5 Ways To Attract Talented Collaborators To Your Web Series Project
You can write the most brilliant script for a web series, but without a
cast and crew to bring that script to life, the document means very
little on paper, or on your computer’s hard drive.
Below I list 5 ways to attract collaborators and partners to your web series projects.
1. Discovery – You must first search and find the cast and crew members needed. Your pre and post production members can work remotely, but you need your cast and crew to be together on location. Be sure to network in your local film community. Connect with local people online via social networks, and it is key to get out to local events where you can meet people face to face. Spidvid is a useful site where you can connect, collaborate, create web series content with both local and remote members.
2. Sell them – Once you have built up some initial interest you then have to convince individuals why they should invest their time and talent into your web series project. Money always talks but more often than not I’m seeing that money isn’t always the top choice if the individual is a big talent who wants to work on something they believe in, can fully get behind, and are passionate about.
3. Compensation besides cash – As I mentioned above, money isn’t always the most important thing to attract an individual to a web series. Perhaps the most powerful way to really get the best out of someone else is offer them a vested stake in your project. It can be a simple partnership agreement where they will be given credit, content equity, and perhaps financial compensation if the web series brings in revenues through advertising or sponsorship.
4. Interests and topics – If you enjoy making cooking videos then you would likely prefer a video editor on your team that’s big on cooking, versus one that eats out all time and could care less about the art and process of cooking. Find the talent you need, but also be on the lookout for matching interests as well because your end product will be of a higher quality if personal interests align and mesh well together. You will feel the love, and so will your web series!
5. Long term relationships – Once you have collaborated with someone else you get a feel for how they go about the video production process. Everyone manages every aspect of a project differently, so it can be a bit time consuming at first to learn how to move things forward, and manage things to completion. Once an episode gets successfully completed though, then there is a general sense for how the next episode can be done more efficiently and effectively.
Do you have a 6th way to attract valuable collaborators to a web series project? The comments are yours below!
Below I list 5 ways to attract collaborators and partners to your web series projects.
1. Discovery – You must first search and find the cast and crew members needed. Your pre and post production members can work remotely, but you need your cast and crew to be together on location. Be sure to network in your local film community. Connect with local people online via social networks, and it is key to get out to local events where you can meet people face to face. Spidvid is a useful site where you can connect, collaborate, create web series content with both local and remote members.
2. Sell them – Once you have built up some initial interest you then have to convince individuals why they should invest their time and talent into your web series project. Money always talks but more often than not I’m seeing that money isn’t always the top choice if the individual is a big talent who wants to work on something they believe in, can fully get behind, and are passionate about.
3. Compensation besides cash – As I mentioned above, money isn’t always the most important thing to attract an individual to a web series. Perhaps the most powerful way to really get the best out of someone else is offer them a vested stake in your project. It can be a simple partnership agreement where they will be given credit, content equity, and perhaps financial compensation if the web series brings in revenues through advertising or sponsorship.
4. Interests and topics – If you enjoy making cooking videos then you would likely prefer a video editor on your team that’s big on cooking, versus one that eats out all time and could care less about the art and process of cooking. Find the talent you need, but also be on the lookout for matching interests as well because your end product will be of a higher quality if personal interests align and mesh well together. You will feel the love, and so will your web series!
5. Long term relationships – Once you have collaborated with someone else you get a feel for how they go about the video production process. Everyone manages every aspect of a project differently, so it can be a bit time consuming at first to learn how to move things forward, and manage things to completion. Once an episode gets successfully completed though, then there is a general sense for how the next episode can be done more efficiently and effectively.
Do you have a 6th way to attract valuable collaborators to a web series project? The comments are yours below!
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Posts
Facebook has been an amazing place for me when I need someone to replace someone else at the last moment...I post it to my series fan page which links to youtube and twitter and before I know it people come out of the woodwork....and not necessarily those who are my FB friends but a FB friend will see what I need and ask one of their friends who may be interested. I've cast Christy Lynn Arvin who plays Lila Mae in Pink Slip this way...& originally she was hired to just play the ADA in an earlier episode but we all liked her so much we gave her an improv audition with a blonde wig and she created Lila Mae on camera..it's up on youtube but it's part of the episode....also found Marneen Lynn Fields who plays Bubbles in parts 7 & 8 in a similar fashion....and in our latest episode we found Ace the agent and the psychiatrist and the waitress, all in the same fashion...we did auditions for the leads with a Casting Director but if you are in the L.A. area you can use CAZT without a casting person and all auditions are on video so you can watch them all at home online and make your final decision more comfortably on your laptop.
ReplyDelete:):):)
DeleteWe've also found our art production crew mostly all online at infoList.com and when I get a response to the post I always ask a question...like how would you design a set for Suzie's bedroom...no right or wrong answers...and you would be surprised,but most will not answer...maybe 3 or 4 will....and those are the people I hire right then and there..haven't met them, don't know what they look like or what there personalities are like, but I know one thing: they are people who can follow instructions and are not the type to blow me off as either asking them a silly question or think I'm trying to steal their ideas...I'm not...since I am the Production Designer I already know what I want....I don't care if they have the same exact idea, only that they will really attempt to do it..sometimes people who just want work of any sort will say I'm not an art person even though I applied...and I say that's okay, just take a crack at it...there are no right or wrong answers...and if they give it a try I will seriously consider them too.
ReplyDeleteOoops...forgive the typo...I misspelled the word their.
ReplyDeleteAs a no budget production, we fall squarely into category #3. And while lack of pay has been an issue for a couple of folks, most have signed on knowing exactly what they were getting into. They will make money if we do, but more important to them is being a part of a project that they like and telling a story they love. Giving the actors some input into the further development of the characters gives them a vested interest as well. We are writing Season 2 now, and have discussed schedules as well as thrown out theoretical questions as to how the actors think their characters would respond to a given situation. They know we probably won't take every note, but some great ideas have come out of these conversations! Oh, and feed them! They are already giving up their time to come, so we try to minimize their expenses while they are here.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with Season 2:):):)
Delete