Part 5

Workflow Plan

Sources of Work:

Identify at least 3 websites that you would use to find work. These could be websites advertising posts available, or freelancing websites allowing you to register as a user to promote yourself and your skills e.g. ‘Linkedin’. Assess how you would use them to ensure you found work at regular intervals.

Mandy.com: This website is a professional freelance website which allows people working in the film and TV industry to look for freelance work that other people need someone to do for them. You can go onto the website and search for a specific job in any part of the world and you will find a job that can have any contract including: full time, part time, temporary, shift work or fixed term etc. Anybody can post a job onto the website and have a description on the advertisement showing about what the job is that they want doing but also how much they will be getting paid, where it is and how long it will be for. You have to be a member to apply for these jobs but the ads will all have emails which you can send your CV into. You could use this website to find regular work because there are so many jobs on this website and you would be constantly finding work, as well as this you would be recommended to other employers and they would get your name mourned if you do a good job. Doing jobs for people on Mandy.com would ensure you find work at regular intervals.

Freelancers.net: This website is another freelance one where you can find jobs all around the world. You can advertise your work on this website and also look for jobs. You need to be a member to advertise jobs and also to apply for them. When people or businesses post an ad looking for someone to do a job, they have all the different information about the job, what it is, how much you’d get paid and they also state where they would prefer you to be. For example, they might want you to live in a specific area so it might be easier to communicate. Using a website like this would be good because if you have a wide range of skills and can do a lot of things that other people can’t, then people will keep employing you and also recommend you to other people and businesses which will ensure you contact work which also means money.

Hivve: This is a social circle specifically for people who are wanting to work in film and TV. It allows freelancers and other professionals to network with each other. You are also able to create an online portfolio to show off your work to others in the industry.  Many companies use Hivve, such as Channel 4 and Warner Bro’s. Many small companies use Hivve as a way of finding employment. You’re not just allowed to join and be a member, you have to be added by a current member. I have been added when i went to a Channel 4 event. This would be good to be on because you are in a group with film and TV professionals and they can teach you many skills etc. This would help to getting regular work in the industry.

Identify at least 3 agents or agencies that deal with freelance clients. Assess how you would use them to ensure work at regular intervals.

Freelancer.net: On this website, they take a look at your business and think of a way to make it more successful. They give you feedback on how to improve for example little things such as fonts, or titles and banners etc. By them doing this and trying to help out with your website, you might end up getting more work because of adjustments like this, because when people see your website, they will need to make sure that they think that you’re professional enough to do a job for them.

Major Players: Major Players post jobs for freelancers, this has a fee to it so when you get a freelance job from there you have to pay them a proportion your fee from your work. This would help you get a job because you know if you have to pay then it is professional and serious. It would ensure more regular work.

JFL: JFL post job opportunities, they give you tips and ideas which will help you find your way into freelance employment. They also do courses and help you to network with people but also give you tips on your website to help improve it, just like freelancer.net. Also, they charge a fee just like Major Players.

Identify at least 3 specific trade journals (in print or online) related to your technical skills that you could use. Assess how you could use them to ensure work at regular intervals.

Trade journals give information about the industry. Three types of trade journals are ‘Broadcast’, ‘Variety’ and ‘TV technology’. ‘Broadcast’ talks about things that may affect the industry in the UK and how it is going to change. This helps freelancers such as myself because if i am half way through a project and something is changed which may affect my work, i will be notified and i can therefore adapt to the changes for example content regulations.

‘Variety’ talks about news and technology and how they collate with each other. This is helpful for a freelancer because it keeps you up to date with technology so say for example if something new comes into fashion that employers may want, then you would have to learn whatever is new to keep up to date with trends etc.

‘TV Technology’ talks about development within all sectors of media for example interviews, cinematography and photography. Much like ‘Variety’ it is important to keep up with newer trends in freelance because it will be the things that keeps the work flowing.

Identify at least 1 forthcoming ‘Trade Event’ (ideally in the UK) that you could attend to find out about opportunities and innovation in your sector.

Channel 4 Pop-Up events are a very good trade event to attend. They happen all year round in different areas across the UK. They offer chances to meet professionals in the industry, talk to them and see how you would progress your work into the future. Networking is a key importance of the events because it is an opportunity to exhibit your work and gain feedback from it. They will talk to you about how the industry is changing and also offer out work places for people who are interested.

London Film Festival is the same because it gives you a chance to be in with a group of people who will better your work by giving opinions and all feedback for your work. Attending an event like either of these will increase your chances of being noticed by someone which means more work and also if you do stand out, they will spread your name which can only mean you get a more reliable workload.

What other methods of networking and use of contacts would you need to do to maintain your workflow? e.g. online, use of social networking, other local industry/business events.

Some of the best methods to network yourself if social media, it is the fastest way to spread word about anything, this includes yourself. Using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat etc can be a very effective way to reach out to so many people. For example, if i have a page dedicated to my work, i will need to get the word out to more people who want work doing. I do this by sharing my page across my friends list and maybe people who i have done work for or family and friends will share it too, reaching out too all of their friends.

The more people that share it, the more i will reach out too. This will help maintain my workflow and for every so many people that see my page, some will want work doing who will also share my page. I can link up all my social media account so if someone that wants work doing doesn’t have Facebook, then i will also be on Twitter and Instagram etc.

