My account

You control your data

We use cookies to tailor the experience of creating resumes and cover letters. For these reasons, we may share your usage data with third parties. You can find more information about how we use cookies on our Cookies Policy. If you would like to set your cookies preferences, click the Settings button below. To accept all cookies, click Accept.

Settings Accept

Cookie settings

Click on the types of cookies below to learn more about them and customize your experience on our Site. You may freely give, refuse or withdraw your consent. Keep in mind that disabling cookies may affect your experience on the Site. For more information, please visit our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

Choose type of cookies to accept

Analytics

These cookies allow us to analyze our performance to offer you a better experience of creating resumes and cover letters. Analytics related cookies used on our Site are not used by Us for the purpose of identifying who you are or to send you targeted advertising. For example, we may use cookies/tracking technologies for analytics related purposes to determine the number of visitors to our Site, identify how visitors move around the Site and, in particular, which pages they visit. This allows us to improve our Site and our services.

Performance and Personalisation

These cookies give you access to a customized experience of our products. Personalization cookies are also used to deliver content, including ads, relevant to your interests on our Site and third-party sites based on how you interact with our advertisements or content as well as track the content you access (including video viewing). We may also collect password information from you when you log in, as well as computer and/or connection information. During some visits, we may use software tools to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, time spent on certain pages and page interaction information.

Advertising

These cookies are placed by third-party companies to deliver targeted content based on relevant topics that are of interest to you. And allow you to better interact with social media platforms such as Facebook.

Necessary

These cookies are essential for the Site’s performance and for you to be able to use its features. For example, essential cookies include: cookies dropped to provide the service, maintain your account, provide builder access, payment pages, create IDs for your documents and store your consents.

To see a detailed list of cookies, click here.

Save preferences

Filmmaker Resume—Examples, Template & 25+ Writing Tips

Lights, camera, action! Too cliché? Once you’re in that chair with that beret and megaphone, you can write a better one. You’ll need a winning filmmaker resume to make that

Bart Turczynski
Editor-in-Chief
Filmmaker Resume—Examples, Template & 25+ Writing Tips

Is your filmography something that film buffs rattle off to impress their dates? No?

 

Then you’ll be needing a filmmaker resume in the meantime—

 

One that shows a firm hand and steady vision.

 

Whether encoded in 8K HDR or lovingly etched in silver halide—

 

Your filmmaker resume is the opening shot on your career.

 

Here’s how to frame it for best effect.

 

In this guide:

 

  • A filmmaker resume template better than most.
  • How to create the perfect filmmaker job descriptions for your resume.
  • How to edit together a resume for filmmaker jobs that stands out in high contrast.
  • Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing a filmmaker job.

  

Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder with 20+ resume templates and create your resume now.

 

Create your resume now

 

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOWfilmmaker resume example

What users say about ResumeLab:

I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.”
Patrick

I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan 

My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George

Create your resume now

 

Looking to get into graduate school? The theater? Teaching? We’ve got all the guides a career-jump-cut-loving filmmaker could want:

 

Filmmaker Resume Template

 

Edmond S. Carter

Filmmaker

 

Personal Info

Phone: 803-418-7669

E-mail: edmondcarter@reslab.com

linkedin.com/in/edmondscarter

www.edmond-s-carter.film

 

Summary

 

Efficient filmmaker with 5+ years’ experience working with mid-sized crews on projects for film and television. Seeking opportunity to bring unique vision into harmony with Silenced Arms Media’s catalog. At Skidstone Media, streamlined production schedules, saving two weeks and almost 10% of the budget, delivered 98% of projects on time and 87% of projects under budget.

 

Experience 

 

Director

Skidstone Media, Los Angeles, CA

2017–2020

 

  • Streamlined the production schedules of two parallel crews, saving two weeks and almost 10% of the budget.
  • Personally edited over 77 hours of footage using Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve.
  • Delivered 98% of projects on time and 87% of projects under budget.
  • Interviewed and hired 11 new crew members.

 

Cinematographer

Electric Ladybug Media, San Francisco, CA

2015–2017

 

  • Reduced the overheads for a documentary miniseries by 35% by creatively substituting stills and archival footage for reenactments.
  • Planned shooting schedule to maximize natural light on location, cutting two full days of shooting.
  • Discovered three key shooting locations for a period drama, reducing costs by over $200,000.

