Freelance Filmmakers: How to be an Appealing Media Freelancer

My name’s Tom Hickmore and I run Nice Media the video production company. I regularly engage production freelancers. If you’re reading this you probably want to know what criteria I use to choose one freelancer over another. The funny thing is if you ask yourself this question you are already closer to getting your foot in the door. Think about the point of view of the person/organisation you are approaching. You’d be amazed at how many people don’t even seem to consider this in their approach.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”

This may sound like a depressing way to start, but let’s pick it apart a bit:

Recommendation from another freelancer (nominator) will surely be influenced by personal allegiance, but if I already know I can work with the nominator, I am anyway inclined to consider their mates. And if the nominator wants to continue working with me he/she is unlikely to recommend a duffer. I feel I can frankly question the nominator and because I know them, read between the lines of the conversation.

So, if you’re just starting out I recommend you get involved with non-paying projects via such organisations as shootingpeople.org. Here you can get experience which will lead to introductions if you are any good.

Of course I also look at CV’s and examples of work.

Portfolios & CV’s

If you are approaching a company cold I think that nowadays you really need to have some work online. Have a good selection of portfolio items that a potential employer can find and look at easily. This is so much more convenient than DVDs which get lost, take up space and are comparatively fiddly. I like to collect hyperlinks in the favourites folders of my browser. This way I can quickly file and retrieve reference material.

Have a good range of material presented in a way that’s easy and quick to navigate around. Forget your Flash animations (unless that’s what you do) just the content please, with a few well chosen words for context.

As for CV’s, what I look for here is roughly the same – the easier it is to read the better. I need to build a big picture quickly. So don’t put too much detail and make sure the important bits leap off the page.

References are also essential.

Meeting

If, after the above sifting, I actually get to meet someone, the first thing I hope for is courtesy. Mobile phone culture is eroding the notion of fixed appointments, but this is effectively a job interview we are talking about here, so be on time.

Flatter me. Well, maybe you don’t have to go that far, but so many freelancers are rather full of themselves. You’ve got to be confident to be a freelancer, but don’t try to outsmart the boss on the first meeting. Respect the hierarchy – that’s one way to demonstrate you can fit into the team.

I do find that those people who are humble about their achievements and more interested in the process rather than the worldly results are the best to work with.

Be discreet – if you slag someone off it stands to reason you might be doing that about me behind my back. Act with honour. While you’re at it, praise your competition if they come into the conversation. Be a positive person.

Avoid techno-nerdery. Okay, I expect you to know your stuff, but be little careful about boring me to death.

Relevant Experience

One of the main techniques I will be using is to question the freelancer about relevant specific projects. So, once you’ve checked out your target’s website think about what projects you have worked on that might be relevant to what they do. Think about what you did on that project and how you can present that clearly.

Extra selling points

Although nowadays it’s common to be a bit multidisciplinary, it’s usually stronger if you can market yourself within a single discipline, (camera, editing, costume), and within that to develop a niche. You can’t be an expert at everything.

And certificates in first aid or health and safety will certainly give you extra points with most production companies.

Finally

Finally, it’s a tough world out there for freelancers. So, good luck to you all!

By Tom Hickmore, @Nice Media

Do you have a question for Tom? Are you trying to break into the film-making or media industries? Leave a comment below and Tom will be happy to answer any questions you may have…