Join Now For Free
Getting started · Stage 1

Start Here

How the industry works and which area is yours

Before you choose a department, understand the whole machine and the three stages of getting into it.

For anyone who has not yet chosen an area. How a film or programme is made and who makes it, the Three Career Stages and why Stage 1 means not applying yet, the sixteen entry-level areas, how experience is gained and the rules on unpaid work, and a planner to choose your Foundations course.

2 hours · 6 modules · 18 lessons

Go PRO to access this courseEvery lesson and resource in Foundations comes with MFJF PRO. Already PRO? Sign in

What you’ll learn

  • Be able to describe the six phases of a film or drama, who runs each, and where the entry-level jobs sit in each.
  • Know the difference between production and non-production, freelance and employed, and which of those lives you are choosing.
  • Have sorted the sixteen entry-level areas into yes, maybe and no on the basis of the daily work, and committed to one or two.
  • Know the four structured routes to experience (work experience, internships, apprenticeships, trainee schemes), the unstructured ones, and the UK worker test that separates a genuine unpaid opportunity from unpaid labour.
  • Have a time and money plan for Stage 1 and Stage 2, and will have taken the Stage 1 self-certification honestly.

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.

Module 1

How a film gets made and who makes it

20 min

The six phases of a film or drama, the departments and companies in each, and the first fork in the road: production or non-production, freelance or employed.

  1. readFrom idea to screen: the six phases8 min
  2. readWho makes it: departments, companies, freelance and employed8 min
  3. checkCheck: the shape of the industry4 min
Module 2

The Three Career Stages

20 min

Sam's framework in depth: what Stage 1 is for, why Stage 1 people must not apply for jobs yet, and what Stages 2 and 3 look like so you know what you are preparing for.

  1. readStage 1: why you must not apply for jobs yet9 min
  2. readStages 2 and 3: what you are working towards7 min
  3. checkCheck: the stages4 min
Module 3

The sixteen entry-level areas

20 min

Every area MFJF runs a Foundations course on, described by the daily work, who thrives and where it leads, with the types of runner as the lens. Then you sort them.

  1. readOn set and in the production office: eight areas8 min
  2. readPost, VFX, commercials and the companies: eight areas7 min
  3. taskTask: sort the sixteen into yes, maybe and no5 min
Module 4

How experience is gained at Stage 1

20 min

Work experience, internships, apprenticeships and trainee schemes; shorts, courses and driving; the UK rules on unpaid work; and a task that finds three real routes near you.

  1. readWork experience, internships, apprenticeships and trainee schemes8 min
  2. readShort films, courses, driving and the rules on unpaid work6 min
  3. taskTask: find three routes this month6 min
Module 5

Money and time

20 min

How long Stage 1 and Stage 2 really take, why people give up, what it costs, how to fund it, and where to look up pay. Then the library for this course.

  1. readHow long it takes, what it costs and why people quit8 min
  2. resourcesThe library: do first to do later8 min
  3. checkCheck: money and time4 min
Module 6

Your plan: choose, commit, certify

20 min

The planner: one or two areas, the matching Foundations course with a start date, your skills, routes and money plan, and the Stage 1 self-certification. Then what to do next on MFJF.

  1. plannerPlanner: your area, your course, your Stage 1 self-certification10 min
  2. readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
  3. checkCheck: ready for Stage 24 min
MFJF PRO

Unlock this course with PRO

Go PRO to open every lesson and resource in this course, and in every other Foundations course.

Sources and references

Where this course comes from. Open any of them yourself.

What this course was written from

Every link checked 19 September 2026.

You are not doing this alone

You have your own personal career mentor

That is us, the MFJF team. Book an MFJF Mentor Session with us every month: we guide you through this journey and answer all your questions, from which job is yours to your CV and your next application.

Book my MFJF Mentor Session

Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Getting started. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to. See your whole MFJF journey, step by step →

  1. My MFJF JourneyOne page for everything MFJF has built, in the order you need it.
  2. My Reading ListThe books, blogs and bodies you have saved, in one place.
  3. Start the Stage 1 course: Getting startedTwo hours on what the job is, how people get in and what to do first.
  4. Get on the HotListPut yourself in front of productions looking for crew.
  5. Join MFJF DayPlayersDay work on productions for crew with the credits and the skills.
  6. Find your role in the career plannersEvery entry-level job by department, with a three-stage planner for each.
  7. Read the career guidesWhat each job is, the day, the way in and the pay: one guide for every role.
  8. See how it all fits on the career maps17 maps of how films get made: the people, the process and the departments.
  9. Who works whereEvery department on a shoot and every kind of film company: who is in each and what they do.
  10. Industry EssentialsThe books, industry bodies, websites and blogs worth knowing, department by department.
  11. Read the MFJF Survival GuidesStraight answers to what everyone starting out asks: how long it takes, what you get paid, and what to do every day.
  12. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  13. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.

Matching Getting started right now

Live from the mentor programme, Industry News and the competitions open now.