Question 1

What is the single biggest suggestion you would give to someone wanting to get into this career?

Yana Rusanova · Accepted Answer

“Never work for free, even at the very beginning. If you are helping out a friend, ask them to cover your gas or give you a little money as an equipment fee. You are giving your energy and time — make sure you are compensated for it.”

Question 2

What’s the #1 mistake people make when trying to get into this career?

Yana Rusanova · Accepted Answer

“Talking, instead of working. Many people talk about what they are going to do, instead of getting on and doing it.”

Question 3

What is the question people should ask about this career but rarely do?

Yana Rusanova · Accepted Answer

“They rarely ask about making the switch from ‘real world’ to the working ‘movie world.’ There’s so little time to do anything outside work so maintaining friends and relationships is a perpetual struggle. And forget about parties!”

Question 4

If you could describe in one word what makes you successful, what would it be?

Yana Rusanova · Accepted Answer

“Industrious.”

Question 5

What does an Art Director do?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

The Art Director on a film must ensure that the visual artistic elements are in sync with each other and in service of the story being told. That means maintaining the cohesiveness of the costumes, makeup, hair, and production design. To that end, the Art Director is in constant communication with the Production Designer, Key Hair and Makeup Artists, and Costume Designer.

Question 6

Is Art Director a hard job?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

In short, yes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve this position with enough time, dedication, and hard work. Every specialty in filmmaking has many more people wanting to do it than there are jobs for it.
With such high competition, it’s important that an aspiring Art Director do all that they can to gain experience, connections, and other skillsets to make them the most desirable candidate for a job.
Once a person has achieved the role of Art Director on a project, the work doesn’t stop. Rather, they must always be hustling not only to ensure the success of their current production but also to increase the odds of them securing the next one.

Question 7

Do Art Directors make good money?

Anna Keizer · Accepted Answer

They certainly can under the right circumstances. A veteran Art Director with union status and great industry connections who works regularly on projects can earn nearly $150,000 in a single year. On average, though, that number is closer to $100,000. That being said, for someone just starting out as an Art Director, they may make considerably less as they build their resume with indie projects that tend to have smaller budgets.

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