by Frances Chang, Vice President – communications 21

As a full-time PR and marketing vice president and a part-time filmmaker, I have noted many similarities between managing a film set and managing a client account. Both projects require patience, attention to detail, prioritization, emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. Admittedly, my levels for each of these are on various ends of the spectrum, but I do my best with what I have available to me.

Teams Have to Be Multitalented

It is impossible to “do it all” or be successful on your own. As President Obama once said, “… when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.” So, in turn, producing a film or managing an account requires a team of people and the ability to lead that team to the desired result and sometimes provide support as well.

Planning an indie film entails not only knowing the right people for the jobs but knowing what each of the necessary jobs actually are. At minimum, a film set will have the director, the director of photography (DP) or camera operator, location sound recorder (boom op), a lighting expert (gaffer), electrician (grip), production assistant (PA), script supervisor (scripty) and the actors (talent). If you’re lucky, the gaffer, grip and PA can be one person, but the individual skills for each position are critical to a production. In a small agency, the content creator, proofreader, graphic designer, video editor and event coordinator are often the same person, and like a film set, each individual skillset is vital for success.

Planning Is Key

The key to managing both is creating a plan. For film, we call this a call sheet and a shot list. On set, the call sheet details everyone’s roles, each person’s arrival time, contact information, emergency information and the schedule for the day. And because the editor, an essential member of the crew, is not usually on set, the shot list details the look and description for each action sequence while also providing the DP important information for them to best determine how to set up each shot.

As account lead for a marketing/PR client, planning is also imperative. I draft a marketing plan, detailing goals and objectives for the year and the avenues in which to achieve them. I also describe each target audience and break down the best platforms and messaging to reach each audience. I continue ongoing planning with content calendars with drafted and pre-planned social media posts; blog or newsletter schedules; and for events, a run of show, detailing the logistics of vendors, speakers and timing of proceedings — much like a call sheet.

Making Connections and Building Rapport

Working both a set and a client account requires building connections. As a small/one-person production, I can’t just call on skilled craftspeople and expect them to just agree to film one of my projects. Getting to know the right people took years in the making by working on other projects (for free), networking and building rapport. The crew that works with me knows me and wants to be there for me because of the trust and relationships I have built and nurtured.

With a client, it also takes time to build that relationship to a point where their trust in me to understand them, their brand and messaging is implicit. It also takes time to build an association with the client’s affiliates, so when I need to reach out with questions, to request content or to ask for favors, I am known to them and am a trusted representative of the client — because, essentially, I am acting as an extension of that client.

For the client campaign that was recognized by IABC, I (with help from my team) reached out to various Georgia landmarks to request illuminating their facades in purple LEDs to raise awareness for my client’s cause. In addition, I coordinated several award presentations and drafted media alerts and press releases to highlight these events and those individuals who championed my client’s focus on victims’ rights. I could not have accomplished all of this without having a relationship with my teammates, with my client and with the contacts I communicated with to execute these plans.

Management and Delegation

As the director on set, I confer with the DP about the best way to set up each shot and instruct the talent on my vision and expectations for a scene. As the camera expert, the DP then instructs the gaffer, grip and PA on what they need of them throughout the day. The scripty is in charge of making sure the talent knows their lines and monitors the continuity between shots, which means keeping track of the props, costumes and set dressing to ensure they look the same between takes.

Likewise, as an account lead, I trust the team I delegate tasks to. Occasionally, when necessary, website, graphics or video work must be subcontracted out and it is up to me to accurately convey the client’s desires, goals and messaging to the contractor. And much like how the scripty monitors the script’s lines, the client’s content passes through several internal eyes to proofread for accuracy before it is released to the client or public. It is also the account lead’s job to ensure the client’s branding is uniform and consistent with each new piece of created content and collateral — much like keeping track of continuity.

The parallels between the duties and challenges for both producing/directing a film and managing a PR/marketing account are innumerable. The skills I have acquired and developed working in each environment are transferable and have made me the multi-tasking leader I am today.