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Independent filmmakers usually have a hard time making money.... Why? Well, I think it is because most of them are actually artists, rather than business people. So, artist....If you no longer want to be known as a "starving artist" please begin to develop habits that will result in booking more work.
The fact of the matter is that the film industry is just like any other business when it comes to producing content. We NEED customers. We must SEEK our target audience. People must KNOW what we do. This is a numbers game. The more people that you DIRECTLY ask for business, the more gigs you will book.
This model is based on shooting HD video content and photography for: small businesses, music artists, bands, events, short films, YouTube content, documentaries, and feature length films.
As a filmmaker, when people ask me ,"What do you do?" My response is,"I'm a producer." That's when I notice a blank stare. After seeing this same result several times I knew that I had to communicate more effectively. The general public does not know that a producer is responsible for: actors, locations, contracts, craft services, equipment, crew, post production, and everything else it takes to PRODUCE one project. When I explained this information to my potential clients, they took my offer a lot more seriously.
A few of the steps that have increased my chances of booking more work have been:
1. Set solid goals that I want to hit. Sales, income, follow-ups, social media posts, training.
2. Gather a minimum of 3 business cards daily (Follow up with email less than 72 hours)
3. Teach business model to all potential partners/crew so they can book work for us too
4. Write treatments and pitch to businesses about creating a commercial for them
5. Advertise on my personal social media TELLING people what I do
6. Talk to 10 people that I do NOT know daily (Build Relationships)
7. Research, Research, Research. (Potential clients have a NEED; find it)
8. Follow-up with past customers and gage satisfaction
9. Set a minimum of 5 appointments per week to discuss HD content creation
10. Designate a time for follow-ups, marketing emails, and face to face appointments
11. Search the websites on flyers and promotional items from various places in town
12. Update all of contact information on various websites and social media
13. Have a price list, scope of work, and completion times readily available for clients
14. I volunteer on many sets just to meet more people and book future gigs
15. Offer much more than just HD content creation; help with social media too
16. Ask effective, fact finding, open-ended questions to figure out if a person needs my service
In my opinion it is every crew member's responsibility to help book work. A producer and a director will have an extremely hard time trying to do this on their own. It is much more effective when an entire group of people are working closely to book gigs.
Producer, Director, 1st AD, UPM, Gaffer, Grip, Editor, Art Director, VFX artist, Production Designer, can all help with the mission of booking gigs. If your team knows that the producer can make it happen once the job is booked, you will be much more successful.
You MUST talk to a lot of people. They MUST know what you do. You MUST effectively communicate your objective. Follow-ups are a MUST. Professionalism and proper presentation is a MUST.
Our work can be seen at www.signaturexavier.com
DISCLAIMER: There are many ways of doing many things. Below you will read about one way of making money as an independent filmmaker. There may be more effective ways that you like better. Please take the time to research what works best for you. READING is a MUST. If you need help with anything below, you can contact me at georgeohan@gmail.com
@georgeohan on Instagram
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