Film-making has always been a popular interest, however real world opportunities can be hard to find. If your dream is to one day have a career in film-making, you’ll be happy to know that there’s a global community ready to help you get there.
Genero connects filmmakers to the music and advertising industries, and today provides more than 300,000 filmmakers with opportunities to advance their careers and work on exciting projects. In addition to empowering global filmmakers, Genero provides businesses with fast and affordable access to professional video content.
Since launching in 2009 Genero has had an amazing Journey, which has inspired over 6,000 videos worldwide. I had a chance to speak with the Co-Founders Andrew Lane and Mick Entwisle, who shared a bit more information about this journey, and also some tips for professional filmmakers looking to grow their careers:
Genero is very popular among the film-making community, in many cases creating careers that would otherwise have not been possible. What gave you the idea to start Genero, and why did you decide to focus on film-making?
Mick had the original idea, wanting to tap into a bunch of growing and parallel trends. We were seeing a global pool of creatives and filmmakers emerge with the ability to generate amazing & broadcast quality videos, because the technology and tools required had been democratized and made available to almost anyone. We were also seeing a huge shift in audiences because of social media and technology advances, placing screens in any direction our eyes went! Bringing this all together, we knew there was a better way to make engaging video content, faster and cheaper.
With more than 6 years of experience working with filmmakers worldwide, you both must be experts on the subject. What would you say are the main obstacles faced by a filmmaker looking to grow their career, and how does Genero help to overcome those obstacles?
There are two really big challenges faced by aspiring filmmakers, one is developing their creativity in a commercial sense, and the other is gaining exposure. We’ve got some great success stories with changing the lives of young filmmakers that have gone on to win industry awards and work in prestigious production companies. We have done this by providing access to some of the biggest music artists in the world including Moby, Muse, alt-J, M83, Damon Albarn, Linkin Park, James Brown, David Guetta, Robert Plant, David Lynch, Passion Pit, The Flaming Lips and the list goes on. We have also provided incredible opportunities working with many of the major partners, agencies and brands including Tribeca Film Festival, London’s BFI, Miller, Yoplait, Movember, eHarmony, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mediacom, Havas, Carat, etc!
The global film-making industry continues to develop with the introduction of new technology and the influence of social media. How do you see the industry evolving over the next few years, and does that have any impact on your future vision for Genero?
We recognize that we are in a fast-paced industry, and nothing stays the same for very long, so we constantly need to adapt. With developments in technology, filmmakers now have access to equipment enabling them to create incredibly high quality content and deliver impressive production values, often on tight budgets. The shift away from broadcast to digital is fragmenting audiences, which is going to really influence decision-making over the next few years. Genero is in the media business, to date mainly focused on content generation, but stay tuned! We will stay focused on video though, which is still the most engaging form of media, and unlikely to change! Even though we work across every vertical now, we will stay very connected to music, because of the creativity this association brings to our platform – a key differentiator when working with Genero. This unique creativity, coupled with technological advancements in the industry, will definitely be core to how we see our community and business growing in the future.
There are always new projects being created on Genero. Are there any upcoming projects or campaigns we should be sure to keep an eye out for?
We’re running some fantastic projects at the moment. In the music space we are excited to be running a project on behalf of Olivia and Dhani Harrison to create the official video for George Harrison’s, ‘What Is Life’. We also have a storytelling project with the Music World Cup looking for content that celebrates music culture from around the world, as well as a great travel project with Visit Britain. There are $80,000 in filmmaker payments for the Visit Britain project, so it’s a great opportunity. We have lots of exciting music projects in the pipeline, and some really cool brand projects coming up too, so definitely keep your eye out for those.
Are you a filmmaker? Part of the film-making industry? How are you developing your career? Let us know in the comments!
