FAQs

  • Our training is free for Angelenos who are new to college and pursuing their first credential. Through our LACCD partners, all first-time, full-time students qualify for LA College Promise, which covers the prerequisite coursework required for the program.

    If you’re not a first-time college student or resident of Los Angeles, you’re still welcome to enroll, but you may have standard community college tuition and fees to pay on top of the other program expenses noted below. Students will need to apply for the LA College Promise.

    • Read all of the requirements here.

    While the training is free, living in Los Angeles isn’t.

    • If you want the program to lead you to a long career in the industry, you’ll need a plan to obtain your own vehicle and drivers license first. This is a priority.

    • Before starting the program, candidates should plan ahead to ensure they will have stable housing, basic gear, and the ability to prioritize long days training and on set for the duration of the program (1-2 years).

    • You’ll need to arrange work and personal commitments that can flex around the training — not the other way around.

    • Success in this program comes from preparation — knowing what you’ll need before you start, asking for help, and organizing your life around the opportunity.

    Calculate your anticipated cost here.

  • Emerging Crew Member’s Must:

    • Get on a set first before they enroll so they know they’re comfortable with long days, constantly networking, and taking initiative to find their next project.

      • In this industry, you don’t apply for jobs or wait to get called by a job board anymore — you only get hired through the relationships you build on real sets. To put it simply, you must value relationships at your core to succeed in this industry.

      • You can start this relationship building process by joining online groups like this one, by asking teachers or connections for recommendations, or by searching for and reaching out to crew members on social media.

    • Once you’ve set foot on a set and know which department you thrive in, complete our interest form and enroll at a LACCD partner college to complete classes designed in partnership with Hollywood CPR.

  • We’re an industry-embedded training hub in Los Angeles, which means your training won’t happen in one static classroom. You’ll be learning on real stages and real sets across Los Angeles. One day you might be in Downtown LA at 4pm, and the next you might need to be in Burbank at 5 a.m. That’s why we stress having reliable transportation — the industry moves, and you have to be able to move with it.

    If you don’t have access to a vehicle, start there before joining the program.

  • Hollywood CPR classes and productions take place at multiple locations across Los Angeles, often with early call times or late wrap times when public transit is limited. To succeed in the program, students must be able to:

    • Arrive on time to classes, set builds, and productions (sometimes as early as 3:00 a.m.)

    • Transport required tools and materials for their craft

    • Travel between production sites and networking events as needed

    Reliable transportation is essential to meet the professional standards of punctuality and preparedness expected in the entertainment industry. There are no exceptions.

  • At Hollywood CPR, you’re training with the same industry professionals who ideally want to hire you one day. That means you’re interviewing every time you show up.

    If you can’t be on time for class, no one will trust you on a set.
    Attendance and punctuality are major factors in whether you advance.

    The industry standard:

    • Plan to arrive 30 minutes early and be ready to work.

    • Treat class exactly how you’re expected to treat a real call time.

    • In this industry, reliability is worth as much as skill. People hire the crew they can count on.

    If you know you can’t commit to showing up consistently, you should wait to start the program again when you can meet the demand.

  • Class start dates vary by college and semester. Most students begin in:

    • September (Fall Session A)

    • February (Spring Session A)

    • June (Summer Session A)

    Application Deadline:

    • The priority deadline for the LA Promise Program is May 1st but applications may be considered through summer. Read the details carefully here.Hollywood CPR staff cannot answer questions regarding your eligibility for the LA Promise Program.

    • When applying, you’ll be prompted to select a campus. Select your nearest LACCD campus offering FLM PRD 100 next session. Don’t see it offered? Email admissions to request it. Hollywood CPR cannot answer any questions related to course availability.

  • First, Consider Your End-Goal:

    • If your goal is to become a DP or creative lead in the next five years, this isn’t the program for you. Even the most respected DPs like Roger Deakins spent 10 to 20 years working their way up through real crew positions before anyone handed them creative control. There are no shortcuts, and this program won’t create one.

    Get on Set Before You Sign Up:

    • We train you for a career, not to get a job. A craft career means long, physical, high-pressure days. Make sure you like the reality of set life, not the idea of it, before making a multi-year commitment.

    Make sure you’re comfortable with:

    • 12-hour days

    • Fast problem-solving

    • Taking direction

    • Working outdoors, indoors, anywhere

    • Hurry-up-and-wait pacing

    • Heavy lifting and constant movement

    • High expectations from busy professionals

    • Not being the creative lead or decision maker

    • A contractor lifestyle where your reputation decides your next job — and doing your taxes makes you question why you didn’t just major in accounting in the first place.

    If you’ve never been on a set, start there. You need to know you enjoy the pace, the pressure, and the people before committing to a multi-year training pathway.

    When You’re Ready:

    Step 1: After you’ve spent some time on set and know you love it, apply to the LA Promise Program and enroll in FLM PRD 100 at your nearest LACCD campus. If you don’t see this class offered, email admissions to request it.

    • Hollywood CPR cannot answer questions related to LACCD course availability, financial aid, or admissions.

    Step 2: Join Hollywood CPR’s Interest List

  • No. Hollywood CPR is the only IATSE-recognized training program of its kind.

    Our program was designed specifically for students without traditional film degrees, and we do not accept transfer credits from other colleges or film programs unless they are with one of our contracted LACCD college partners.

  • This program was designed for Angelenos and Californians who are first-time college-goers who lack access to the entertainment industry.

    • While anyone may enroll in LACCD’s prerequisite courses designed by Hollywood CPR, a valid U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) is required to advance into Hollywood CPR’s training phases, qualify for studio job placements, and ultimately complete the program with the ultimate goal to be placed on an industry experience roster.

  • To qualify for the Hollywood CPR Certificate and Traineeship Roster, you must choose one pathway and complete it from start to finish.

    The only exception is for students who pivot into the Stagehand pathway after completing the Grip or Set Lighting courses, since those skills directly align with stagehand work.

  • If you want to earn a day rate, treat it like a challenge — because it is.

    • There’s always paid work in this industry in Los Angeles, but people won’t pay you until they’ve seen you in action.

    • Day rates come after you’ve proven you’re reliable, skilled, and worth the investment. Nobody hands that to you. You earn it through the relationships you build. And the easiest place to build those relationships is by helping on set.

    The fastest path to paid work is simple: Show up. Work hard. Make an impression.

    • Early on, that means taking the free and low-paid jobs that let you meet department heads, coordinators, and crew. Those are the people who will recommend you, call you back, and put you on paid gigs as soon as they trust you.

    If you want to get on a set, think like someone who wants to work:

    • Use social media like a tool. Follow film school pages, indie filmmakers, ADs, coordinators, and creator accounts. They post crew calls constantly.

    • Go where filming actually happens. Film schools, indie shoots, creator sets, community film events.

    • Talk to the people who control the call sheets. Student directors, ADs, coordinators, producers.

    • Respond to posts fast and follow up. Half the industry runs on “Who answered first?”

    • Show up more than once. Reliability is the currency that builds relationships.

    • Paid work happens after you’ve built relationships with decision makers and peers, not before.