chose his agent because “we had a very clear relationship and I knew they believed in me as an actor… we work together brilliantly and I know she’s always fighting my corner.”

Cullen’s first year out of drama school was “tough and I wasn’t getting that many auditions”.  So, he says: “I formed my own theatre company, I wrote my own plays. I directed my own shows. You self-generate and you learn and constantly try and evolve and push yourself and then things start happening.” From this experience, he learnt the importance of working hard and being curious: “If you keep on working, if you keep on pushing, your goals are achievable, with or without an agent because if you’re creating work and you need an agent, they’ll come and see you in it. It’s about building up a reputation within a community, the artistic community.”

Recorded at the Breaking & Entering: Tips For Getting Into The Film Industry event presented by BAFTA, BFI and Skillset Craft and Technical Skills Academy, 5 July 2012.

For more inspiring interviews from the worlds of film, games and TV, check out our resources section.