Assignment 1 Stepp

Bill Kelman
8650 Rio Grande Blvd. NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
Primary: 505-404-0116
E-mail: Bkelman@aol.com

1. Can you describe your job?
Many things, Location Manager, which finds and maintains locations for movies, making sure people aren’t pissed after crew leaves.

Line producer, keeps budget for movies and helps to make sure everything moves along.
Commercial Director, Writing Consultant on Feature Films overseas.

2. How did you get started in the business?
My parents were involved in Community Theatre, and helped paint sets. I went to college at the University of Wisconsin, took a film class, and liked it. I remembered my work with the community theatre, and wanted to keep doing that sort of thing. I started taking more film classes, started working for the local PBS affiliate. I then studied under a Broadway Lighting Designer and moved to L.A. as a PA for ABC Sports on the weekends.

3. How do you tell someone over you (your boss) that you can’t accomplish an assigned task?
Just give them the facts, and try to rethink a new solution with the boss. Just be straightforward and sit down and talk to them. If they’re any good, they should know if an assigned task is undoable anyway.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student that is just starting out?
While you’re in college, work on as many productions as you can, and try to get experience overall. A lot of times student productions don’t know what they’re doing, and try to learn as much from your mistakes as possible. Try to work in as many different areas as you want, volunteer if you have to, and just get something to put on your resume. I also worked for a lot of trade publications and was a freelance journalist for a while.

5. So you did work overseas. Does the globalization of everything help that? What with the internet and teleconferences and such?
There’s a lot of work overseas, and some of them really like Americans, and they go to us for a lot of help. A lot of writers of foreign films just can’t make dialogue like the Hollywood system is used to, and they often need consultants to give them a hand. It’s a good market.