Crew Connection

Want to rise to the top when clients search for video production services on Crew Connection? It’s all about location.

When you include your Local Locations on your Crew Connection company profile you increase your chances of getting discovered by clients looking to book shoots in your area.

Here are a few important things you should know about using your Local Locations to increase your bookings on Crew Connection.

Local Means Local

Only include locations that you are willing to serve without charging for mileage, per diems or any additional expenses related to travel. Every Local Location you list on Crew Connection will include a radius of 25 miles around it that will be considered local. You won’t be able to bill for travel expenses when shooting in that 25 mile radius unless expressly agreed by the client.

You might be willing to shoot anywhere in Texas, but will you travel anywhere in the state without billing for travel expenses? If not, list the specific cities in Texas where you will.

Precision Counts

Write out your Local Locations as City, State; City, Province; or City, Country. CrewCloud won’t display company profiles that list broad areas like “North America,” “Florida,” or “France.” You might think you’re doing yourself a favor by broadening your service area, but really you’re hiding yourself from clients who are looking for you.

Remember that clients will typically search for crews in major cities, so list the ones you will serve locally.

The Truth Matters

If you only serve a few local locations and prefer to stick to those, then don’t fill in all 6 Local Locations fields. Being truthful about your Local Locations doesn’t only affect how often you show up in search results—it can affect if clients choose to work with you in the future.

Clients who assume that you’re near Denver because it’s listed as one of your Local Location won’t be happy if you show up hours late because you encountered traffic on your 60-mile drive-in. What’s worse is that you can’t bill for those travel expenses without ending up with a pissed-off client who doesn’t want to pay for your mislabeled locations.

Use Your Resources

If you want to emphasize areas that you’re willing to serve with travel expenses, utilize the About Us section of your company profile. Learn more about improving the content of your About Us section in this article.

Here’s How:

1. Sign up as a crew or log in to your company profile on Crew Connection.

2. You’ll land on your My Account page. Click on Company Details in the left sidebar under Crew Profile.

3. In the Local Locations section, you can enter up to 6 locations that you will serve without charging travel expenses. Any projects within a 25 mile of your Local Locations will be considered local and will not incur charges unless otherwise agreed to by the client. The preferred format is City, State (e.g. Los Angeles, CA); City, Province (e.g. Vancouver, BC); or City, Country (e.g. Tokyo, Japan).

4. Save and click View Profile to see your updates!

Want more tips and trips for getting more bookings on Crew Connection? Check out the full series here.

About Crew Connection

Crew Connection puts a suite of marketing tools at your fingertips. Get your demo reels, stills, gear, awards, and more in front of the biggest clients all over the world—for free. At Crew Connection we pay video and post production providers within 30 days of receiving your invoice so your work and your life are never interrupted. Need live assistance or want to add quality jobs to your pipeline? Our crew coordinators are on call around the clock. Sign Up on Crew Connection, call 303-526-4900, or email info@crewconnection.com.

Being a freelance media professional is a tough gig—but you don’t need us to tell you that. Luckily for you, your Crew Connection company profile makes advertising your business and booking shoots quick and pain free.

In the past, we’ve covered adding photos and a demo reel to improve your Crew Connection company profile. Today we’ll talk about updating the Our History section to book more shoots.

Be Yourself

The About Us area of the Our History section is where your company’s personality has the best opportunity to shine.

Are corporate interviews your speciality? Make sure your content is polished and professional. Got some killer drone shots? Don’t be afraid to brag a little about your cool new aviator title. If your team does a little bit of everything, try to keep it as brief as possible. Think of your About Us section as your cover letter where you are enticing clients to contact you.

Don’t forget to include a brief overview of your staff, your history and your specialities to lend your company credibility. If you’ve already got a website with an About Us section, now is a great time to revisit that and maybe even reuse the content on your Crew Connection company profile.

Tell An Exciting Story

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but are yours telling the right story?

Now that you’ve followed our photo tips to engage a potential client with your visuals, it’s time to seal the deal with your About Us section. Your content should tell the rest of the story that your pictures began.

Talk about your video editing studio that’s fully equipped with the latest gear. That picture of a zebra on your company profile? Let potential clients know that you travel for shoots. This is your chance to feature those services and cool little features you might not have had a chance to display anywhere else.

Don’t Forget the Details

Be sure to enter content in the Years in Business, Clients, Awards and Professional Associations fields to round out your Our History section. This content will help back up all of the claims you made in your About Us section. Just like your content, make sure your client list, awards and associations show off what you do best. Not only do these add credibility to your company profile, they show that you care about your reputation and want clients to be well-informed about you.

A Few Things to Remember

We ask that you don’t include links to your website or contact information on your company profile. Crew Connection’s system will automatically detect and remove this kind of information. Crew Connection works hard to make sure you have a steady stream of work and get paid on time. All we ask in return is that you don’t treat us like Craigslist.

Here’s How:

1. Sign up as a crew or log in to your company profile on Crew Connection.

2. You’ll land on your My Account page. Click on Company Details in the left sidebar under Crew Profile.

3. Toward the bottom of the page you’ll see the Your History section, where you can enter content into the Year Business Founded, About Us, Client List, Awards, and Professional Associations fields. 

4. Save and click View Profile to see your new company profile! 

If you have any questions or just want a crew coordinator to check your spelling and grammar before you complete your Our History section, just contact us!

Want more tips and trips for getting more bookings on Crew Connection? Check out the full series here.

About Crew Connection

Crew Connection puts a suite of marketing tools at your fingertips. Get your demo reels, stills, gear, awards, and more in front of the biggest clients all over the world—for free. At Crew Connection we pay video and post production providers within 30 days of receiving your invoice so your work and your life are never interrupted. Need live assistance or want to add quality jobs to your pipeline? Our crew coordinators are on call around the clock. Sign Up on Crew Connection, call 303-526-4900, or email info@crewconnection.com.

