Setting up your own company and working freelance is one possible route for a career in the industry. This can potentially be a quite difficult way to get into the industry and will require a lot of leg work to do successfully.
Portfolio/social media
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of freelance work is creating a strong presence online where potential customers can view your work and experience.
A key part of this would be your portfolio consisting of your best work, recommendations, awards, bio and show reel. This will provide the foundation for your presence online, Vimeo is an excellent service with which to build your portfolio as it provides a professional looking web page to upload your films and work to in order to link them in with other social media.
Another key part of creating an online presence and marketing your services would be your use of social media. Services such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can be invaluable when trying to promote yourself or your company.
Twitter can provide instant feedback relating to your work as well as a way to propose new ideas to a massive audience. The informality of Twitter can also be extremely useful when discussing new techniques or possible ideas. It is also a great way to keep up to date with what is happening in the world of film as it is commonly used as a way to instantly spread news to the masses. Releasing new content and letting people know about it instantly is very easy with twitter and so would make up an important part of your distribution process.
Facebook is another really useful social media platform. Unlike Twitter, Facebook is designed for you to be able to create a lasting online profile with which to promote and distribute your work. Facebook enables you to create a specific page for your company that is easy for users to find. Although not as professional as other platforms it is still common practice for freelance filmmakers to create a Facebook page due to the massive amount of users the site has, greatly increasing the size of your audience as well as not having your eggs all in one basket. You are also given the option of paying to promote your page, this will make your page appear to a wider audience in the form of an advertisement.
Instagram can be a really useful tool particularly for artists and filmmakers due to the visual nature of their work. Instagram allows you to upload images and short clips to a profile providing a visual representation of your work and the things you do. Much like Twitter, Instagram is useful for promoting your work to a wider audience although not as wide spread. The key feature of Instagram however is being able to instantly upload visual media on the move so that you can keep your audience up to date with what you’re doing.
Creating your own website is extremely important for working freelance as it provides a place where everything can be combined and linked together in order to create a successful and professional online presence with which to market and promote your work. A successful website would include links to all of your social media platforms, your portfolio and more information such as contact info, an outline of your rates and where you are based at.
Location and Funding
Being able to fund your business with income from the work that you produce is the ideal situation to be in however it will not be like that to begin with. If I was to begin working freelance I would likely have to start off by doing a lot of work for free/low costs in order to build a good reputation and gain more experience. I would then be able to steadily increase the rates that I charge in order to start generating income and support the growth of my business.
As I wouldn’t be earning much money from my business however I would have to fund my work from another source. Therefore I would have to seek employment to cover the costs, bar or retail work would be a viable option as they have accessible entry requirements as well as the possibility as being very flexible in order to work around my freelance work.
Working freelance and just living in general comes with a number of costs that I would also have to fund with either income from films or other employment.
Expenses such as rent, utilities, food and travel can vary greatly depending on your location. If I was to either continue living at home or live with my mum in manchester I would be able to share some of these costs with my family and relieve some of the pressure. Manchester would also be a viable place to begin a freelance business particularly for the indie music video area as manchester is a central hub for music culture. Manchester is also home to media city which could provide possible future employment opportunities as it is fast becoming a key part of film and media in the north. However this is not a long term solution as I feel I would need my own space in order to grow both my business and myself.
As I have applied to Staffordshire university I have looked into some of the costs of potentially living there, specifically the Stoke-on-Trent area. A typical 1 bedroom flat as a studio or as part of a converted house is around £400-£500 pcm. A large number of properties available also have bills included helping to simplify things and potentially reduce the cost of utilities. Staffordshire would also be a good location to work as freelance as it is very central in the country allowing easy access and travel in order to move around for work, for example Staffordshire is 40 mins to manchester on the train and 1hr 2o to London.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/Stoke-On-Trent/studio-flats.html
In order to work effectively as a freelance filmmaker there will be other costs involved to maintain a standard of living and working.
