Gotta call this director... any advice?

Jon Starr

Jon Starr

Veteran
Well I go to a karate dojo with this guy, and when I recently did a film for the dojo he told me "hey I have this friend of mine you should meet up with." It was mentioned once and forgotten.

Recently he mentioned it again and said this guy is a director and has worked for people like Mark Burnett. It really is a good idea and what better way than to make contacts/friends in the industry.

Now here's the thing, I'm the shyest guy in the world and I gotta call this guy (I would do beter face to face, but I don't think he lives around montreal anymore). He'll know I'll be calling, and I just gotta suck it up, I know that. The only thing is, what do I talk to him about?!? This guy from my dojo says to just butt heads, talk about things...

Any advice though? How do I talk to him without alienating him? What if it gets awkward and I have nothing to say? Guess I'm just nervous... but any advice could help.
 
Ask him what he is wearing...

Seriously, just act cool. Don't start spewing film making mumbo jumbo, but instead act very professional and down to earth.

Introduce yourself first, then explain/ remind him, how you know each other (the mutual acquaintance). Don't assume he remembers your name.

The next part is tricky. You don't want to ask for a job upfront, but rather talk to him and make him want to work with you. Do this by simply shooting the sh*t with the man.

If your mutual friend set up the meeting, you have little to worry about as far as having it seem awkward. As long as you seem very confident and well composed you will come across as competent.
 
Just be friendly and keep asking him questions. Make HIM the center of attention. I've always found that to work well when dealing with others.

And remember to RELAX. Take a few deep breaths and count to ten before calling.

Good luck! :)
 
Let me assure you this: If you try and plan out exactly what you're going to say, you'll be WAY more nervous and probably stumble all over yourself. Come up with a few topics before hand, and just keep them in the back of your mind. Don't plan out a time to call, don't keep saying you'll do it in an hour, etc. Just grab the phone and call. It always goes much smoother that way.

A lot of people will say that this is no big deal, and in reality, it isn't. But... I know what you're talking about. I have the same type of strange "phobia" when it comes to people I don't know, and phone calls in general. I prefer face to face. I get the same feeling if I have to speak publicly, except then I'm REALLY a mess. I can't even hold it together!

BUT, the more you do it, the easier it gets. I have to make phone calls all the time now, and I still hate it, but I do because its part of the business I have. I still dread it, but like I said, I just grab the phone with no preparation and make the call. If I put it off, it just gets harder and harder. If I plan out what to say, it makes it harder. If I set an exact time to make the call; harder. If I just do it on a whim, it takes the load off...
 
Make him the center of attention. That's a good idea. So I'll try to find out as much as I can about him then.

Tom Marshall said:
And remember to RELAX. Take a few deep breaths and count to ten before calling.
Click to expand...

Relax, heh, yeah... it's tough for me I guess. But if I expect to make it into the industry I'll have to do things like this often.

Thanks Ryan, really good advice. Yeah, what is it about calling? I can meet him face to face, I would be far less nervous. Maybe it's because you can't judge a persons reactions when on the phone, but only by the way they speak? Maybe it's because you're not sure if your coming off the proper way either... weird.
 
Ask him have you checked on the children?

Alternately, do some research and learn something about this person's work and background (if you haven't already). You may find one or two things to serve as conversations movers should openings present.

What works for me, is to approach calls/interviews/meetings like the outcome doesn't matter. Because when you are not anxious over some particular outcome to the event, you are more at liberty to be relaxed and flexible and less likely to perpetrate some over-nervous dumbass social blunder.

Don't bury yourself in the role, of course. Ultimately you are there to get the job, but that doesn't mean that's where your focus has to be.

*edit*

When for whatever reason someone contacts me for purposes of networking/cold call/advice/etc, I usually hope that they will articulate stuff like where they're coming from, what they aim to accomplish, stuff they've done, working philosophy, training, experience, like that. I guess the challenge is to work that into a natural conversation - looking out for whether you have the guy's interest - without sounding like you're dictating a resume.

*edit again*

For my part, in this kind of situation my own practice boils down to, make the call, introduce myself, mention the person who advised me to call, some patter employing whatever I have been able to learn about their project or track record, reply (usually) to inquiries regarding my last gig, common professional acquaintances, ambitions, etc, listen to whatever they care to tell me about their project/themselves/whatever, then offer a resume and express interest in meeting at their convenience, just to shake hands and deliver a copy of my book.
 
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I think you should definitely give yourself a REASON to call. A specific question...looking for advice on something in particular...rather than just calling him up to shoot the sh*t. Maybe you wanna ask if he'd let you be a PA for him or something to get more exposure to a bigger set? I dunno, depends what you wanna get out of the call. Probably also depends on where you're at with your own filmmaking too.
 
just be yourself, and everything should be fine, his friend likes, you, he likes your friend, so there you go, if you get stuck, ask about one of his projects that you enjoyed, or talk about your friend and the Dojo spot you did together.

and remember, even if this guy is the biggest ass in the world, and he bites your head off, at least he can't eat it, because cannibalism is against the law.
 
