Build a Personal Network Directory

Photo by Conny Schneider on Unsplash

One thing I definitely should have done on day 1 of film school was build a personal network directory. If you’re in film school yourself, or are an aspiring filmmaker in general, I’m sure you’ve heard many times by now, “It’s about who you know.”

I resisted this very deeply at first. My resistance partly came from not really knowing anyone in the industry. It was rooted in jealousy and envy of those that did know people in the film industry already.

I think it also bothered me that there was a potential, perhaps even the likelihood, that less creative or compelling ideas and stories would win out over better ones, simply because the people behind them were connected.

However, this isn’t just the film industry. Maintaining professional relationships and growing your personal network are important actions to take in pretty much any career you choose. Those relationships that you nurture can go a long way and may deeply impact the unfolding of your career. I eventually accepted the fact that networking was going to be a big part of my life as a film student and as a working adult in general.

You’re going to be talking to a lot of different people as a filmmaker. Some of these people may one day offer you a job. Some of these people may finance your film. Some of these people may provide a key skill that you need on a future project. Some of these people might just inspire you and lead you towards improving your craft as a filmmaker.

You need a system for recording all of these people. Don’t trust that you’ll remember everyone. I can tell you from personal experience that within 5 years of graduating film school, I’ve forgotten probably around 50% of the folks I worked with in film school.

This is where a personal network directory comes into play.

It allows you to record people with whom you work, speak, want to meet, or by whom you are inspired.

You can offload the details from your brain and reference them when needed. You don’t have to keep all these names and faces top of mind.

Here’s how you can do it.

I recommend using Google Sheets. You’ll want different data points for all these people you interact with in columns that you can sort and categorize. Also, by using a cloud app like Google Sheets, you can access the info on any device that has access to the Internet. You’re not limited to one specific physical tool.

Now, I’d recommend a few different tabs in your Sheet to separate different sub-directories. Name one “Crew and Collaborators,” another “People to Meet,” and finally one called “Inspirations.”

At its simplest level, you can simply record folks’ names and roles so you have a quick reference of people that work in film. For example, Jane Smith, 2nd AD.

However, I recommend documenting much, much more than that.

Consider adding and filling out these columns (with respect to each Sheet tab) for each person in your directory.

Crew and Collaborators

• Name
• Phone
• Email
• Social link
• Skills and interests
• Last project together
• Role on last project together
• Date of last project together
• Summary of last meeting together
• Date of last meeting together
• Next steps
• Misc Notes

People to Meet

• Name
• Phone
• Email
• Social Link
• Why do you want to meet them?
• What do you want to know most about them?
• What do you want them to know most about you?
• Next steps
• Misc Notes

Inspirations

• Name
• Phone
• Email
• Social Link
• Why do they inspire you?
• What inspires you most about them?
• Next steps
• Misc Notes

Also, this is just a starting point. You should modify these columns in whatever way will capture information that is most valuable to you. Don’t sweat it if you can’t fill in all the details for each contact. Just capture as much helpful information as you can and leave the rest blank.

Here is an example entry for someone in the “Crew and Collaborators” tab.

• Name: John Smith
• Phone: [phone number]
• Email: [email address]
• Social link: [linkedin profile]
• Skills and interests: Heavy interest in post-production, highly proficient in Adobe suite, likes being on set too. Wants to be a full-time editor.
• Last project together: The Woodlands (short film, documentary)
• Role on last project together: Script supervisor, continuity
• Date of last project together: April 2022
• Summary of last meeting together: He has a VFX heavy short film idea and wants to collaborate with me next summer (2023).
• Date of last meeting together: November 2022.
• Next steps: Schedule a call sometime before March 2023.
• Misc Notes: Likes tea, but not coffee.

As you can see, this entry gives me a lot of information about this person with just a quick glance. I don’t have to remember all these things or worry about searching around for more information about this person. I know that all I have to do is pull up my directory in Google Sheets and this person will be there.

It provides me with concrete, tactical information I can use and reference prior to going into a meeting with this person.

Maybe it’s not a person I frequently collaborate or meet with. That’s perfectly fine too. One day, I might need an editor that is interested and skilled in VFX. Sweet. I just need to reference my personal directory and I’ll see John Smith’s name and information.

A Few Tips

Here are a few additional tips.

1. Consider adding a “Collaborator Category” column with some standardized entries you consistently use. This would make it easier to sort your columns if you’re looking for collaborators of a certain type in the future. Examples: Production above-the-line, Production below-the-line, Writer, Actor, Post-Production, Graphic Design, Marketing, etc.
2. Once you have a meeting scheduled with someone in your “People to Meet” tab, move them over to your “ Crew and Collaborators” tab.
3. Whenever you crew up on another project, transfer all the contacts from the call sheet and/or contact list to your personal directory. Don’t delay. Do it as soon as you have the information. The longer the backlog of your completed projects is, the less likely you’ll be to actually dig up all those old call sheets and transfer the data.
4. When you’re working on a new idea, use your “Inspirations” tab to find artists you can reference that could spur your own creative concepts or styling within your project.
5. Keep it lightweight. Don’t make it so difficult to fill out your directory that you never want to work on it. It’s a balance between being easy to update and having enough information to provide value to you.

If you start this personal directory on day 1 of film school, and keep up with it throughout your film career, you’ll have an amazing resource for crewing up your future projects, organizing and documenting who you want to talk to in the industry and why, and referencing your film inspirations. This will be especially useful once you graduate and no longer have the built-in collaboration community that film school offers you.

Finally, this is just a great overall tool to help maintain relationships with your network. When you go into meetings and reference specific and personal details of someone’s life, that shows them that you really listen to what they’re saying and you really care about them. That goes a long way and will likely earn you much respect. A quick refresher of your personal network directory prior to a meeting would give you the insights to do just that.

My hope is that this inspires you to generate a personal network directory of your own design that can end up helping you far beyond film school and into your career, or even as a tool to help you improve your personal relationships and friendships.