# How I use social media to get projects



## dciurlizza (Oct 25, 2018)

*WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?*

The precursor to this is my P_itching Process_, which is something we'd used for 6 years to find work. In fact, we started using this again as of a few days ago.

I successfully filled up my work schedule with that strategy, among other things. Then, after I knew it could work for others, our teammates started to fill their schedules with ideas from it.

It's been a while since I've used that pitch; I was getting work, so there wasn't a need. That said, being active in building relationships is important, even when we're busy.

When I finally got back to pitching, I didn't feel the urgency to earn money ASAP. There was no rush. Because of that, the following write-up is a more minimal - but still very active - way of "pitching."

So here's my new process for getting scoring jobs and, more importantly, connecting with filmmakers...

*TAKING THE TIME TO GENUINELY CONNECT*

*1. LOOK FOR GIGS (FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD)
*
I really like finding filmmakers on sites like Vimeo and Kickstarter; I've noticed that the production quality there tends to be significantly higher than other places. You could also search through YouTube, Reddit, IndieGoGo, Facebook, or anywhere else filmmakers upload their content.

I've covered how to look through YouTube, Vimeo, Kickstarter, and other places on _The Pitching Process_ article.

Here's what wasn't covered:

*REDDIT* - Looking through r/filmmaking, r/cinematography, r/gamedev, or r/gameDevClassifieds would be great places to start when looking for filmmakers or game devs whose work you enjoy. It's important to offer value when entering these communities (rather than pitching everyone we find), so spend time engaging with and learning about the people there before pitching.


*FACEBOOK* - Going through FB pages focused on filmmaking might yield great results. Those pages are always looking to share insightful content, so many of them will highlight recent award winners or films they've personally connected with.

While following the page of _Filmmaker Freedom_, a website dedicated to helping upcoming filmmakers, I saw that they'd posted about a film that'd just won a few awards. After looking the filmmakers up and loving all the work they'd done, I went through these same 6 steps and we ended up working together.


*INSTAGRAM* - This can be a great way to learn about films in production. If you're already following filmmakers you've worked with, go to their profiles and follow the people _they're_ following. On top of that - or if you're starting from nothing - use hashtags like #filmmaking or #indiefilm to look for filmmakers.

Here are some hashtags I've assembled based on popularity and post frequency (how quickly the "Most Recent" posts change):

_#filmmaking #filmphotooftheday #filmfestival #filmfeed #filmmakerlife #filmmakinglife #filmfestivals #filmmakers #filmdirectors #filmdirecting #moviestill #moviestills #filmdirector #filmproducer #filmproducers #filmproduction #indiefilm #independentfilms #independentfilm #independentfilmmaker #independentfilmmaking #directorofphotography #cinematographer #makingmovies #moviemaking #shortfilms #featurefilms #featurefilm
_
We use these on our studio's Instagram posts to attract filmmakers, but we've also connected and built relationships with fantastic teammates like Joni Fuller and collaborators like Roland Bingaman (a filmmaker who was looking to get into music full time - and is successfully doing so now!).

Instagram, like Reddit, is another place where it'll be helpful to be engaged in the community we're looking to work with _before_ pitching. Offer a ton of value - more than you think you need to offer - before making the "ask." Or, don't make the ask and just contribute... maybe people will come to you.

*2. DO YOUR RESEARCH
*
After discovering a film you've really enjoyed, look up the filmmaker and watch the rest of their available work. If what they're making is exciting to you, find 'em on FB or Instagram and let them know you love what they're doing.

I like this casual social media approach. We're not pitching, we're connecting.

*3. BE GENUINE
*
This is also a perfect time to get into what you specifically like about their films - great storytelling, compelling cinematography, amazing use of colors... even music, if you enjoyed it!

*4. BUILD A CONNECTION
*
Explore each others interests and talk about your philosophies on great filmmaking. As an example, I think films driven by people-focused drama (rather than action-focused drama) are way more compelling most times.

But we don't always have to talk about work...

Recently, a director and I were talking about how we both love to cook food from our different cultures.

...I mean, we ended up talking about work anyway; cooking is so similar to the filmmaking process.

*5. DON'T SPOTLIGHT YOUR MUSIC OR ACHIEVEMENTS
*
The one thing I never do is talk about my music. It's not that I'm keeping it from them, it's just that talking about storytelling is more exciting for me (and generally more fun for them too).

