Drama Colleges - Would most drama students (from colleges) work on an independent film for free?

Would most drama students (from colleges) work on an independent film for free?

Especially if it is well written and has a good plot?

Public Comments

If you are an actor with an agent. And the agent helped you get the audition. Then you would get paid for it. But if it's just yourself that found the auditon. And are just trying to get credits for your resume, then yeah they would deffinatly do it for free!
I'd say so. Unless the commitment is enormous, I think at that point in their careers most actors just want to get their names out and things to put on their resumes. They aren't equity/guilded yet anyway, so its not like they're legally required to make certain amounts or whathaveyou.
Yeah, a lot of college students work on independent films in order to get material for their reels.
Working on independent films as a student is GREATLY important for you. While you are not paid, you will gain several valuable things from doing it. First off, working outside of school is very different than working in school. This fresh perspective will give you a lot of insight to what you're going for and as such you can prepare yourself in school for these things. A reel for yourself. You'll want to start building one now. Working on an independent film will be a great source as most people who have not will pay to have one done of themselves by a company. As such the quality, scale, and financial input will be far less than an independent (usually). The first step in networking. This is how 80% of your jobs will come about. Ideally you want people to ask you to audition than showing up at ones. You will meet people of every field on set. Take your time to talk to them all and hear what they have to say. People love to talk and hearing their advice is a great conversation starter and a good way to meet people. Realize that even the PA and 'The Grip' will not want to do those jobs forever and will move their way up, start their own companies, and direct. Meeting all those people now sets you up for later and puts you out there.