Callboard

Welcome to the Northwest Film Forum's Callboard! The mission of the Callboard is to help films get made in Washington. If you are working on a film or video project, you can use the Callboard to look for grips, gaffers, screenwriters, editors, actors, graphic designers, sound recordists, composers, set builders, or anyone else you need – paid or unpaid. You can also post requests for locations and equipment. Before you begin, make sure you sign in (upper right hand corner of this page), and if you haven't already, create a Google account. Also, please read our User's Guide (see below).

The site, hosted by Google Groups, supports 4 primary activities:

1. POST: Need an editor for your documentary? Want a diner location for your short film? Author a post clearly describing your project and your list of needs.

2. RESPOND: Respond to a post if you feel you're a good fit for the project or know how to help.

3. INVITE: Spread the word. Forward posts to other filmmakers who might be interested in a particular project. Also, invite others to join the list.

4. SEARCH: Search the archive of posts for things you may have missed or misplaced.

Join the Callboard!

Visit Google Groups to sign up.

User's Guide

Thanks for joining the Northwest Film Forum's Callboard site, hosted by Google Groups. If you aren't familiar with groups or listservs, we recommend you read Google's general groups help here. Also, please make sure that you have a Google account and are signed in. If not, click "Sign In" at the top right of the page.

While the site is simple -- the site is essentially a listserv with a few modest bells and whistles -- there are a few guidelines that will make it function smoothly:

Post to the group only when you have a project or event that fosters filmmaking. Films and events should be discussed on the blog, and technical discussions are better left to specialty sites. The Callboard is not the place to post resumes or "I am available" style notices.
Respond to the authors of posts. When responding to a post on the site, select "Reply to author." When you receive an email from the group, the Reply-To field on the email will be set to the author, so this shouldn't be a problem. Make sure to include information about yourself in your response. This will help the author of the post know if you're a good fit. And again, include appropriate contact info.
Forward posts to people who may not be on the Callboard. This will help the site to grow and help filmmakers get their projects done.

Once you're a member, you can post messages which circulate to all subscribers on the list. Subscribers can set preferences to tell the site how they want to receive postings. To change your email preferences, click on "Edit my membership" in the sidebar to the right. We recommend you select "Send each message to me as it arrives." This will ensure you're receiving each email as it is posted on the site. If the number of emails gets burdensome, change your preferences to "Daily."

Invite people to join. Just click on "Invite members" in the sidebar to the immediate right and follow the cues.

Before you post, please read our "Guide to Posting," below.

Guide to Posting

Please read this in its entirety before making your first post.

Before you start: You need a Google account to make a post. You can sign up with your normal email address (you do not need to create a gmail account). If you don't have one, click "Sign In," in the upper right hand corner of your browser, and you will be prompted to to create an account. If you get the error message "You must be a member of the group to post," it's likely that you don't have a Google account. Click on "Sign In."

If you have further questions or problems with the site, please contact our Education and Artist Services Manager, listed on nwfilmforum.org

I. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I POST?

When you post, via the website or by sending an email to nwfilm@googlegroups.com, your post will circulate to all the members of the Northwest Film Forum Callboard group.

II. WHEN WILL MY POST APPEAR?

Your post will appear on the site within 24 hours. It will be circulated to the subscribers to the group according to their email preferences. You can select daily digest emails, an email as posts are made, or elect not to receive emails and view posts only on the site. We recommend you elect "Send each message to me as it arrives." Switch to digest emails if you find the message volume burdensome.

III. WHAT DO I INCLUDE IN MY POST?

CONTACT INFORMATON
SUBJECT LINE
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT/NEED
EXPECTATIONS
TIME/TIMELINE
YOUR IDENTITY
COST/PAY/EXPENSES
APPLICATION MATERIALS

1. Please include your CONTACT INFORMATION somewhere in the post. Your email may be forwarded to parties outside the group.

2. Many subscribers will only read he SUBJECT LINE of your post, so please be as precise as possible. For example, "Final Cut Pro Editor Needed for Short Film," is sufficiently succinct and descriptive to allow those available FCP editors on the list know that you're talking to them, and for what purpose.

After you've crafted a sensible subject line, you'll need to populate the BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE with sufficient detail so that subscribers can determine if they can be of help.

3. DESCRIBE YOUR PROJECT/NEED:   Be clear about what your project needs in the body of the message. Here, if one of the NWFF Callboard subscribers is interested they can find out if the project is appropriate to his/her skills.   Are you shooting on film/video? If you are asking for technical help, please include relevant technical data.   Do you intend to send the film to festivals? Do you want it to play on local cable, the internet, your friend's wedding? Be clear and complete.

4. EXPECTATIONS: What are you looking for? Is the person you're looking need to have 10 years of experience? Their own grip truck? Include a decent job description. If you're looking for a late night diner, does it need to have red vinyl seats? In brief, the more precise you can be about what you need the more precise responses.

5. TIME/TIMELINE: What's the timeframe? Do you have a specific date and time? Shooting for December? Tomorrow? Yesterday? How long do you expect the production or project to last? What's the commitment? Nights? Days? This is easy to forget but is crucial to determine someone's availability for a particular project.   You'll get far fewer inappropriate response if you include this data.

6. YOUR IDENTITY: Who are you? Are you the project's producer?   Are you a first-time director? Are you a corporate entity? While you don't have to divulge the family secrets, it does help subscribers to know a little about you. Also, do you have a website? A videos on YouTube? A list of credits?

7. COST/PAY/EXPENSES: As much as we hate to admit it, film costs money, as do hard drives, and lunch. So do bus tickets to Kent, if your film happens to be shooting there. Will your project cover expenses?    Will you pay your crew?   Please be as upfront about this as possible, like "Travel expenses covered. Breakfast and lunch provided." Or, "looking for charity here."

7. LOCATION: Is the project in the city? Are you shooting a remake of the Sound of Music in Leavenworth? Are you editing your short animated film in Snohomish?

8. APPLICATION MATERIALS: What should the respondent send you? A resume? Headshots? A CD of compositions? A DP Reel? Don't forget to ask for the materials you need to triage your list of respondents.

IV. THE RESPONSES

Please do thank everyone who responded to your post. While this might seem time consuming, it encourages professionalism and courtesy on our site. If you have a large number of responses, please simply cut and paste all the email addresses into a single thank you email.

V. LEGAL

While this goes without saying, please do not post anything defamatory, libelous, or discriminatory on this site.

This should cover the basics of making a good post.