Whether you’re the life of the party, a bit of an introvert or somewhere in between, networking can be a rollercoaster ride of ups and down. As a professional “slasher” working in the arts and film industries for the last fifteen years, I’ve seen my fair share of overpriced conferences, un-fun icebreakers, awkward allocated-seating dinners and “speed networking” that’s worse than actual speed dating.
But there is some hope. When it comes to networking, over time we can eventually find a groove in terms of what works best for our own needs as a creative practitioner. In this article, I’m sharing some networking hard fails ie. “what not to do” and also some networking wins.
Do I need a business card?
The last time I printed a business card was five years ago before attending the Sundance Film Festival in the USA. When I finally arrived in Park City, Utah, I trekked around in the snow clutching a wad of business cards and postcards for my short film. In the end, yes I did exchange a few cards, but actually people would ask me to connect online when we were standing there face to face. Many times I’d put my email directly into someone’s phone and they’d email me instantly, or we’d connect via social media on the spot.
Since then, the other thing that I often do is collect people’s emails in my notes app. I really like this way of instantly connecting and sharing contact details digitally. So that’s how I roll now – no business cards. Most recently I attended The Other Art Fair in Melbourne and I noticed that instead of business cards, artists used QR codes – another great idea.
The Elevator Pitch
In the film world, the elevator pitch is the 30-seconds you have to sell your film project to a bigwig you’re accidentally trapped with in the confined space of an elevator travelling between the lobby and networking drinks.
I was once at a film conference standing in a noisy crowded room trying to pitch my film idea to to a well-known Australian producer who told me they had five minutes to spare. I did my best to speak about a project that was really meaningful to me and they spent the entire time looking around the room scanning for other people and glancing down at their watch.
I’ve had a few moments like this. Sometimes the film industry can be brutal but I’ve learnt that I’m the kind of artist who needs to firstly, sit down and then have more time to connect and talk about my projects. Now, I try to get a contact and send an email at a later date. Sometimes it’s just not the right time to pitch, even if that’s what the event is for.
The ‘who’ and ‘why’ of it all
More generally though, the elevator pitch can relate to the verbal version of your written bio – the way you introduce yourself and your work in a professional setting. It can be really hard to distill the essence of what you do into a few sentences. But if you’re in the right environment with the right peeps you can really connect and spark engaging conversations. I find that the more specific people are in their intros, the better. And if people come at me with honesty and authenticity around what they do, I’m immediately engaged. One take away from my filmmaking lab experiences overseas is that people really want to know not just what you do, but who you are and why you do what you do.
I think that delving a little deeper into your creative practice goes a long way when you’re meeting new people. I had one instance where I randomly sat next to a journalist in a festival audience to watch a filmmaking panel. Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of cultural diversity in terms of representation among the panel speakers. I spoke with my new journalist buddy about diversity as a big problem in the Australian screen industry and something that I care about deeply. Years later, she reached out to me via Twitter for an interview for The Australian. It was really nice that she remembered our meeting after such a long time.
But it’s not always roses, here’s a legitimate intro that I have used (as a freelancer in between gigs at the time) and it bombed big time: “Hi, I’m Amie and I’m fun-employed.” A friend suggested I change it to, “self-employed”. Noted.
The random chat
One of my favourite ways to meet people is during a conference, summit or festival in the lunch line perusing sandwiches, standing in the bathroom queue, on the dance floor etc. I find that being free of those networking formalities feels more natural.
I once struck up a conversation with someone called Franklin Leonard in line at a festival bar. He told me he founded something called The Black List. I later found out that The Black List is a revolutionary platform for filmmakers, and I watched his Ted Talk. You never know who you’re going to run into.
I’ve also met people that I’ve casted for film projects just walking in the street, at a spoken word gig and riding in LA Ubers. It’s sounding like I’m quite an extravert but I can actually be pretty shy at times. I find that when I adopt an open mindset and I have a project to speak to that I’m passionate about, those connections come much more easily.
Dropping into DMs
Just for the record, I don’t recommend this one. Social media isn’t perhaps the best platform to reach out to someone about a professional matter. In saying this, I have done it once via Facebook but my justification was that I had just sent this person an email and then I randomly saw the person at my gym! Needless to say, they did not respond to my email or Facebook message. Yikes, networking can be so cringe-worthy. But when you’re cold calling, it can often come to a dead end. And you move on.
E-intros
The best thing to do is reach out via email. I know that when emerging filmmakers reach out to me, I’m more likely to respond via email. And I don’t mind if people send a follow up email if I’ve been busy. Better still, if you can find someone who knows that someone, then a personal e-introduction always elicits a response. I’ve been lucky to have lots of colleagues who’ve sent an e-intro to other creatives, and I try to do the same thing in return. It’s a great way to make new connections (away from social media).
The follow up
TBH, in the past I’ve found that I’m so drained from the actual networking event that I get home, try to recover and throw the event program in the recycling. But now I try to make a concerted effort to send a follow up email and say, ”Hi, great to meet you”.
The other thing I did was in 2015, I started a newsletter where I share about my creative practice in a deeper way, beyond a social media feed. So now, I always add emails to the list and it’s an excellent way to stay in touch with those contacts. Sometimes people reply to my newsletters and share their own recent news which is always really great to hear.
Intention and meaningful connections
Over the years, I have most definitely have had those times where the networking juices aren’t flowing. But I’ve also had the chance to meet some wonderfully talented creatives from around the world and create some truly meaningful connections that I hold dear.
What I’d offer up is that I now attend events with the intention of being open to connections – and anything else on top of that is a bonus. I’ve found that when I’ve had any sort of ‘networking agenda’ to meet a specific person or plug a particular project, it can add unnecessary pressure.
Now I go to networking gatherings and events that excite me, I seek out people who are interesting and authentic, and in general just try to have fun with it. So, to me, really it’s about connecting not networking.
Amie Batalibasi is a filmmaker and founder and director of Colour Box Studio.
Read more articles by Colour Box Studio’s founder here.
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