I'm not much of a people person so the networking aspect was/is the most difficult thing for me to over come. If the guy doesn't live near you that makes it a tad harder 'cause you can't do the whole meet up for lunch/dinner/drinks thing, but what are you gonna do? Like others have said do research on the guy to find out what he's worked on so you can be informed and don't think of it as a job interview. Think of it as approaching a mentor. This guy is successful in the industry, you want to be successful in the industry so talk about that. Pick his brain. Glean all the info from him you can. Find out what he did right, and more importantly, what he did wrong. Don't try to sound impressive just ask him worthwhile questions and listen. And have a pen and paper w/you to jot things down as needed. Lastly, get his e-mail addy and stay in touch w/him.

Every couple of months just drop him a line, ask him how he's doing, tell him what you are up to etc.,. It's understood that everyone in the biz is a potential lead to a new gig, but don't just contact people when you are looking for work. That's poor form and people will be less likely to lend you a hand if you don't drop a courtesy e-mail every now and then.


-A
 
I think you should ask if you can buy him lunch. A face-to-face is more valuable and memorable, and it sounds like this contact is worth at least $20.
 
call him from a pay phone, disguise your voice and pretend to be an annoying telemarketer. after he hangs up on you, immediately call him back from your cell phone. in comparison, you'll seem a lot better than the previous caller.
 
ha Ugafan, thats funny,

but if you buy him lunch, even though he isn't local go for more than 20 bucks, "yea soo hey Mr big time contact hows taco bell for you?" but really if the phone call works out manufature a way to fly to where he is, (business trip, project, what ever) and say hey i'm flighing down there for blah blah blah, i'd like to buy you lunch. don't say "we should do lunch"
 
Well, what do you want to accomplish? What goals are you pursuing? What do you know about the person you are going to call? These are the questions you should answer for yourself.

You can answer "networking" is your goal, but that's not really much of an answer - outline to yourself in what way the guy COULD be of help to you... and you to him. What is the outcome you are looking for in this "networking"? Are you a writer? DP? Grip? Do you want a job?

Here's how to do a cold call:

1)Intro yourself mentioning your connection
2)Tell him a bit what you do f.ex. "writer" did such and such recently the project for the dojo

Now here comes a great tip, so pay attention kids :)

3)Tell him you are calling him because you know he did a lot of work in the industry and YOU WOULD REALLY VALUE HIS ADVICE - i.e. you just let him know that you did your research so you are not calling him not knowing who he is - and people love to give advice, it flatters them, they get to pontificate, AND they are often stimulated to offer you SOMETHING... if you are lucky, it can be "send me your script" or "talk to so and so and mention my name" or something like that right off the first convo!

4)End up with some reason for followup - ideally, it will come naturally if f.ex. he says as in the scenario above "send me your script", but if not, you can grab some bit in the conversation to make it so, f.ex. if he mentions something, find a followup to ask "hey, can I call you about that sometime?" etc. AND THEN KEEP THE BALL ROLLING - always reason for another contact.

Your biggest problem is going to be TIME CRUCH. Successful people are busy people. This industry is notorious for multitasking. Wonder why that agent/executive/creative seems so distracted? He/she's got 5 calls waiting, is running late to a meeting, is about to negotiate an important deal... and you call. Guess what - he doesn't know you, it doesn't seem important, he's under pressure. So keep it light, keep it upbeat, and keep it SHORT. Of course, you can always get lucky - maybe he broke his leg yesterday and is layed up with nothing much to do at the moment :)

How to relax: remember facts - he is just another of thousands of people who work in the industry; you'll meet others; he's not your only entry into this world; if not him, there will be somebody else; sometimes people are not a good fit - if you find that out early, GOOD NEWS FOR YOU - you just saved yourself a lot of time and emotion.

Now relax, and go and do good :)
 
Before you call, practice. Make notes on what you want to say, if you're interested in opportunities, write up a brief note on what you're interested in. Don't just coldcall, you will get flustered and flub it up.

Notes, practice before calling, be courteous and humble, explain your connection to him when you first call, etc.
 
There is some great advice in here. Particularly about letting him know you are aware of his experience and would value his advice.

Beyond that just remember that in order to be a great conversationalist you talk about the other person. Ask him things about him and as you get a feel for his interests and passions ask about those.

Just my $0.02
 
you can call me and tell me what you're wearing! kidding, but really if you need to practice you can call me, i'm a pretty good phone talking person, but I can't promise I won't be naked.
 
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