Plus, there's something special about connecting for the sake of being friendly and learning more about someone, rather than selling ourselves.

*6. SPOTLIGHT THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS
*
A really fun thing I love about the studio's IG page is the #filmmakerappreciation series, where we post about our favorite films.

It's best to do this when a filmmaker's project has recently premiered so we can help with its "awareness" momentum, but we've done this with year-old projects before too. The point is to highlight the types of films we love, support and encourage the creators whose work we admire, and continue building on our new friendships within the community. People really appreciate the gesture.

Here are some we've done in the past - click through to Instagram to see how the captions are structured:





*FRIENDS LOVE WORKING WITH FRIENDS
*
Once you two get going, there's a good chance they'll remember you for your interesting ideas. Keep up with what they're working on and continue being a genuine fan of their work.

In time, your new friend will discover - sometimes all on their own - that you're pretty good at writing music for films. And they'll want to see _you_ succeed just as you do for them.

Ultimately - just as great people enjoy connecting with great people - friends love working with friends.


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## jneebz (Oct 25, 2018)

Thank you very much for this. I greatly admire your passion and willingness to share...says a lot about your leadership! I'm just about 4 years into my music business and (like most, I presume) am balancing a part-time day job with my music work, with hopes of shrinking the day job hours in 2019. I'm going to try and implement some of your techniques into that plan. I was blessed to have had an excellent mentor, and at our early meetings we discussed the importance of keeping people first...so that no matter where the project goes, you at least had an opportunity to add some value to the project, or the people involved. A win-win. And this 1) felt good, and 2) started to build a network. Life's just too short to make it all about self-centeredness and personal gain, IMO. And I learned quickly there's A LOT of that out there in our industry...

Anyway, thanks again. You have a new Twitter follower  I wish you continued success in your creative endeavors!


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## dciurlizza (Oct 29, 2018)

@jneebz appreciate the kind words, man!

Absolutely _love _the "people first" mentality and it's always exciting to know when other people in our community are operating that way. I'd love to know who your mentor was (if you can tell me in a DM or somethin') - would enjoy keeping an eye out for him/her.

I made my part-time (working as event staff, which was pretty fun) to full-time music transition late 2015. My support system reminded me a good way to know when to make the transition was when the part-time job was consistently making me lose money in music.

If you ever need eyes/ears on your creative + business stuff, I'd love to help! As I said, it's exciting to meet people that are focused on contributing value.

Just followed you back on Twitter.


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## slidemasterx (Oct 31, 2018)

Thanks for the wonderful tips! For the past few weeks I've been researching a lot about networking for composers. One of the biggest challenges for me is finding film makers to work with and not looking like a salesman when reaching out to them. Your post has been extremely helpful. I just followed you on IG and twitter.


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## dciurlizza (Nov 2, 2018)

Thanks @slidemasterx!



slidemasterx said:


> finding film makers to work



This can be tough, but it's really a numbers game: watching through a lot of different projects, deciding if they're worth your time/energy/creativity, and finally contacting the ones that are.

What's your process for finding filmmakers currently?



slidemasterx said:


> not looking like a salesman when reaching out to them



The best way I've found to not be salesy is to be genuine, not ask for anything, and offer a lot of value upfront (and always, really). I like to think of it this way...

If I wanted to work with you, which message is more appealing to you?

*OPTION 1*
_Hey Algernon, I was on your soundcloud listening to "Emotive Track" - loved the sound of it. Let me know if you ever need help with sound design or recording stuff live. I'd love to work with you!_

*OPTION 2*
_Hey Algernon, I was on your soundcloud listening to "Emotive Track." I loved the track so much that I recorded a few musician friends of mine to layer on string sounds for you. You can find the "All Mix" and Stems here: [link]. If you ever need more of this, I'd love to help out!"
_​I think option 2 is way more compelling because I supported my "I loved your music" claim by spending valuable time doing work for you (with zero expectation for any sort of reward).

Even if you didn't think the work I sent was a particularly good fit, you'd still appreciate that I took the time to invest in you as a person and artist. Genuine kindness is a powerful thing. Wholeheartedly investing in others is a powerful thing.

