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How to Financially Prepare for a Filmmaking Career
Are you an independent artist starting your filmmaking career? Getting started can be a struggle and there’s neither an easy nor an immediately successful way to get the funding you need. The reality is you need to find a good way to fund your upcoming career, and you should start early.
If you’re looking to take your film chops to the next level and go beyond small projects - and that means treating it like a proper business. Here’s what you can do to prepare yourself financially for your filmmaking career.
Making music videos can give you a more profitable career as a start, as you don’t need to
make passion projects. Even then, you need to start from nothing and build your career. It takes
time to make up enough money to keep you going in your early filmmaking years.
Save Early Into Your University Years
One way to finance yourself through your filmmaking career is to start saving money while in college. Music videos, for example, shouldn’t need too many assets so you can start filming. A few thousand dollars in your bank account should suffice.
Not everyone can finance themselves outright, but starting early and setting aside a few dollars a day will likely add up. Saving money from your university years means you will have a sizable chunk of cash ready after some time. The downside of this, however, is that not everyone will spend their savings on their film career.
If you’re serious about your filmmaking, you need to create a few good music videos that show off your skills. You will likely not make any of this money back, and that’s ok. These will work as your portfolio for bigger things that will open the floodgates for more projects.
Whether you’re looking to become an indie filmmaker or a mainstream blockbuster, setting aside some money should be perfect.
Get A Day Job If You Can
If you’re working towards a successful film career, one route that many creatives take is to start a day job. Pursuing a film career, especially at the start, means lining up your coffers. It offers several benefits that will help you jumpstart your future.
We’ve always heard of the idea of a struggling filmmaker working at a diner or waiting tables at a restaurant. These jobs put money on the table and give you enough extra to start filming music videos and other small projects. It provides you with a level of financial stability that gives you more chances to do what you want in your free time.
Getting a day job also gives you structure, allowing you to squeeze your filmmaking time after your day job. It will help keep you up to the task and help you segregate what is “work time” and what is “film time.” The only downside of having a day job is that you may physically overextend yourself if you’re not careful.
Try to invest in some gear and different assets to make
music videos. Outfit yourself with necessary equipment to help you make better and more
elaborate videos.
Join A Film Crew And Start Learning
Many creatives are taking advantage of what they know in filmmaking and move towards related jobs that can help them put the right foot forward. For those preparing for a future in film, a good way to financially prepare for it is to join a bigger production team.
Most film enthusiasts and would-be filmmakers likely have a specific skill that production teams would love. This can be your camera skills, your editing, or other talents that you intended to use for your film. By working with an actual production team, you can get paid nicely working for a TV show or a film outfit.
Much like a day job, working with a film crew can earn you a nice chunk of cash. What’s better is you also learn from the many different professionals in the industry. As an up-and-comer, you would still need mentorship from the pros. They can help sharpen your skills as you work with them, which should yield better results in the future.
Another advantage of working as part of a film crew is the network of people you can build. For would-be filmmakers, the industry friends they have can be a valuable treasure that they can use for their future endeavors. Even if you’re making amateur music videos right now, the right connections should help you thrive in the future.
Consider Crowdfunding
Another popular approach for young and upcoming creators is to consider crowdfunding their upcoming film career. Crowdfunding campaigns allow creators to raise enough capital to pick and choose whatever genre of film they want. It’s a useful and highly-rewarding way to start a fantastic career in filmmaking.
Crowdfunding has several unique benefits. For starters, you can build your audience as early as possible, together with giving your audience a stake in your future as a creator. If you know what you’re doing, it will look and feel like you’re getting free money to do whatever you want.
If you plan on entering a crowdfunding campaign, you need months of preparation ahead. You want a solid pitch to your would-be backers, as well as concrete plans to make your projects a reality. You can get funding for a project at a time in places like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, or get consistent patronage from places like Patreon.
Upload Your Stuff in Public
Creating music videos can be an enjoyable process. Regardless, you need to try and make
money from them. Most modern music video directors started somewhere, and there’s no better
place to start than showing it off in public via streaming platforms like Youtube, Vimeo, or
Dailymotion.
How can this make you money? Many creators building portfolio projects measure their video’s
viability through Youtube. Not only can you earn money from ads, you can also get public
response and engagement online. The more uploads you do, the more chances you have of
getting public attention.
If you’re feeling extra bold, you can start a streaming channel and talk about your process on
stream. Having a stream setup can eventually make you good money from donations. The
streaming crowd is a very curious bunch, so they’d want to see your talent as you grow.
Final Thoughts
There are many ways to fund your career in film. From things you can do like saving up and getting a day job to crowdsourcing to grants and fellowships, you have several options going forward. There are more out there, including contests and investors, but the tips above depend upon your initiative.
Your film career is only starting. Follow any of the above ways to fund your creations and you should be good to go in no time.
Article written by: Sophia Young of Sophia Young Content Studio
Full Spectrum Warrior Commercial Directed and Edited by Kyle Loftus for Black Bird Armament
Full Spectrum Warrior Commercial Directed and Edited by Kyle Loftus for Black Bird Armament
10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Businesses at Low Cost
10 Effective Marketing Strategies for Businesses at Low Cost
Marketing undoubtedly plays a significant role in business and keeping it growing. The challenge of causing your business to reach more clients and make deals is one that could undoubtedly wind up drilling a huge opening in your business pocket. Nevertheless, digital marketing and social media have made it simpler and very economical to showcase a business. This post contains ten marketing strategies with little or no cost to get you started.
Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) listing gives your business visibility, credibility, and brand recognition. Google My Business joins all your various Google platforms into a common spot, incorporating your Google+ profile, Google review, Google Maps profile, your Google audits, accessibility to data on Google Insights, and Google Analytics, and more.
Online Contests
Online Contests make a minimal-cost method of building your brand awareness and producing leads in your target market. Your Contest prize does not require a super costly prize. Still, it should appeal to your intended interest group enough with the end goal that they will play out the call to action to participate in the challenge such as referrals, liking your page, tagging your business, commenting on your posts, and so on.
Community Events
You can decide to organize a local event as they are an easy strategy for gaining exposure in your locale and building your brand awareness. You could likewise utilize online media to advertise your event to get a more extensive reach. You can also choose to give your items to be utilized as prizes in community events that may not be organized by you. However, you need to carefully plan this out to ensure you do not overshoot your budget.
Social Media Adverts
According to datareportal, social media users have reached the 3.8 million mark as of 2020 and, of course, are still growing. Does this mean you are required to spend a fortune via online media ads to stay afloat? No. With a little PPC (pay per click) budget plan for social media promotions, you can launch your marketing system and reach many individuals daily. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Google all offer PPC advertisements at low costs.
Referrals
This program offers existing customers compensation, of significant worth to them, for alluding different customers to your business. . It very well may be a free item, a free month of service, or some other prize. With a little financial investment, a referral program can bring you more relevant customers and help you gain a wider base of loyal customers.
Business Cards
Get yourself some awesome business cards, and then offer them to each individual you meet. Each handshake should accompany a business card. The more the individuals who get to find out about your business, the better it is regardless of whether it's simply a quick look at the business card. You can maximize this free resource tool to design your own business cards.
Online Forums
Join conversation forums where individuals are effectively discussing products and services like yours, subjects in your industry, and businesses that apply to your brand. Online forums can help you get the news out about your mastery, gain validity in your industry, grow your reputation and network, and gather polls or review your target market and prospects.
Email and Bulletin Advertising
Email remains a worthwhile and easy channel for connecting with your intended interest group. A decent email marketing technique can direct people to your site, produce qualified leads, get you more loyal clients, and many more.
Networking
The contacts and deals openings that come via business networking are priceless. Various entrepreneurs can help you recognize your vulnerable marketing sides, allude customers to you, teach you, and even partner with you. Ensure you are doing likewise for them and that you sustain those connections over the long haul.
Freebies
Everybody cherishes a gift. There are numerous approaches to create gifts close to nothing that will deliver results. For instance: a free digital book on a subject of your skill, little examples of your item, or discounts that individuals can get in return for their email address are all examples of low-cost approaches to market your business.
Conclusion
As much as marketing is so essential, this doesn't mean it is an endeavor that is capital intensive. Try out these various marketing strategies with little or no cost and see how they cause your business to grow.
Branding 101: 5 Apps Every Entrepreneur Should Have
Branding 101: 5 Apps Every Entrepreneur Should Have
Building a brand is hard work, but the payout can be so overwhelmingly positive that it's something every new entrepreneur should consider. Luckily, there are plenty of apps out there that can assist with all the myriad tasks involved in creating and managing a successful brand. Here's a list of five of the best apps that every business owner should have downloaded to help them manage their brand.
Buffer
Have you ever wanted to make a post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for your brand but you have to do it all separately? What should take five seconds eats up minutes or even hours of your day, and you'll likely forget to post on at least one social media platform. Buffer is the app that takes your post and publishes it simultaneously across all your social media profiles so you don't have to do it yourself. Plus, you can set it so that Buffer makes your post at a specific time in the future, so you know you're getting maximum engagement. Managing social media has never been this simple.
LogoCreator
Every successful brand has a memorable logo that's simple and conveys the brand's image. The Nike swoosh, the Apple apple, the McDonald's golden arches; all these things instantly make people around the world think of the brand. Your brand needs a good logo, but as a small business owner, you probably can't afford a big budget graphic designer. One great free graphic design resource is http://logocreator.io, which provides powerful tools for the budding graphic designer. Instead of paying for a logo, create one for free. It also lets you create other graphics you need for your advertising, marketing, and social media footprint.
BuzzSumo
If you're managing your brand on social media (which you should be), it can be helpful to know what's trending across social media so you can engage with your market on relevant topics. BuzzSumo helps you analyze trends to identify what sorts of posts and content get the most likes and shares so you can tailor your brand outreach to fit your audience's preferences. BuzzSumo can even tell you the social media influencers that might affect your audience so you can get them involved with your brand directly.
EveryoneSocial
If you have even a couple of employees, you have the potential for free social media outreach to their following, however humble. EveryoneSocial provides an easy-to-use interface to make your whole team brand ambassadors, empowering your employees to build your brand wherever they're on social media. It provides a variety of tools that also help ensure a consistent, uniform message is spread about the brand.
Grammarly
Let's face it; many customers will immediately write off a brand if their communications are replete with grammatical mistakes. Grammarly is much more than just a spell-checker, however; it can provide sentiment analysis to tell you if your post comes across as too aggressive or too friendly, and it can tell you if your marketing communication is clear and precise, or meandering and vague. Plus, it all comes in one easy to use app that you allow to access other apps, and you can download the plug-in on whatever browser you use as well. Grammarly is like having a handy little editor in your pocket at all times.
Apps: A Key to Your Success
Managing a brand is tricky, but there are plenty of apps available to make the process more efficient for even the busiest entrepreneur. If you've got a cell phone in your pocket and you have a brand to manage, take the time to check out a few of the apps we've listed above. You'll be glad you did and they can help take your brand management to the next level.