Editors have a reel that shows off their editing, writers have that spec script, and directors have short films.
Aside from playing that short film in as many festivals and getting as much exposure as possible that way, what other ways are there for the director to present himself to the industry (aside from AtomFilms, iFilm, and other online film places)? Writers send out query letters, which feature a logline or synopsis of a script they want an agent or producer to read, in hopes they will at least make a connection that will get them some writing work, if not sell the actual script itself.
I had several possible ideas:
1) Hold a screening of several short films you have made (perhaps 3) in a decent theater. Have a little after-party with a DJ and a bartender to serve drinks, etc. Invite as many people as possible. Solicit professionally made "postcard" flyers to people in the industry (studio execs, agents, producers, other directors, etc), inviting them to your screening. It helps if your films won awards, then you can say "come see these award winning shorts by...".
2) Make a DVD with two or three of your best short films on it. Get it replicated like a pro DVD (so you're gonna need to order a bunch of them), with a professional cover and packaging, etc. Send these out with a query letter (to execs and producers), telling them about a feature script you've written. I was thinking that since you're featuring multiple films on one DVD, you could perhaps have a "promo piece" that they could play first that would be 1-2 minutes and would establish the overall mood of your pieces (assuming they had a similar vibe) and would give the agent a good idea of what your films are like before choosing to view them in full. Maybe this might work, maybe not.
3) I'm not sure if anyone here has read the book "The Working Director", but it talks about having a reel you submit to execs for TV shows, etc. Maybe execs only consider directors who have previously worked within the industry on a prior project, I'm not sure. What would a director's reel consist of? Select scenes from films?
4) Send only one short film out with the query letter. Again maybe this is better than #2, I don't know.
Anybody have any comments about this? I know several people on this board have written screenplays for the industry, but I'm curious if there are any directors here that have done stuff for Hollywood (whether it be TV shows, MOWs, or theatrical features). Bill has some great info on guerilla marketing yourself as a writer; I was wondering if any of those would apply as a director. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Ryan
Aside from playing that short film in as many festivals and getting as much exposure as possible that way, what other ways are there for the director to present himself to the industry (aside from AtomFilms, iFilm, and other online film places)? Writers send out query letters, which feature a logline or synopsis of a script they want an agent or producer to read, in hopes they will at least make a connection that will get them some writing work, if not sell the actual script itself.
I had several possible ideas:
1) Hold a screening of several short films you have made (perhaps 3) in a decent theater. Have a little after-party with a DJ and a bartender to serve drinks, etc. Invite as many people as possible. Solicit professionally made "postcard" flyers to people in the industry (studio execs, agents, producers, other directors, etc), inviting them to your screening. It helps if your films won awards, then you can say "come see these award winning shorts by...".
2) Make a DVD with two or three of your best short films on it. Get it replicated like a pro DVD (so you're gonna need to order a bunch of them), with a professional cover and packaging, etc. Send these out with a query letter (to execs and producers), telling them about a feature script you've written. I was thinking that since you're featuring multiple films on one DVD, you could perhaps have a "promo piece" that they could play first that would be 1-2 minutes and would establish the overall mood of your pieces (assuming they had a similar vibe) and would give the agent a good idea of what your films are like before choosing to view them in full. Maybe this might work, maybe not.
3) I'm not sure if anyone here has read the book "The Working Director", but it talks about having a reel you submit to execs for TV shows, etc. Maybe execs only consider directors who have previously worked within the industry on a prior project, I'm not sure. What would a director's reel consist of? Select scenes from films?
4) Send only one short film out with the query letter. Again maybe this is better than #2, I don't know.
Anybody have any comments about this? I know several people on this board have written screenplays for the industry, but I'm curious if there are any directors here that have done stuff for Hollywood (whether it be TV shows, MOWs, or theatrical features). Bill has some great info on guerilla marketing yourself as a writer; I was wondering if any of those would apply as a director. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Ryan
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