Five Reasons Artists Should Film Their Work

1 CommentTuesday • December 21, 2010 • by Imei

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Though I love to perform dance, music, and help host events that raise money for charitable causes, I am still surprised how many people ask me how about how to get their work “out there.” I will always get questions about teaching private lessons, where I’m gigging next, and what shows to produce. Still, people want to know more about getting hired. When there are so many really talented musicians, performance artists, and visual artists to choose from, how on earth do YOU get selected? My answer: artists should film and share their work.

Last year, many of you read the chronicles of my journey as the “the n00b of Social Media”, and while I continue to learn more about this endlessly fascinating digital world, if there was one thing I could hammer into your head and get you to commit to a New Year’s resolution and action plan, it would be this:

GET IT ON FILM.

If there was one more thing I could say, I might just embellish the above:

GET IT ON FILM, IDIOT.

Why do you want to do this? Here are five reasons:

1. It provides a great video journal of your work, for yourself, and for your brand. You can use it to chart your progression without having to take copious notes. Prospective clients can see your prolific works, and see that you’ve established yourself over time. Clients can be skittish about trying out a “new” artist if they don’t know you. Video can serve as a digital history that does not lie about where you’ve been, what you’ve done, and in some cases, how you’ve been received by your viewers.

2. You can easily share video with unknown clients. It is more powerful than a flyer on a car window. The other day, a musician left a flyer on my car. I looked in the parking lot, and every other parking spot had that same flyer lying on the ground. Paper flyers are going the way of the Dodo bird. Electronic biz cards, digital pictures with invitations to events, and video samples of your recent work are more compelling, and they don’t litter the parking lot.

Your video can go to Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, your website and webblogs, newsletters, Twitter, and other SoMe platforms. Your fans can more easily share your work with a quick video. You can carry it on your smartphone for viewing anytime someone asks you what you do. It’s that simple. No more fumbling for cards that don’t SHOW what you do.

3. Good quality video can be montaged into a professional showreel for a press kit for your band, an inquiry to a juried gallery showing, or an audition call for performance artists in a larger show that may be unfamiliar with your genre or style. Some hiring organizations require a press kit in order to be considered. Don’t be caught off guard without a good quality showreel of your work (along with a CV, a website with your most recent work archived, and references from your colleagues, fans, and past hires).

4. Combined with a picture for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), video with a picture in a blogpost in a larger forum can give you higher levels of exposure, word-of-mouth recommendations, and clicks to your website when you embed its address on your video sample.

5. Connection with other artists. Believe it or not, there are other artists who wish to collaborate with you. Two of my biggest shows scheduled in 2011 are assembled by fellow artists. In 2010, my most successful shows were ones with multiple artists, volunteers, and a diversified audience.

We can’t – and perhaps shouldn’t – be the stars of our own shows. We need each other to balance our work, complete a theme, produce a quality show, and attract more audience members. By sharing your filmed art work, you will network much faster, be included in more shows, and be matched with artists you appreciate. By collaborating, you will divide the labor, increase revenue, and be included in future events you didn’t even know existed. Plus, people will think you’re cool.

In my next post, I will discuss the three most commonly asked questions about filming and sharing art work and performances digitally are:

1. How do I protect my work if I share it with others? Won’t someone try to steal my ideas?

2. What type of equipment do I need to make a video that people will watch? How do I edit my own video if I can’t afford someone to do it for me?

3. What aspects of my work should I film? If my work is in objects (painting, sculpting, glass, photography, etc), should I be in those films to get the most exposure for my work?

Posted in: Art, Visual Art, dance, music

Tagged with: Film, getting hired, gigs, how to get gigs, how to get hired, press kit, SEO for artists, showreel, video