If i do work for someone and they’re proud of it and post it on social media, they will most likely tag me in it which then when people see it will look on my page and either ask me to do work for them or recommend me to someone who does want work doing. Other ways to network yourself would be to attend events showing off your work and handing out something just as simple as a business card to potential clients. You could post and advertisement in a local paper or in shop windows and when people read it, they are bound to know someone who wants work doing. This will all get your name around and will increase your workflow.

Self-Marketing

Identify how you could use business cards to market your services e.g. what type of information would need to be on the business card, where could you distribute them?

I would use business cards to market my services, they would be very simple and just explain what i do and where to find me. The card would have my business name, my personal name, work number, website, email and all social media accounts which will be the same because i own my business domain name. This would give whoever has my card the right amount of information for if they wanted to discuss anything further. I would not be picky about who i distribute it too. Literally anyone who walks by could have a card.

I would have them on shop counters for if people just wanted to pick them up and also at events throughout the year. I wouldn’t pick and choose who i gave a card to because even if the person who i am giving the card to doesn’t want any work doing, they would possibly know someone who might, so they would keep the card and pass it onto someone who does want it.

What additions or changes would you need to make to your Wix or WordPress site to use it as a professional website e.g. re structure pages, contact details, prominence of portfolio, ways of directing traffic to your site.

To make my website more professional, i would create myself a business banner which would have my business name on it with my contact number and symbols of social media accounts which are clickable to direct anyone straight to the page, whether its on Facebook or Twitter etc. I would put a promotional video right on the home page which would outline everything that i do that people will be impressed about. I will have a bar of options which people can choose from to direct them to the page they want to be on. I would make it so simple to navigate because if it was hard people would give up.

I would have pages which all have useful information and also an about page which says everything from what i do to where to contact me. For my website, i would need a domain name because people wouldn’t want to type in a long URL which ends in “wordpress.com” on the end, it doesn’t look professional. My website would need to be constantly updated to show people that i am always active with my work. There would be pages dedicated to every single piece of work i have ever done, no matter how big or small the project was.

How would you use a CV as a freelancer e.g. sending it to companies unsolicited at intervals, how would you find out who to send it to, etc.?

You would use your CV as a freelancer when you’re looking for a job, you wouldn’t necessarily need it if someone came to you to do work for them because they already know you’re good at what you do. When you use a website such as Mandy.com, you get directed to the employers email address which you need to email your CV to to be in for a chance to get the job. Even if you don’t go for a job through a website, for any job you may go for, it is always important to send your CV. It would be a good idea to send a link to your website too as that gives a better idea of what your work is actually like. You would then also need to say what you’re emailing them for and your purpose for sending them your CV.

In terms of printing it off and sending them out to businesses or handing them out as you go into a business. If you send it to a company it will go to the mail room where all the mail is all sorted, from there, they pass it onto reception who will then refer it to the most acceptable department. To find out who to send it to, you will need to research the email address of whoever sorts out employment. If it is a big company, the email will most likely either be on the website of the company who’s advertisement it is or it will be on the advertisement if it was advertised on a website, this will make sure you send it to the right person.

What enhancements/additions would you need to make to your current portfolio e.g. skills demonstrated, variety of clients, etc.

To enhance my portfolio, i would need to be constantly be updating it by making sure all my most recent work is on there. I would keep putting new pieces of work on there and also demonstrate that i can do new kinds of techniques which look good because if it is a trend at the time, that is what people will be looking for out of someone that they want to employ. I would give a description on each project and also have a segment for the more technical sides of things. I will state what the employer wanted me to do so people can compare what was asked with the result of the project. 

I would make a big deal off all of the new techniques i can do because there will be so many people that won’t know how to do it or won’t be aware of it yet so i need to make sure that people notice that i can do it and make sure they don’t miss it. I would have a segment which shows off all the editing softwares that i can fluently use which will prove that i am very active in learning and show that i am confident in learning new things just in case there is a project that someone wants me to do which may be on a software that i don’t yet know how to use. It would give people confidence that will make them think that i can do anything they want me to do, no matter how crazy it may be.

How could you use press releases, film festivals and exhibitions to showcase your work. Identify some specific publications, festivals and exhibitions that you could publish/exhibit work, and how you would get your work shown on/at them (costs, deadlines, entry criteria, for example).

As i am making a music video for EPIC Records, they are a very big company and so it would therefore be very likely that it is getting a lot of publicity. This means that the video will be released on YouTube on the Vevo page for the singer ‘A Great Big World’, it would also be released on TV on music channels. The amount of money that the record label put into the song and video, they would make sure it is advertised well. For example, they will make sure the video is played behind the singer if they ever do it in concert live. The type of feature length music video that it is, it could well be shown in a film festival that would be paid for by the record label because as well as wanting to publicise the song, it also has a deeper meaning with an important message so it would be very important to advertise that as well as the song which would give the song more publicity.

At Christmas time, businesses make adverts which get a lot of publicity, this also gives the song that they use a lot of publicity for example the Tom Odell song used on the John Lewis  advert gained a lot more views due to the advert. Doing something like this would make a lot more profit so it is a win win to enter it into competitions. It would also work well as an advert at Christmas because it has a meaning to it so would go down well. If i wanted to submit the video i made to a festival such as the Sundance festival, the deadline for 2016 has already gone but 2017 entries are open till January. The norm is to write two letters, one about the film and one about the creator of the film. This is so if the film makes it into the festival, then they can say what it is for and who made it. It is $150 to enter the Sundance and $60 to register your short film.

Any of these things that i achieve with the video that i made, even though it will be the record label that enters it into festivals, it will be a personal achievement to put on my portfolio if it wins any awards.