 

Education 

 

BA in Film & Television Production, USC Sunnydale

2011–2015

 

  • President of the Betamax club, 2012–2015
  • Won People’s Choice Award at final project film showing, 2015

 

Awards

 

  • Giles’ Cerebral Film Award for “Downstream Monotone”, 2018
  • Hellmouth Horror Award for “Pavlov’s Dogs Bite Back”, 2015

 

Independent Projects

 

  • “Downstream Monotone” (2018) – Short Film (Writer, Director)
  • “Cuddly Pharma” (2015) – Parody (Director)
  • “Rapture Times” (2014) – Online Documentary (Director)
  • “Pavlov’s Dogs Bite Back” (2014) – Short Film (Writer, Editor)

 

Key Skills 

 

  • Scheduling
  • Editing
  • Lighting
  • Open source software: Shotcut, DaVinci Resolve, Kdenlive, Blender
  • Proprietary software: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Leadership
  • Time management

 

Now here’s how to write a filmmaker resume that gets standing ovations:

 

1. Choose the Right Filmmaker Resume Format

 

You don’t just start filming without making hundreds of decisions first.

 

The biggest ones involve framing the narrative and—

 

Choosing a format.

 

It’s the same with your filmmaker resume:

 

Sketch out the overall structure first, order your sections, and move onto blocking out each act.

 

Here’s how to make your resume format clean and clear:

 

Filmmaker Resume Format

 

 

Make writing your resume easier by using a resume builder. Choose a modern resume template that’s easy on the eye.

Expert Hint: When it comes to preserving your layout, PDF is like a Region 0 DVD whereas *.docx is like a cardboard box filled with analogue tapes, unlabeled HDDs, and clumps of Post-It notes. That said, always check the job ad and use whatever format they require.

2. Open With a Tantalizing Filmmaker Resume Objective or Summary

 

How to start a resume? Write a resume profile.

 

It works just like a movie trailer:

 

You need it to pick out the highlights of your resume and show what you’ve got to offer.

 

Got experience?

 

Start with a resume summary.

 

Use:

 

  1. One adjective (efficient, reliable, proficient)
  2. Job title (Director, Editor, Director of Photography)
  3. Years of experience (3+, 5+)
  4. What you bring to the table (creative vision, cost-effectiveness)
  5. Two or three impressive achievements (hired 13 crew members, completed 11 projects under budget)

 

These resume summary examples show how:

 

Filmmaker Resume Example—Resume Summary

Good Example
Efficient filmmaker with 5+ years’ experience working with mid-sized crews on projects for film and television. Seeking opportunity to bring unique vision into harmony with Silenced Arms Media’s catalog. At Skidstone Media, streamlined production schedules, saving two weeks and almost 10% of the budget, delivered 98% of projects on time and 87% of projects under budget.
Bad Example
Creative filmmaker with 5 years’ experience working on projects for film and television. Seeking opportunity to wow Silenced Arms Media. At Skidstone Media, organized production schedules and ensured projects were finished on time and within budget.

Neither example is bad, right?

 

They’re both pretty good—

 

But ‘pretty good’ is always trumped by ‘better’.

 

The first one is better because:

 

  • It’s concrete.
  • It contains quantified resume achievements.
  • It’s focused on what you can do for them.
  • It contains keywords from the job ad (like the name of the company) so that you have an ATS-friendly resume.

 

All well and good, but what if you don’t have any formal work experience?

 

Here’s what:

 

Write a career objective and zoom in on achievements from your studies, private projects, and any volunteer work you’ve done.

 

Filmmaker Resume Objective

Good Example
Passionate filmmaker with experience in leading projects for online publication and social media. Seeking opportunity to bring up-to-date technical knowledge and fresh creative vision to bear on Silenced Arms Media’s projects. Wrote and edited the Hellmouth Horror Award-winning “Pavlov’s Dogs Bite Back”.
Bad Example
Ambitious filmmaker with no formal experience but many amateur projects, including two award-winning ones. Looking for forward-looking studio to spread creative wings.

Once again, the first one wins by including relevant achievements, being specific, and focusing on what you can do for the employer.

Expert Hint: Leave writing your resume profile until last. You don’t start putting together a trailer before the film is mostly finished, it’s the same here.

3. Create the Perfect Filmmaker Job Descriptions and Skills Section

 

There’s a common theme here:

 

Achievements are superstars—

 

Duties and responsibilities just unpaid extras.

 

Give your resume work history an all-star cast.

 

How to write job descriptions for filmmakers:

 

  1. The job ad is your storyboard, re-read it carefully.
  2. Lock focus on all the duties, skills, and attributes mentioned there.
  3. Think of times you used those skills in bringing benefits to employers.
  4. Write resume bullet points that tell those stories, briefly and concretely (with numbers!).

 

These filmmaker resume examples show how:

 

Filmmaker Job Description for a Resume

Good Example

Director

Skidstone Media, Los Angeles, CA

2017–2020

 

  • Streamlined the production schedules of two parallel crews, saving two weeks and almost 10% of the budget.
  • Personally edited over 77 hours of footage using Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve.
  • Delivered 98% of projects on time and 87% of projects under budget.
  • Interviewed and hired 11 new crew members.
Bad Example

Director

Skidstone Media, Los Angeles, CA

2017–2020

 

  • Managed production schedules.
  • Edited footage using Shotcut and DaVinci Resolve.
  • Delivered most projects on time and under budget.
  • Interviewed and hired new crew members.

