Recruiters from a dozen of Los Angeles’s top production companies took part in The Talent Manager’s first US ‘’mixer’’.
Exec producers from Buzzfeed, The Content Group, Bunim/ Murray, All3 Media and Renegade 83 were just some of those who gave their time for free to meet more than 120 select freelancers for the ‘’Speed Meet’’ event at SerendipityLabs in Hollywood.
Other companies included Collins Avenue, GRB Entertainment, Objective, First Media, Maverick, Pollution TV, and Woodman Park.
The format of the event was for each freelancer to have a 5-minute one-on-one with reps from each company to pitch themselves and their work and go through their resumes. Given the numbers, and the fact that this was the first event of its kind, there were some teething problems – not least freelancers overrunning their allotted time. (And, yes, we will have a bell at the next event!)
However, the feedback from freelancers and companies alike was overwhelmingly that it was a hugely useful event – and not like anything that had been hosted in the LA before. Moreover, both the recruiters and freelancers appreciated the high calibre of people they were meeting.
"I was highly impressed by the Talent Manager Mixer,’’ said field producer K.J Matthews. ‘’It was nice to see such highly regarded production companies and top talent connecting. The Talent Manager really outdid itself this time." Freelance Exec Producer Richard Courtney added: ''Thank you for a great event. Great job. Well done and I look forward to more.''
Cathy McAllister, a post production supervisor, said ‘’the experience surpassed my expectations. Thank you so much for putting [the Speed Meet] together.’’ Producer Alison Allwine said it was a ''lovely event and a great opportunity for me. Having the chance to sit down and really engage with so many top notch companies was a dream come true. Just thought you should know that all of your (and your team's) hard work is greatly appreciated!''
The event was massively oversubscribed with more than 800 freelancers applying for tickets through www.thetalentmanager.com
Freelancers were then selected according to the priority job roles the companies had requested to meet – principally, experienced producers, showrunners, editors, production managers and editors.
Sarah Lee, founder of The Talent Manager, said the demand for places showed a real demand for freelancers to get themselves in front of the right people.
‘’In the UK, we regularly run these off-line speed-meets to complement our online platform. They are designed very much in the spirit of The Talent Manager itself – namely to help companies find the right talent, and for talent to find the right opportunities and not get lost in a deluge of wannabes applying for work.’’
‘’There was certainly a culture gap to overcome in terms of running these mixers in the US - and going forward we'll adjust the format and the communication about how it works so people know better what to expect. But the feedback overall was great - both from companies and freelancers - so we'll be looking to do more, in LA, NY and elsewhere, as well as for different companies and different freelance job roles.’’
Priority notifications for future ‘’mixers’’ will be posted on www.thetalentmanager.com – so freelancers are encouraged to log in regularly for updates. They should also follow @tvtalentmanager across social network.
The event was run in partnership with SerendipityLabs, a network of on-demand private and collaborative workspaces, and GreenlightGo, a platform that offers new ways to match content creators to premium post and production spaces whether for film, television, or commercials.
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