A Screenwriter’s Survival Guide To Hollywood - Part Nine - FINAL

Photo Credit: Public Domain

If you missed the first 8 parts:

https://steemit.com/writing/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-one
https://steemit.com/writing/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-two
https://steemit.com/screenwriting/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood
https://steemit.com/screenwriting/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-four
https://steemit.com/screenwriting/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-five
https://steemit.com/writing/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-six
https://steemit.com/writing/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-seven
https://steemit.com/screenwriting/@thegridzom/a-screenwriter-s-survival-guide-to-hollywood-part-eight

Building Your Credits

For my first few projects, I had to wait forever to be listed on IMDB. IMDB-AKA-Who made these guys the end all – be all for Film & TV credits?

Well, I suppose someone had to do it. When I first started producing my own short films it took forever to get listed on IMDB. My projects just weren’t important enough for them to consider when they are probably super short-staffed and there are so many big films and shows out there to list.
I used to feel cheated and discriminated upon because of the wait or lack of acknowledgement. It was so bad at one point that I kept two credits that didn’t belong to me in fear that if I said anything, they’d remove the few legit credits, I had on there.

Fortunately, things have changed, and it is now much easier and faster. During late 2008, IMDB implemented a program using their sister company, Withoutabox to make the processing and accessibility much faster and easier.
It appears that IMDB realized they needed more content on their site, so they figured out a way to make it a win/win for them and indie filmmakers. IMDB is owned by Amazon, which also owns Withoutabox.com and Createspace.com.

By setting up an account on withoutabox.com and submitting your film to at least one of the “IMDB qualifying” festivals, you will receive an invitation to set up your film’s IMDB title page. Hopefully this program will continue, because it certainly levels the playing field and helps the emerging filmmaker showcase their work by allowing them to upload trailers, clips and even their entire film.

With the ability to add clips, I have on numerous times used my direct links to my personal IMDB to show my movie trailers. Why? Because the more hits you get to your IMDB page, the lower number you can get for your StarMeter, and the lower the better with number one being the most highly searched during the course of the week. The number one spot is usually the star of a new movie that’s out and getting a ton of buzz or an actor, who has just died, and everyone is looking him up.

For a filmmaker to have consistent “lower” IMDB numbers means constantly promoting your work via social networks and press. So to stay fresh, you need to continue putting out new product, enter festivals and generate a buzz.
This is how it works.

1. You make your movie. Once it’s in the can you-

2. Open an account with withoutabox.com.

3. Set up you project.

4. Find the pulldown menu that says “IMDB Qualifying” and select at least one festival that is currently accepting submissions.

5. Submit your project, pay for it, and mail it off before the deadline.

6. At some point, you will receive from the festival that they received your film.

7. Shortly thereafter, you will receive an invitation to set up the title page with all the credits.

8. Within a short period of time your film will magically appear on IMDB. Individual credits may take longer depending on whether the person or company is already on IMDB or not. But at some point all of the credits will appear.
   Now for the other shoe to drop.

9. You will receive an email from IMDB/withoutabox that’s letting you know that your title page has been added to their database… Yippee! But you already knew that because you have been stalking the site everyday since you set up the credits.

The rest of the email suggests in my opinion in an almost threatening way that you better put up a trailer or some video, if not the entire movie…

I’m not sure if you page would go dark and be dropped if you didn’t but let’s just say that all of my titles have some sort of video uploaded.

And this is how they ingeniously are able to make money thru withoutabox and then on the other side thru ad sales using your content as a traffic generator.

And so since IMDB is for some reason the “Go to” for film credits it’s a very small price to pay.

Volunteering

Volunteering your time to P.A. or hold a boom on another filmmaker’s project is a great way to see how others run their set. It’s invaluable experience.

I enjoy weekend shoots on small projects where the energy is light and you may sometimes end up wearing several hats.
The point is that if you keep making films, whether they’re yours or not, you’re on set doing it and are always getting a step closer to it being more than a hobby.

So when you’ve done everything you can possibly do to boost your own projects, the next best thing to do is to work on someone else’s.

Working on someone else’s film can be one of the best educations as well as one of the best networking events you’ll ever attend. It’s great and sort of a sneaky way to audition crew and actors without them know.

Wrapping It Up

I think the most common mistake made by any writer or filmmaker is to only have one project and to sit and wait for something to happen. I believe in having multiple projects and to never wait on anyone. Yes, of course if you’ve done everything you can in your power and with your budget, there does come a time for when you need to put the project on the back burner and simmer, and that is when I move on to another project and stir that pot up for a while.
I usually have three projects going at the same time. They’re not always just writing projects, and when I’m in production, I obviously focus in on that particular project or things could really go wrong.

But on an average day, I have three writing projects. Sometimes, I just can’t make myself be in one of the fictional worlds, I’ve created, so I move over to another one for a while. When I do this, I’m always moving forward, and I always know when to keep going with one when it seems like I’m getting close to the finish line.

While writing this book, I am also working on a feature film script, that has been on hold for a few months due to my web series. I’ve looked at it from time to time, but I’m just not feelin’ it, so it keeps getting pushed aside. I also have the book based on “The Seer” that I’m writing, which seems to be flowing well, because of the webseries.
As soon as this book is finished, I’ll probably revisit the feature and try to finish it up, and then work on some other concepts and set up another feature film outline.

So, when I tell people that I write an average of three feature films (or the equivalent) a year, this is how I do it.
Don’t get wrapped around the axel and don’t ever stop moving forward.

Copyright 2018 Linda Andersson/The Grid Zom, LLC