Find other gigs to get by. On your path to become a film director, you will need to develop your resume with other types of directing jobs, like directing music videos, TV shows, and commercials. The paychecks you receive for these jobs won't be in the millions, but these jobs will help to fill out your resume with directing experience. Some of these gigs will pay well and you may even enjoy the work, so don’t turn down a directing job just because it is for a commercial and not a feature length film.