How film majors reel in the contacts, get creative in job search

Dan Wittenburg has worked a unique job or two since he received his associates degree from a community college near his home in Minnesota. He's running around, struggling to makes ends meet--literally. For one job, he helped film a pheasant hunting show for the Sportsman Channel where he chased after the hunters. "I lost like five pounds in two days because I was running around all the time," said Wittenburg.

Wittenburg's story mirrors other film majors struggling to break into the competitive industry. In a tough job market, film graduates have to get creative in their job search. While some turn to school for help, others try the opposite and call it quits on college.

Wittenburg quit an editing job to seek more interesting freelance work and since then he's been with multiple companies from smaller, independent producers to larger ones such as MTV Networks. His pay averages around $300 each day when he's working with a corporate company on a project, but he gets paid less for small budget, independent projects. "I just went there and shot," he said. "For half of those shoots, they don't tell you what you're working on. It's just work. They tell you to throw a light up there, you throw a light up there."