Having attended every type of conference, workshop, and seminar — NATPE, the Pensicola Comedy Festival in Spain, the Aspen Comedy Festival, Sundance, Women in Film International in London … — I’ve picked up some tips for surviving conferences, seminars, and workshops, in order to come back with memories, knowledge, and new contacts.
Here are some tips for preparing to attend an industry event.
Know who else is going
Starting a month out, review the conference website and its list of attendees and exhibitors, and plan your schedule by which discussions you wish to participate in, and whom you want to meet.
Make dates and schedules before you go.
Craft your introduction
Keep it short and sweet. Rehearse this so you can say it automatically and sincerely to everyone you meet. At this November’s very busy American Film Market, here was mine:
My name is Pat Quinn. I’m an L.A.-based acquisitions consultant for TV2 in Norway and TV Three in Ireland. I’m looking for programming for men 20–40 years old and all kinds of documentaries.
Keep practicing this so you can quickly and clearly identify yourself, and explain to others how they can help you.
If you’re making e-mail introductions, remember to keep it short. The point is to intrigue people sufficiently that they’ll read your message!
Research the contacts you want to make
As you make a list of companies and executives you hope to meet, check out their websites, look them up on Google, and check their industry’s trade publications and information sites.
Having worked in Hollywood for 23 years, I’ve come to realize that when I am introduced to new people, they expect that I know who they are — their accomplishments, their jobs, the projects they’ve worked on. You’ll want to break the ice by complimenting them on a recent interview or project.
This bears repeating: they expect you to know who they are, so bone up.
Pat Quinn is head of Quinn Media Management, specializing in acquisitions, co-productions, and television show representation for national and international companies. Clients include awardwinning screenwriters, numerous U.K. television series, TV2 Norway, TV3 and TV3e Ireland, Tern Television, and Motive Television; she also represents TRC’s annual International Development Programme, sponsored by UK’s BBC and Channel 4.
She’s recently sold projects to outlets including SoapNet, Nickelodeon, Fox 2000, FX, ABC, CBS, A&E, NBC Universal, ABC Family, the Disney Channel, ESPN, Tru TV, Sony, Showtime, Oxygen, HBO, and VH1.
Pat’s extensive entertainment industry experience includes senior positions in film, television, and theater departments at firms including Innovative Artists, ICM, Metropolitan Talent Agency, Paradigm, and Warner Bros. Television.