Bill Garvey, of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, leads the Intro to Working in Film workshop for attendees at Ohio Means Jobs, Feb. 23, 2026. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell

Learn about working in Cleveland’s growing film industry – and even get some training for entry-level production assistant jobs – at a special workshop run by the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.  

Ward 4 Cleveland City Council member Kris Harsh announced the workshop at a recent Ward 4 community meeting. The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11. 

Attendees will learn about the different positions available at the local filmmaking level with many paying more than $35 per hour.  

“The introductory workshop is designed to give you a taste of the environment, what to expect in the movie business, what skills are needed,” explained Bill Garvey, president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. “It’s an easy entry point to then – if you’re interested in making this your career – to go on and take our free, all-day in-depth immersive class.” 

What will you learn at the workshop? 

Garvey begins the workshop with a history of Ohio’s close connections to the film industry moving up through today. He then explains all the different roles a film crew requires, with special emphasis on local crew positions. 

If you watch the credits at the end of a film that was shot in multiple locations, you’ll often see crews labeled by their city, like “Cleveland, Ohio Crew.” Each city will have the same job positions noted in their credit list, like “key grip,” or “makeup artist,” but with local names in those jobs.     

“One of the essential parts of being competitive in this industry is having a trained, skilled workforce that’s able to do this work,” Garvey said. “When a producer is looking at all the different [film location] choices, they only look at places that have a skilled [local] workforce.” 

Training the next generation  

Garvey said productions come to Cleveland “because we have a trained workforce that’s able to do the job.”

Garvey said this is because it’s more cost-effective for film companies to work with local crews. “They don’t want to bring everybody with them,” he said. 

Maintaining that trained workforce is important. “We have to be proactive on that,” Garvey added. That means saying up to date on technology and training “the new generation that’s coming in.”  

Garvey’s presentation in the intro workshop moves into direct training for entry-level production assistant roles. He gave workshop attendees paper examples and taught them how to read and understand all the paperwork associated with a production, like call sheets, shooting schedules, and DOODs (Day Out Of Days reports, or the actors’ work schedules).   

‘Freelance’…is not a dirty word’

Garvey emphasized that anyone with entry-level job skills can join a film crew. “You can make a living in production here, you know,” Garvey told Signal Cleveland. “Part of it is getting the word out that there is an opportunity here that maybe you haven’t considered before.”

Garvey said it’s completely realistic to make a six-figure income working freelance as a member of a local film crew. Most of those who are steadily employed in the industry belong to a union. 

“‘Freelance’… is not a dirty word,” Garvey said. “We compete very well for this business, especially in an environment where perhaps there’s a contracting economy, and the rates in this industry are pretty, pretty attractive and stable at the moment.” 

Participants in a February workshop included community members working with the workshop’s host, Ohio Means Jobs, to find work, and small business owners looking to develop relationships with film companies coming to town.   

The March 11 workshop is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Estabrook Recreation Center, 4125 Fulton Road. For more information, visit the Greater Cleveland Film Commission website.