IMAX vs Super 8.

 

Struggling to capture short and sweet achievements and put numbers to them?

 

Use accomplishment statements to help frame your achievements.

 

Writing an entry-level filmmaker resume?

 

Put the selective focus on achievements from related, non-filmmaker jobs.

 

Achievements are about showing rather than telling—

 

But there’s a place here for telling, too:

 

A list of skills for a resume.

 

Just don’t make your skills section an anthology of skills lists you found online.

 

To give you a sense of direction, here’s a skills list—

 

That you found online.

 

Skills for a Filmmaker Resume

 

  • Budgeting
  • Cost estimation
  • Planning
  • Scheduling
  • Editing
  • Post-production
  • Lighting
  • Project management
  • Open source software: Shotcut, DaVinci Resolve, Kdenlive, Blender
  • Proprietary software: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects
  • Communication skills
  • Collaboration
  • Leadership
  • Visual storytelling
  • Written storytelling
  • Oral storytelling
  • Time management
  • Organization
  • Mentoring
  • Motivation

 

Include only those skills that are relevant to the job ad. It’s called targeting a resume and makes it easier for the document to pass the ATS scan. Aim at a mix of 5-10 soft and technical skills.

 

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

 

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

 

4. Capitalize on Your Formal Training and Schooling

 

Your portfolio counts above all else—

 

But it’d be a mistake to neglect your education.

 

A big mistake, and one that too many filmmakers make.

 

The basics are simple:

 

Degree, school, dates attended.

 

But then:

 

Add bullet points that speak to achievements and skills.

 

This is an example of what and how:

 

Filmmaker Resume Example—Education Section

Good Example

BA in Film & Television Production, USC Sunnydale

2011–2015

 

  • President of the Betamax club, 2012–2015
  • Won People’s Choice Award at final project film showing, 2015

That’s all there is to it and yet—

 

It makes such a huge difference.

 

Low on filmmaker experience?

 

Expand your education section even more by including projects, coursework, and accomplishments that show both technical and soft filmmaker skills.

Expert Hint: Lying on a resume in never a good idea. Experienced recruiters and hiring managers will quickly see through it.

5. Splice Some Extra Sections into Your Filmmaker Resume

 

Look at your work experience and skills sections—

 

Doesn’t quite paint a full picture of your work? Worried you don’t stand out enough on paper?

 

Add one or two extra resume sections:

 

These two filmmaker resume examples show the mark:

 

Filmmaker Resume Sample—Extra Sections

Good Example

Awards

 

  • Giles’ Cerebral Film Award for “Downstream Monotone”, 2018
  • Hellmouth Horror Award for “Pavlov’s Dogs Bite Back”, 2015

 

Independent Projects

 

  • “Downstream Monotone” (2018) – Short Film (Writer, Director)
  • “Cuddly Pharma” (2015) – Parody (Director)
  • “Rapture Times” (2014) – Online Documentary (Director)
  • “Pavlov’s Dogs Bite Back” (2014) – Short Film (Writer, Editor)
Bad Example

Awards

 

  • Giles’ Cerebral Film Award
  • Hellmouth Horror Award

 

Hobbies

 

  • Hosting a YouTube channel on political issues
  • Collecting matchbooks (by mail order)

Is there any doubt? Who would you hire?

 

Hobbies and interests are absolutely fine, but—

 

They have to be relevant—that’s the golden rule for anything you put in your filmmaker resume.

 

One last take—

 

You’ll need a filmmaker cover letter, unless you’ve been asked not to include one.

 

Writing a cover letter isn’t nearly as difficult as a Tarkovsky film. Failing to include one is a great way to end up in the wrong pile.

 

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

 

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

 

Key Points

 

For a filmmaker resume that gets eyes on your portfolio:

 

Use the filmmaker resume template up above. It’s as clean and focused as Mouchette.

Put filmmaker achievementsin your summary/objective, work history, and education sections—you’ve got achievements even if you’re low on paid work experience.

Choose the right filmmaker skills. It’s about what the job ad requires, not what you feel looks best, at least not first and foremost.

Write a filmmaker cover letter. Make it stand out by making it into a highlights reel of achievements, curated with the same passion you bring to your filmmaking.

 

Need more information or clarification on something covered here? Anything to add? Let us know in the comments section below. We’ll be glad to get back to you.

Rate my article: filmmaker
Thank you for voting
Average: 5 (1 votes)
Bart Turczynski
Editor-in-chief at Zety since 2016. His career advice and commentary has been published by the Financial Times, Hewlett-Packard, CareerBuilder, and Glassdoor, among others. With a strong passion for statistics and a background in psychology, Bart makes sure all the advice published on Zety is data-driven.

Was it interesting? Here are similar articles