As of this morning I have several potential cast and crew who could easily become the CEO of Western Union. They will not employ the telephone as a means of bi-directional communication. And here comes the theorem of today's rant: Two PDAs on the table while you and another dork pretend to have a date may be cute, but it won't cut it in the biz. No one over the age of fifteen is going to hire you via tweet. So, ever bighearted, I offer some communication tips that, obviously, have not materialized within the curriculum of 'big wind' film school, or ANY MFA program in north america:
- Sign EVERY email with your phone #, and repeat your email at the bottom. Not everyone wants to create an email chain that dates back to 'Watson - come here". The phone # thing - how should I address this delicately? Do you think you may not want everybody that receives an email from you to have your phone #? Get out of the business.
- You can't 'kind-of' put yourself out there. Spread your contact info daily and vociferously.
- The goal is to get into conversations. These are jobs, for which you want an interview. Prefer to ask 300 questions via 75 emails, BEFORE you read the script? Get out of the business.
- Don't say that you've been too busy to: read a script (see above), respond to email or voicemail, or the like. Feature film projects require weeks of 12 hour days, and you haven't had time to get to your email? Hmm...
And here's a freebee for the actors: Get that professional headshot done, NOW. I just reviewed some submissions for "detective" and discovered a whole lot of "detectives" who suffer from gas buildup. Go to LA or New York. (it's where the best deals are, anyway) You don't need a 'good' photographer, you need a HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHER. Don't think it's worth the time or money? Get out.
Here's hoping for a fantastic 2014 for you and your upgraded communication regimen. Don't get out; get communicatin'.
- Tom
@tsk111director
