How to get on a producer’s vendor list (even without much experience)

An acquaintance messaged me and explained that she was in desperate need of a gaffer (person handling all the lighting on set) on her thesis film set. The original one had dropped out. I’m not a gaffer. She was totally fine with that and knew I’d learn on the job. The indie short film was a five day shoot and I did a decent job. I didn’t have all the terminology down. It took me too long to set up C-stands. On more than one occasion, I was around the corner watching YouTube tutorials on how to properly flag a light. I leaned heavily on the director of photography’s expertise and followed his direction. And I lit a silk on fire. Yeah, one of my lights burnt a hole through a silk. Not the best look. But, I had fun and the other people on set seemed to enjoy working with me. 

Over the next few months, I received 2 or 3 messages trying to hire me as a gaffer on other sets. The messages would go something like this: “it was great to work with you on the last film, would you be interested in gaffing this new one?” or “my friend told me you did a great job gaffing on the last film, are you available for this upcoming one?” I’m not a gaffer. I started a fire on set. But, I did a decent job and people seemed to like working with me. 

Getting on a Producer’s Vendor List

There were literally thousands of people who could have done my job better than I did. I just happened to be the only person who was available that the producer had actually met. I knew the producer as she had been a TA in one of my courses. Once, I had spent 5 minutes after class talking to her about how I’m always down to be on set. That’s all it took. Sometimes all you have to do is talk to people and tell them you’re available. One day, someone will drop out at the last minute, and they’ll give you a call. 

Staying on a Producer’s Vendor List

You don’t have to be the best. You don’t even have to be great. You just have to stay on a producer’s list. There are so many talented people in the world. So many people who could do your job better than you. But, there is something about reliability and personality. If someone has worked with you once, it’s always easier to keep working with you than find someone else. Do the best job you can, but don’t tell yourself the lie that you shouldn’t be there. If they enjoy working with you, they’ll bring you back. 

Being on the Producer’s Correct Vendor List

Most of the time I was being hired as a new-media shooter and editor type. But once I was on a producer’s list as a gaffer I became a gaffer to that producer. That’s it. Clients can only see what you’ve done and have difficulty seeing what you could do. You may have the best wedding video on the planet and a music video producer will never hire you. They see what you’ve done as the only thing you can do in the future. “Oh, Hudson, yeah – he’s a gaffer.”