I suck at networking.

Big time.

I swear networking events make me break into an uncontrolled wave of sweat.

Standing around chit-chatting with strangers about the weather is also a terrible way to get to know someone.

One of my goals this year was to get better at building my network of filmmaking friends. And today I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned.

Friends > Connections

“Let’s connect.”

Said no one ever.

The film industry maxim of “it’s all about who you know,” is true to a certain degree.

We all need help navigating this crazy industry.

What most people get wrong is they focus on quantity over quality.

Giving 1000 people your card or sending 10,000 cold emails is not going to get you your next directing gig.

Nurturing real, meaningful relationships with people you care about might.

One of my goals right now is to get hired to direct my first episode of TV.

When workshopping my outreach strategy I started with “I should reach out to directors, producers and writers of TV shows.”

The list of directors, producers and writers who make TV shows is massive.

I learned I had to be way more specific about who I targeted if I wanted to make actual progress on my networking.

Ideally we want to connect with people who have (relatively) recently overcome the challenges we currently face, so we can learn from what helped them succeed.

I narrowed my target audience to “directors and producers of comedy TV shows with 3+ seasons, who have a history of hiring first time directors. Bonus points if the shows have elements of fantasy, sci-fi or action.”

I’ll tell you one thing: the IMDb Pro rabbit holes I’ve gone down are preeeeetty deep.

And even though I’ve built a long list of potential connections, the level of research and effort to do this kind of work is a lot.

It made me wish there was an easier way.

Why can’t I just be friends with a bunch of amazing directors?

I wish I was a Movie Brat

Can you imagine hanging out and being a peer of Spielberg, Scorcese, Lucas, Ford Coppola and De Palma?

This group of friends, affectionately known as the Movie Brats, helped each other out on their films, screened cuts and gave each other feedback. Lucas directed second unit for The Godfather, De Palma rewrote the opening scroll for Star Wars, Scorcese asked Spielberg for input on Taxi Driver, the list goes on and on.

It’s pretty crazy that such an acclaimed group of directors were friends who championed each other. But if you look at history, it’s actually not that uncommon.

In this fantastic article, tech writer Kevin Kelly talks about “scenius.” It’s like genius, but embedded in and emerging from a scene, rather than an individual.

“Scenius stands for the intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. It is the communal form of the concept of the genius.”
- Brian Eno

Every form of art and science has or has had its scenius throughout history. Science and philosophy in Ancient Greece, art in Renaissance Florence, fantasy writers in The Inklings, in Oxford, tech in Silicon Valley.

I’m fascinated by the idea of greatness originating from a community.

It’s also something I’m sorely missing as a director.

Join one or start one?

One thing is clear after diving deep on scenius - it’s not something that can be manufactured by force.

In Conjuring Scenius Packy McCormick does a fantastic job of breaking down what a scenius is, and what the ingredients are for having one appear.

He argues that most scenia emerge from some kind of catastrophe or tragedy. He thinks the Coronovirus pandemic might be one of those historical catalysts of change.

Looking at our industry today it’s clear to me that a lot of things are broken.

We are looking at change on some level or another in the years to come.

Just like the Movie Brats emerged after the death of the Studio System, I’m curious what will emerge as a result of the end of the Golden Age of Streaming. Which I believe we see happening before our eyes.

What can smart, driven filmmakers do to create a change that benefits the creatives and the fans?

Unless one of you are like: hey, this exists, go join this cool thing, I’m thinking I’ll start my own community to figure this out.

The Call to Adventure was always intended to be a gateway drug for directors to get together and help make each other better filmmakers.

This thing starts with you.

If you have the time and the interest I would love to talk to you.

I want to know what you’re struggling with, where you need help, and what a community could offer to help you grow and progress as a director.

If you reply to this email I will get back to you and have that conversation with you.

It would mean the world to me if you took the time to chat.

No conclusion today, just let me know if you’d like to talk.

‍