After this contract to make historical documentaries finished, Hill worked for a time in the mail room at Universal ("Somebody told me that was a good way to meet people"). He then got into the training program of the Directors Guild of America, which enabled him to work in television as an apprentice. He observed and worked for over a year on such shows as "Gunsmoke", "Wild Wild West", "Bonanza" and "Warning Shot". "I did a lot of shows for a couple of weeks, they would rotate you through," he says.