Film Networking: How to Make Connections Without Being Fake
Do you struggle with film networking?
You aren’t alone. In my experience, many creative people are not extroverted and would rather work at home on a script than to mingle with strangers.
So as someone who has to work hard to meet new people, how do you find great people and form connections with them, so you can become steadfast collaborators?
Networking isn’t easy, but it is possible, and it is necessary.
Here’s the unavoidable truth of networking:
You have to leave your comfortable space. Get uncomfortable. You’ll be glad you did.
How can you do that? Here are some tips for film networking with intention, so you create genuine connections, don’t come across as desperate, and form real relationships.
1. Go to networking or group events
These can be useful – if you approach them the right way.
Treat a networking event like it’s the local bar. That’s right. Treat the person you’re talking to at the networking event like they’re some random person you’re chatting with at the bar. Just be real and enjoy conversation with them.
People help people they like, not people who are trying to get something out of them.
Genuinely connect with a few people by doing the following:
– Be curious; make yourself truly interested in what they do
– Ask them about them and what they do
– Ask detailed questions; it shows that you are paying attention and are curious
– Let them talk about themselves; people like to talk about what they like/love
If you’re being fake or only asking them about themselves so you can transition to talking about yourself, the person you’re talking to will notice. People can tell when you aren’t being genuine.
(It’s called conversational narcissism, by the way. You should read about it.)
These deeper connections you make while film networking will serve you much better than this common scenario:
“Hi, I’m Nick.”
“I’m John, nice to meet you Nick.”
“So what do you do?”
“Well, I’m actually a sound designer, I’m pretty new, only been doing it a couple years.”
“Oh cool, that’s great. Do you have a card?”
“Yeah, here you go.”
“Great – I actually direct films and commercials – here’s my card. Nice to meet you!”
Lame.
Yeah, sure, you have each others’ cards now… but how good of a connection was that, really? It doesn’t really seem like John or Nick cared to really know about one another. They just wanted something out of each other.
That’s not an effective way to approach film networking.
Did Nick really stand out to that person in that scenario? What kind of impression did Nick leave on John? Perhaps none at all.
They may recognize each other if they meet again, but they certainly won’t know each other any better than they did the first time.
You want people to leave your conversations thinking, “Huh. What a nice guy. Seems like someone that would be great to work with. I wish I would have asked him about his work more.”
It’s better to have 5 great conversations than 20 shallow ones like the above.
2. Work on film sets (in any role)
Networking and group events can help, but all the strongest connections I’ve ever made were from working with someone on set.
There’s something about working hard with someone else for 8, 10, 12 or more hours that forms a strong bond based on shared experience.
This doesn’t work if you isolate yourself – so be sure to make an effort to talk with people and be conversational (when appropriate) during downtime and connect with your fellow crew.
I can’t recommend this method of film networking enough.
In fact, it is how I’ve met the vast majority of my strongest collaborators, including my good friend Joe, who I made my first and second feature film with. I actually wrote an entire article about that experience and why I think finding a producing partner is important if you’d like to check that out.
So other than being on set, what can you do?
3. Connect with people online
I have to work extra-hard to do film networking because I have limited time and am often at home writing or doing pre-production.
So how can you network with other filmmakers if you’re in that position?
Reach out to new people online.
Facebook, LinkedIn – whatever. If you see some work someone posts online and you like it, send them a message and tell them what you liked (be specific) about their work you saw.
Tell them you ‘just wanted to make the connection’, and that you might like to work together in the future. Bam. You’ve just made a connection – that’s a start.
Now you need to nurture that relationship by doing things like:
– Reach out to them periodically; ask how they’re doing
– Talk about something they’re working on
– Share information, an article, or something else they’ll like
– Ask them about their life, family, etc. (as appropriate)
– Ask for their opinions and advice on things
– Introduce them to people that can help them (and vice versa)
– Give them a small gift (if you’ve known them a while) that you know they’ll appreciate
– Involve them with your projects & work with them when possible
One of the best things you can do is introduce people to others that can help them. People really appreciate that, and sometimes they will form a strong, long-term connection with those people. You just helped out two fellow filmmakers simultaneously. How cool is that?
For example, let’s say you’ve been chatting with someone who creates costumes. Sci-fi is their thing. Great. Your heard that a friend of a friend, Julie, is looking for a costume designer for her alien short film.
Introduce the two of them. They’ll both thank you.
Okay, so now you know how to approach film networking in a smarter, more genuine way.
But how do you know this is a person you should work with?
4. The kind of people to look for when film networking
1. Seek people with integrity and good character
This is the most important. Not experience. Not intelligence. Character. Why?
A person with character and integrity will follow through on promises. They will be trustworthy, reliable, and honest. They will likely be pleasant to work with and willing to help others.
You might find a prodigy, genius, amazing person… but they’re an ‘A-hole’. You don’t want to work with them. Neither does anyone else.
There are plenty of people like this in the film industry. They are self-centered, narcissistic people who partake in filmmaking to satisfy their own creative ego and soak up as much of the limelight as they possibly can.
This is the type of person who will abandon your project last-minute after committing because someone else offered them something better.
This is the person who will talk behind your back instead of being transparent. The ‘A-hole’ is the person who seeks their personal benefit at the expense of relationships with people.
They may be helpful at first – if it happens to benefit them – but it won’t be worth the hassle in the long run.
There are obviously varying degrees of this type of behavior. Many people struggle with a bit of ego. That’s normal.
You need to know what you will and will not tolerate before you commit to a project with someone, but it helps to screen out people that are a bad fit for you before you get to that stage.
The above traits are something to look out for when you’re film networking and want to find reliable, long-term collaborators with whom you can enjoy making films. This brings me to my next point…
2. Seek people you can grow with
You might be surprised where you find your best collaborators. Don’t assume that because someone is technically inexperienced that they aren’t a potentially valuable teammate.
A dedicated, passionate, quick learner is great to work with, especially if they are trying to continually improve their craft.
Remember that even if you are more experienced than the other person, you are still learning as well, so think of this person as ‘someone you are growing with’.
Don’t discount anyone when you approach film networking.
You might be pleasantly surprised to find that the newbie producer you met is actually a greater asset than you realized.
They’ve only produced one short film – but they have spent the last 10 years doing project management for a construction company.
Don’t you think those skills are applicable to filmmaking? Be on the lookout for people like this. You can help them grow their skills and meet other people in the film community. They can help you by providing their assistance on your films.
Master list of tips to strengthen your filmmaking relationships:
Like any relationship, the key is to steadily build trust by doing what you say you will and giving value to that person (time and/or resources).
– Reach out to them periodically; ask how they’re doing
– Talk about something they’re working on
– Share information, an article, or something else they’ll like
– Ask them about their life, family, etc. (as appropriate)
– Ask for their opinions and advice on things
– Introduce them to people that can help them (and vice versa)
– Give them a small gift (if you’ve known them a while) that you know they’ll appreciate
– Involve them with your projects & work with them when possible
– Be curious; make yourself truly interested in what they do
– Ask them about them and what they do
– Ask detailed questions when chatting; it shows that you are paying attention
– Let them talk about themselves; people like to talk about what they like/love
– Avoid conversational narcissism, which you can read about here
– Spend time with them and show you care about them as a person
– Talk to them on the phone; give them a call here and there
– Invite them to go places
– Get to know them, what they need, and what they desire in life
– Don’t message them only when you need something
I hope these film networking tips help you find some wonderful collaborators. My best filmmaking collaborators have also become some of my greatest friends, and I’m sure you can find people like this too.
If you’d like to connect with a great group of filmmakers right now, you should join the Storyteller filmmaking community on Facebook.