Lastly, a few in our community have disputed that it's not worth doing work for something that isn't going to guarantee payment (which I think is short-sighted). Interestingly, the more people dispute this strategy, the more it works, because that means there are less people being genuinely interested in offering value. All that said, I don't think it's good to offer beyond our means. If we're not fulfilled, then we can't fulfill others.

In business, in personal relationships, in any type of human interaction, being valuable to others always gets rewarded. Maybe not immediately, and sometimes not by the source that we were being valuable to, but a "reward" always comes back if we're consistently genuine.

...any of that resonating with you at all?


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## jneebz (Nov 3, 2018)

dciurlizza said:


> If you ever need eyes/ears on your creative + business stuff, I'd love to help! As I said, it's exciting to meet people that are focused on contributing value.


Sent you a PM...thanks!


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## Henu (Nov 3, 2018)

dciurlizza said:


> I think option 2 is way more compelling because I supported my "I loved your music" claim by spending valuable time doing work for you (with zero expectation for any sort of reward).



I think the option 2 is a bit creepy and would make me feel rather uncomfortable as the recipient. I mean, if someone books _external_ musicians to record something for someone's song without any sort of warning, it starts to feel a bit awkward. Like, Stephen King awkward with biggest fans and all.
Besides, what if the recipient was really happy already with his version and would not to like to add anything to it, and now he felt he was obliged to do so after all the trouble you went through?

Yes, I'm Finnish. We are very wary of these things by nature. :D
What I'd do is at least warn the recipient first- maybe an email with something like this:

"Hey, I heard your song and really liked it...blah blah...._and I'd really love to provide some strings stems for it if you'd like to try them out on top of the song. I'm not charging anything from them, so let me know if you're interested and I can send them to you!_"

Just my € 0.2!


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## dciurlizza (Nov 5, 2018)

Henu said:


> I think the option 2 is a bit creepy and would make me feel rather uncomfortable as the recipient.



haha I can see how that might be very forward for some. I tend to take the time and get a good read on someone's vibe before contacting them about that sort of thing. Anyone I assemble these for would likely be similar to me in that they would enjoy the "let's make cool stuff together already" approach. They wanna get stuff done.



Henu said:


> I mean, if someone books _external_ musicians to record something for someone's song without any sort of warning, it starts to feel a bit awkward.



My teammates play different instruments and we help each other out for free all the time, so it's not a big thing - we're not literally booking people for time slots at a studio. That said, I'm not opposed to putting in the money to hire out interesting musicians either though - all depends on the project and instrument.

Either way, the process shows the recipient that I'm willing to invest in whatever they're doing; I have genuine interest in working together.

And if they're truly not diggin' it, I might have read the situation incorrectly and that's my fault.



Henu said:


> Besides, what if the recipient was really happy already with his version and would not to like to add anything to it, and now he felt he was obliged to do so after all the trouble you went through?



The beauty of it is they're not obligated to do anything at all. The trouble isn't theirs, it's mine. In fact, they could completely ignore me if that's what they want, and that'd be cool by me - I'm happy with the risk I took. The original goal with coming to them was to contribute value, and if what I offer doesn't do that, then I haven't done what I set out to do.



Henu said:


> Yes, I'm Finnish. We are very wary of these things by nature. :D



<3 A good friend of mine is Finnish; he's a filmmaker! I'm jealous of where he lives - just 50km northwest of Helsinki. Forests, lakes, good hiking, and vegetable gardens. We were just talking about this strategy in regards to scripts/proof-of-concepts over some beers.



Henu said:


> What I'd do is at least warn the recipient first- maybe an email with something like this:



This is great in concept, but in practice, I'm always going to assume the person I'm contacting doesn't have time for me (regardless of what I think I can contribute), so I'm going to offer everything I can upfront. That way, they'll have a chance to say "yes" or "no" as fast as they want.



Henu said:


> Just my € 0.2!



Appreciate you taking the time, Henri. I think they're interesting points worth mentioning.


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## dciurlizza (Nov 14, 2018)

It works - got this a few weeks ago:






Super nice people - enthusiastic with a great project.

Thought ya'll might enjoy real-world evidence/results.


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## HelixK (Dec 4, 2018)

Solid tips here, thanks for sharing, Daniel


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## dciurlizza (Dec 4, 2018)

HelixK said:


> Solid tips here, thanks for sharing, Daniel



My pleasure, man! Glad you dig it.


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