In this session hosted by Head of Member Services Laura Adams, directors Jermain Julien and David Keating joined Curzon publicity guru Jake Garriock and social strategist Lenka Koppova for a discussion on how to get yourself out there.
Scroll below for live-tweets and photos from the session. Find out more about our panel.
Now it’s time to split into 3 sessions again. Deepfake Impact is taking place in the main hall (look out for a podcast soon). While on Twitter you can follow #DUKbrand for a session on self-branding, and #DUKrights for a live-action negotiations roleplay #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
In some ways it’s pushing the auteur theory, but not in an egotistical way - just emphasising what you bring to a production and using your platform to celebrate the work of the whole team #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Lenka agrees. It’s a very competitive marketplace now, and so you need to emphasise what you personally bring, and what makes you stand out #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake uses his social media to represent their films, but does it as himself, in part because that’s more authentic, but also because he genuinely loves the films they’re promoting #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
People love these shows, like Holby City and Death in Paradise, so why not let people know that you brought a bit of your own unique flavour to a particular episode #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
David: it's always striking when directors convey how excited and passionate they are about a project. We're all passionate about our work, so why are we so boring on social media?! #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
David: it's always striking when directors convey how excited and passionate they are about a project. We're all passionate about our work, so why are we so boring on social media?! #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
And if you can't reveal certain things, reveal what you can and use that to build anticipation #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
And if you can't reveal certain things, reveal what you can and use that to build anticipation #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake: people often say 'well Terrence Malick doesn't promote his films so why do I'. The answer is because he's Terrence Malick #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake: people often say 'well Terrence Malick doesn't promote his films so why do I'. The answer is because he's Terrence Malick #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Laura: And the truth is that perhaps Terrence Malick could sell more tickets if he promoted his films too! #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Lenka" don't worry about the number of followers you have. There's easy ways to get your tweets in front of others - hashtags, existing conversations #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
It's a lot more about being active, getting involved an being there in the moment when things come out and people are talking about them #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Think of social media as what we're doing today: face-to-face socialising and networking. Don't treat it as just a promotional tool to only use when you're got a project coming out #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Think of social media as what we're doing today: face-to-face socialising and networking. Don't treat it as just a promotional tool to only use when you're got a project coming out #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Asked to put a number on how much time you need to set aside for this kind of promotion, Lenka explains that it depends hugely on what you want to achieve #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
But even 15 minutes a day is enough. The key is doing it every day, not just doing it for a few weeks, then taking several months off and only coming back when you need social media #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake: it actually saves time in the long run. You can achieve more through social media than you can traipsing around parties that you feel you need to go to #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake: it actually saves time in the long run. You can achieve more through social media than you can traipsing around parties that you feel you need to go to #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
#DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19 pic.twitter.com/FQrIntsTSn
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
We're now opening up to audience questions #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Responding to a question, Lenka is explaining what she feels the differences are between Twitter and Instagram, and says which you use should be dictated by the audience you want to reach #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Whereas Twitter is better for conversations and reaching people over 25 or so #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jermain talks about getting permission to tweet the things he features on his feed #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
He says you just need to get the answer upfront about what the expectations are. You obviously don't want to spoil things. And different shows will have different levels of secrecy #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
But you can always tweet interesting things that don't reveal anything that's prohibited - even if it's just a clapperboard #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
And once the show's out you can go into the real nitty-gritty and explain how you achieved a certain shot, or reveal a fun behind-the-scenes story #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
An audience member says he tends to overthink his tweets and then just doesn't post anything. How does Jermain counter that? #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jermain: obviously you need to be careful what you tweet - you should never tweet something you wouldn't be happy to see written in flames above your house! #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
But don't let that stop you from tweeting interesting things. There's the odd tweet that he takes a while to compose and get right, but most of the time he leans towards flippant and just gets something out there #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
But don't let that stop you from tweeting interesting things. There's the odd tweet that he takes a while to compose and get right, but most of the time he leans towards flippant and just gets something out there #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
The rest of the panel agrees. You come across as yourself that way. You only need to be concerned if you're tweeting offensive things, and you shouldn't be doing that anyway #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
David is speaking about bringing this kind of self-branding out into the real world, to the world of pitching and meetings #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
David explains that when you have a meeting, the very best outcome is securing another meeting. But you need to be aware that between those two meetings is going to be another meeting that you're not invited to #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
So what you need to do is express your project in a way that is simple, but compelling and memorable, so that your words get used in that meeting even though you're not there in person #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake is talking about media training and says that the worst thing that can do is take all the personality out of interviews #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
If someone is experienced you can trust them to know what they're doing, or else you know from past experience what pointers they might need #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
If someone is a first-time director, then they tend to do a little bit of media training, but they still keep it light touch so you don't remove everything's that interesting about them #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Beyond social media, the panel are discussing whether it's still necessary to have you own website #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jake says it might be worth having for more general reasons, but not for promotional purposes - Curzon wouldn't expect directors to do that for themselves, that's part of their job #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Lenka says the good thing about a website is that it gives you a permanent home to house contact details and showreels etc. Social media is fantastic but it could disappear tomorrow and you don't own anything you've posted there #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jermain doesn't have a personal website as he uses social media and sites like Vimeo to host his showreels #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jermain doesn't have a personal website as he uses social media and sites like Vimeo to host his showreels #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
He remembers the days when he used to burn DVDs and send them with a teabag and a Kit-Kat, saying 'have a break on me'. In a way he misses those days! #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Asked about dos and don'ts for showreels, Laura talks about some of the feedback we've received from production companies we've partnered with #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Don't have silent showreels - production companies want to see how you work with dialogue #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Don't make your showreel too long - they should be three minutes maximum. You might want to have multiple showreels for different purposes - a long one for your site, a short one for production companies #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Question from the audience: do we really have to do all this?! #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jermain: yes! The times they are a changing. There was a time when actors didn't want to self-tape, but now that's the norm. And this is the same thing #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
You don't need to start off doing it constantly every day - just do it a little bit at first and get more used to it #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
And it doesn't just need to be about work. Half of my tweets are about The Apprentice, and I only do that because if I didn't offload on Twitter I'd be annoying the neighbours by screaming out loud #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Lenka agrees, and explains that you shouldn't necessarily think of this as branding - it's just letting people know who you are and then using that personal connection to make people remember you #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
Jermain says that it's incredibly valuable if you're able to point to members of public who are responding to things that you specifically brought to an episode - it's things like that that get you rehired #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
But the public won't know that you're responsible for those things unless you make them aware #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
But the public won't know that you're responsible for those things unless you make them aware #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
And that's a wrap! That was a fantastic session - we hope you all found it useful. Thank you to our brilliant panel: @JermainJulien, @KeatingKeating, @JWGarriock, @lenkakopp and @AdamsLaura #DUKbrand #DirectorsCut19
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 2, 2019
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