Can Social Media bring big changes for the Local Movie Scene?

One of the things that I have noticed out of the Austin Film Scene is that there is a broad sense of community and that there is a serious backing from multiple local sources. Me, Jealous? Perhaps. But not being one to be satisfied with the status quo, I have been wondering how to expand the reach of social media to help the San Antonio Film Community.

I had the chance to work with Jennifer Navarrete, one of the organizers of http://barcamp.org/BarCampSanAntonio and who is spearheading the effort to get a branch of the SocialMediaClub set up in San Antonio. She put the challenge to me to set up a social media camp for the local entertainment industry. Brilliant. But am I ready?

Opportunity is not something to be passed by lightly. While I do not claim to master the social media mojo, I know that there needs to be a smart, deliberate and passionate effort to better organize the filmmaking scene locally. There are already in place several hardworking people who have laid out great groundwork, but it lays invisible and the potential players (namely you, my local dizzy denizens) do not interact frequently enough. Better exposure and organized intercommunication is on its way, so will keep you posted as to when social media camp/SA Film Freak style info becomes available.

Until then (clink)
hugs from PapaBear

Practice what you preach

Quick post; joined the 48hr film competition that I vlogged about. We had some trouble downloading the final product so we were disqualified. Still a good film, it had excellent production values and had a good story. Nothing to be embarrased about, that is for sure.

This years San Antonio entries were very strong; many were disqualified, btw, but they were excellent pieces of work and those things, with a little luck and pluck, can build a life of their own.

48hr.tv will be showcasing the film, time undetermined but will post when available.

I look forward to telling you all more as things come up, but the filmmakers speak for themselves on 48hr.com in their own posts.

Kinda lost heart in putting something in because we're disqualified, but tomorrow is a new day. I don't stay bitter long. I leave that for my coffee, thank you...

bringing a new aspect to the blog

Went video, did a vlog and posted on youtube.com // http://tinyurl.com/5r39nn .

Promoting Self

One skill set you will need to cultivate when you explore living creatively is how to expand your network.  This entails knowing where things are happening, making connections when you get there and getting yourself recorded.   

First, no matter where you are at, there is a community/group/theatre troupe that is actively meeting and getting their party on.  The best way to get yourself from outsider to joe in the know is to get onto their lists (to include mailing lists, blog lists, web feeds, etc).  Another is to see if the major players within that group do their own blogs or have their own website.   This group of people are the first to toot the horn on what they are up to, so learn what your people are up to.  Worst case scenario is that you can fall back on national publications for info and check out your state or city govt's website under film and see what is going down.  

So, you got the lowdown on a film premier/casting/benefit/carwash that looks interesting, so what do you do?  Walk in dressed to the nine's with an armful of headshots?  You are way better off going with a group of supportive friends and scope out the scene.  Learn how people introduce themselves and then see how people react to those introductions.   Do not, Do Not, DO NOT be the ignorant moron who slams through the crowd declaring you are the next best thing; people will remember you, oh they will remember you, and toss your headshot/demo reel/script out without even a second glance.  Mingle but do not dominate; small fish should not cause large ripples.

Lets conclude this entry by spelling out what I mean by getting recorded.  Become familiar with Flickr and Photobucket; ask the photographers where they will be displaying their goods.  I learned this lesson the hard way; you want to be able to link to an online  photo and say "yeah, that's me" without cringing.  Just a thought, and I will conclude with that.  Video blog forthcoming, will keep you posted...