Access to software and equipment is extremely important whether I purchase my own or hire it out as it will be needed in order to produce work. Adobe offers a subscription to its programs at a reasonably accessible price. The complete adobe software including premiere, photoshop, after effects and audition etc is available to students for £15 a month and for individuals £45. This would give me access to all of the basic software that I would need to work as a freelance editor.
http://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud.html
Equipment such as cameras, lights, sound gear, rigs and any other hardware can be expensive so hiring out the equipment you need over the course of a shoot could be a more economic way of doing things. As an example to Hire out a Canon 5D would cost you roughly £90 a day as opposed to buying it our right at closer to £2,000. Hiring out equipment would also be a way of trying out new gear in order to decide what to invest in in the future.
https://www.hireacamera.com/en-gb/
http://www.vid4hire.co.uk/camera-hire/canon/canon-5D-MKIII-hire-rental
Additional costs such as Phone, TV, Internet and other luxuries such as Netflix and any hobbies also have a cost attached to them which can very easily add up to a substantial amount but are sometimes necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Other Requirements
If you go down the route of freelance work it is highly advisable to create some kind of company brand. This will involve you designing a name and a logo with which to promote your company and generate a reputation. Using a variety of social media platforms can greatly aid you in promotion of your brand. By creating a brand for yourself you are able to appear much more professional and recognizable although it does dehumanize the whole process slightly.
Being able to manage each individual process, the costs involved, any payment you receive and possibly any employees is crucial to a steady and successful business. Due to this I believe that basic business or money management skills are vital to working as a freelance filmmaker. You need to be able to budget and fund each project effectively by means of careful planning and management.
Having access to your own equipment can also be a necessary part of freelance filmmaking. Obviously you can’t edit without at least some kind of editing software, however basic, so there will be key bits of equipment you simply can’t work without. In order to run a successful company you will need to have constant access to equipment be it your own or hired.
Hired/Post House employment
CroftWerk
Croftwerk is post house specializing in music video production located in Manchester. This could potentially a very viable place to work as its location would provide easy access if I chose to live at home or in Manchester with my mum temporarily. It would also be very appropriate for the type of work I would like to produce as not only are they tailored towards music video production but music videos within the indie genre usually for independent artists or small record labels.
Envy
At the other end of the spectrum would be somewhere like Envy. They are a highly professional post house situated down in London and cover a range of productions from short films, drama, TV, advertising and feature films. The location of this post house wouldn’t be ideal however as living in London can be extremely expensive, instead of living in London I would likely commute from somewhere cheaper and nearby such as Staffordshire. Another problem with somewhere like this would be the competition for a position, as it is a much more professional company I would likely need a lot more experience before applying.
requirements
In order to apply for any editorial position there are a number of documents that I would need to complete and submit. Much like freelance, creating a portfolio would be a sensible thing to do as it will allow them to see the work and experience I have achieved. Also a more specific CV with any appropriate qualifications and references would be required as with any employment. If I am then considered for the position I would likely have to attend an interview to further discuss my potential employment with the company.
Job description
Some of my possible responsibilities as an editor might include:
- receiving a brief and/or shot list, screen play and script
- assembling raw footage into a finished product
- importing and organizing rushes and sound files
- experimenting with styles and techniques including graphic design
- suggesting or selecting music
- overseeing the quality and progress of video and sound editing
As an editor I would also need to be able to:
- Have a keen eye for detail and a critical mind
- Creative and passionate about film
- patience and concentration
- listen and work as a team
- organize myself and my time
- work under pressure
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/film-video-editor
Costs
Seeking employment with a post house and being able to live and work comfortably will involve certain expenses, some of which that are also involved in freelance work.
Costs for accommodation will be similar to freelance work as I will either need to share housing with my family or find a place of my own. Staffordshire would be another viable option due to its central position allowing me to travel easily around the country depending on work. However the position that I find will greatly dictate where I have to live and then I will have the decision to either live near work or commute daily.
One of the main differences between freelance and hired work in terms of cost is that it will not be as vital for you to purchase your own equipment as it is likely that the work place will provide you with all the tools you need to produce work. An option however is still to own your own equipment so that you can potentially work from home, however this is not strictly necessary.
Hired work would leave me better off finically initially due to not having to fund films myself and purchase my own equipment. I would also get a salary from employment meaning that I would have a much more reliable source of income with which to fund things such as rent, food and utilities. An average salary for an editor in a post house would be around £26,000, this would help greatly with living costs however once I start to earn this much I will have additional things to pay for such as tax and student loan repayments. This being said there is no doubt however that being employed would provide a much more reliable income than freelance.
Matthew Tucker 