Posts Tagged ‘Networking in Hollywood East’

High unemployment rates are no excuse for a hiatus from the job hunt; it’s times like these that require an aggressive approach to career-building. Lucky for you, our Career Scene page just got an extreme makeover: professional edition. Here’s a sampling of some of our featured networking opportunities:

Executives from all of the Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn, so why haven’t you joined yet? A new member registers with the online network approximately every second, gaining access to hundreds of thousands of professionals looking to connect. There’s also a LinkedIn group that caters to the movie magic happening here in New England, aptly named “Hollywood East.” While the group has hardly reached its full potential with fewer than 150 members, the cyber network serves as a platform for discussions about film and television news and job postings.

The “Our Space” sister sites are taking the Web by storm, offering Facebook-esqe capabilities that allow members to promote themselves via photos and videos, a blog, chatting, announcing an event, or engaging in e-conversations via discussion forums. Our Film Space is an active social network “serving the film and television industry in New England.” In addition to posting basic information, members often add a picture reel of head shots and join special interest groups like the “New England Web TV Association” or “Martial Arts in Film.”

Boasting many of the same features and applications is OTSVillage, the official networking site for Our TV Space. OTSVillage announces the collaborative opportunities made possible by Our TV Space: “In addition to developing its own web series (12 series are planned in the initial phase), programming, and digital content, the team at OurTvSpace.com is seeking to partner with others to build its new and exciting Digital Network worldwide.”

Our Film Props–a self-proclaimed “gathering place for artisans and collectors providing goods and services to the film and TV biz”–is the third installation of the networking alliance. Rather than head shots of actors, the photo reel on this site showcases everything from Victorian-style handbags to medieval-looking keys.

Need a break from your computer? Click around the Professional Association links on our Career Scene page to learn more about schmoozing sessions planned by local organizations–all just waiting for you to reach out to them.

Stay tuned for the next edition of Networking in Hollywood East, and in the meantime, start rubbing elbows.

On Thursday, October 15, the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline will be hosting an Awards and Networking Night for filmmakers from the Online New England Film Festival, the staff of NewEnglandFilm.com, and other talented industry leaders. This important annual event includes screenings of a selection of films from the recent festival, which will be followed by the announcement of the winners in each of the jury and audience categories. The awards night screening line-up includes the short films Penumbra, Stalk Much?, John, Did You, the five: fifteen, and The Reality Behind Closed Doors.

This event is an excellent opportunity for those interested in becoming more familiar with important members of the New England film community to gain access and potentially make useful industry connections. Expected attendees include; Kevin Anderton, Boston Film Night founder and Comedy Festival juror, Michele Meek, founder of NewEnglandFilm.com and festival director, Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, President of Women in Film Video New England, and Lorre Fritchy, founder of MasterPeace Productions and Documentary Festival juror. The evening kicks off at 7PM at the Harvard Avenue venue. Tickets are $9 and can be purchased through the Coolidge Corner Theater website.

The New Hampshire Film and Television Office is launching a pilot networking event on Tuesday, September 29 at 5pm at the New Hampshire State Library in Concord. Based on the office’s quarterly Industry Roundtables, the Industry Meet-Up promises to be an opportunity to discuss ideas and concerns about the state of film and television in New Hampshire with industry professionals, amateurs, and students. However, the after-hours Meet-Up will be less structured, allowing attendees to drive the discussion and to socialize to a greater degree. While the structure of future Meet-Ups is still in flux, there is talk of “Pecha Kucha” or “Speed Geeking“-themed events.

The New Hampshire Film and Television Industry events are free and open to the public. RSVP to [email protected] or (603) 271-2220 by Monday, September 28.

For more information about Networking in Hollywood East, visit our Career Scene page.

As mentioned in “Networking in Hollywood East,” countless mingling opportunities are just a few clicks away thanks to the wildfire popularity of social media. But one website has gone above and beyond the casting call of duty, building a platform for members of the New England acting community to promote their talents, share tips, and get hired.

Enter industry mogul Bradley J. Van Dussen–actor, professional speaker, voice-over artist, host, team-building facilitator, print model, and founder of NewEnglandActor.com. According to Van Dussen, NewEnglandActor.com started as a social networking site in May of 2008, but quickly left Facebook in its dust with favorable features for acting talent.

“I started working and manipulating the site to begin promoting myself as an actor,” said Van Dussen. “Uploading my acting reel, voice-over demos, modeling photos…I soon realized this site can be used by the actors to promote their talents.”

Testimonials on the site’s homepage emphasize the benefits of such features. “Tools like help make talent more competitive in this industry,” said John Campanello of BetweenGigs Casting. “ was a big help to the producers of The Pond when they were looking for talent to call in for auditions.”

Matt Boudry of CP Casting echoed his sentiments: “…t would be foolish for me not to look at NEActor.com for every job I’m hired to cast.”

As the website’s success stories accrue, membership continues to grow; NewEnglandActor.com currently hosts over 450 member profiles. But membership isn’t for every actor and his brother; according to “My Pledge to You” on the site’s “About” page, “New members must demonstrate their sincerity to the craft of acting, modeling, or voice-overs” by completing tasks like uploading professional-quality photos, presenting a resume, and taking acting classes or auditioning.

One last requirement: members must be from New England, of course. So make the move, west coasters. Big things are happening here.