What you’ll learn
- Be able to explain how a commercial gets made, from the agency script through the treatment, the bid, the PPM and a very fast shoot to post, and where a production company's runner fits in all of it.
- Know the in-house runner's day hour by hour, the documents (callsheet, movement order, PO, treatment) and the phrases (PPM, pack shot, turnaround, video village) you will meet in week one.
- Have a scored skills audit, three named routes into commercials for this month, and a Stage 1 CV outline built against the site's example, with a tailored "why this company" sentence.
- Know who sets the pay and hours (the APA and BECTU), the plain rule on unpaid placements, and the free safety training to do first.
- Have a saved plan, the runner-to-PA-to-coordinator-to-PM path in view, and be able to say Sam's five Stage 1 statements honestly before you go to a mentor clinic and then the HotList.
Where this leads
By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.
Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.
The company and the runner's day
20 minHow a commercials production company wins and makes a job, and what the in-house runner does from first-in to last-out.
- readHow a commercials production company works8 min
- readThe in-house runner's day, hour by hour8 min
- checkCheck: the company and the day4 min
Before day one: skills, paperwork and the language
20 minThe five qualities on every advert and how to build each one now, the documents and phrases of the office, and the ten tips as daily habits.
- readThe five skills and how to build each one now7 min
- readPaperwork, phrases and the ten tips6 min
- taskTask: your skills self-audit7 min
Getting experience at Stage 1
20 minWhere commercials experience really comes from, and the rules on pay, unpaid work, hours and safety before you say yes to anything.
- readWhere commercials experience really comes from7 min
- readThe rules: pay, hours, unpaid work and safety6 min
- taskTask: find three routes this month7 min
Your CV, cover letter and first approaches
20 minWhat a Stage 1 commercials CV contains, the letter that names a director, how to approach a small office without annoying it, and what a reference really is.
- readThe Stage 1 commercials CV and the letter that goes with it8 min
- taskTask: draft your CV outline8 min
- checkCheck: CV, letter and approach4 min
The industry around the role
20 minThe map of clients, agencies, production companies and post houses; the trade press; why commercials lead to features; the ladder from runner to PM; and what the case studies did.
- readThe map: agencies, companies, post houses and the road to features8 min
- resourcesThe library8 min
- checkCheck: the industry and the path4 min
Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2
20 minYour saved plan, the five statements as a self-certification, and what to do next on MFJF.
- plannerYour plan10 min
- readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
- checkCheck: ready for Stage 24 min
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