“If there’s magic in boxing, it’s the magic of fighting battles beyond endurance, beyond cracked ribs, ruptured kidneys, and detached retinas. It’s the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you.”

Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris, Million Dollar Baby

To start a freelance video production business, you have to be a fighter. There’s no coasting. There’s no relying on someone else to pick up the slack if you have an off day. It’s just you—pounding the pavement with a load of gear on your back, facing off against competitors, and keeping up to date on ever-changing technology.

It’s not enough to be a pro behind the camera. You also have to be an expert in marketing, finance, and interpersonal communications. Often, you just have to put your dukes up and act as your own advocate. It’s a lot to manage. That’s when it’s nice to have someone in your corner.

Crew Connection is Your Partner in Freelance Video Production

How much time would you free up if you could skip prospecting? What if your pipeline was full of clients who came to you? High-quality clients who understand the business realities of freelance camera crews are hard to come by. Those who pay quickly are even harder. Time is money and clients and crews alike save both when they work with Crew Connection.

When you’re busy with new clients and badass work, the last thing you want to do is hound someone over an aging invoice. At Crew Connection, we streamline communication, cut the red tape, and send net 90 packing. Our crews are paid within 30 days—guaranteed.

In boxing, you may be the one out there in the ring throwing punches, but there’s always someone in your corner. With a profile on Crew Connection—Crew Connection’s online platform for the world’s best freelance camera crews— you’ve got your very own marketing expert, sales rep, and accountant in your corner. And that’s worth a million dollars, baby!

About Crew Connection:

Crew Connection connects you with video production crews across the country and around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience and thousands of shoots with film crew pros to our credit, you can trust our expert coordinators to match you with the right freelance video crew and equipment—every time. Let us help you find a video crew.

Your voicemail light is blinking, your desk is filling up with paperwork, and emails are coming in faster than you can type your replies. At least you’ve got that exciting video shoot to look forward to next week. That is, if you can cut through your company’s red tape in time to hire a camera crew.

While we can’t answer your memos for you, we can eliminate red tape and increase your efficiency when it comes to booking media professionals for your next project.

Crew Connection has the world’s largest database of vetted video crews, audio techs, drone operators, makeup artists and still photographers. And the best part is that you don’t have to see all of them—just the ones you need, when you need them. It’s as simple as using our smart filters. Here’s how:

1. To use Crew Connection’s smart filters, start by signing up as a client or logging in to your client profile on Crew Connection.

2. Type in the city where you need a crew.

3. Click on the buttons below the search bar to narrow your search by services, camera type, and insurance type. You’ll see the live filtering take place right there on the page as you narrow down the search results.

4. Find and book the crew you need in minutes. Red tape not included. 

Questions? Contact a Crew Connection coordinator today.

Know a busy media manager who needs to book shoots with efficiency and speed? What are you waiting for—tell them to sign up for Crew Connection today!

About Crew Connection

Crew Connection puts a suite of marketing tools at your fingertips. Get your demo reels, stills, gear, awards, and more in front of the biggest clients all over the world—for free. At Crew Connection we pay video and post production providers within 30 days of receiving your invoice so your work and your life are never interrupted. Need live assistance or want to add quality jobs to your pipeline? Our crew coordinators are on call around the clock. Sign Up on Crew Connection, call 303-526-4900, or email info@crewconnection.com.

Work samples are the number one thing our clients look for when booking a crew. In fact, even a featured crew on Crew Connection without a demo reel is less likely to get booked than a non-featured crew who has one.

As a media professional, you’ve probably already got all the content you need. Here’s how to put it together to book more projects and beat your competition with a demo reel.

Keep it Short

Your demo reel is like your resume. Use it to show off your highest quality work in the shortest amount of time possible.

While there is no time limit on Crew Connection for your demo reel, 30 seconds seems to be the sweet spot to show off your skills without boring clients. If you’re in visual video production, you should include clips of powerful interviews, exciting TV moments, B-roll, and whatever else shows off what you do best.

Think Outside the Box

Crew Connection isn’t just for video crews. Still photographers, audio techs, editors, makeup artists, and all kinds of media professionals are welcome! Interview happy clients, capture amazing makeup transformations in action, or go on camera to walk viewers through your photography process.

Upload It

Once you’ve got a beautiful demo reel created, it’s time to upload it to Vimeo or YouTube. From there, it’s super easy to add your video right onto your Crew Connection company profile. Please note that multiple demo reels and playlists do not currently work on Crew Connection.

Here’s How:

1. Sign up as a crew or log in to your company profile on Crew Connection.

2. You’ll land on your My Account page. Click on Company Details in the left sidebar under Crew Profile.

3. On your Company Details page, you’ll see a Demo Link section. You can paste the link to your demo reel from Vimeo or YouTube here. Multiple demo reels and playlists do not currently work on Crew Connection. 

6. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save. Then use the View Profile button on the upper left corner of the sidebar to view your updated company profile!

Still have questions? Contact one of our crew coordinators today.

Know a media professional who could benefit from Crew Connection’s matchmaking services? What are you waiting for—tell them to sign up!  

About Crew Connection

Crew Connection puts a suite of marketing tools at your fingertips. Get your demo reels, stills, gear, awards, and more in front of the biggest clients all over the world—for free. At Crew Connection we pay video and post production providers within 30 days of receiving your invoice so your work and your life are never interrupted. Need live assistance or want to add quality jobs to your pipeline? Our crew coordinators are on call around the clock. Sign Up on Crew Connection, call 303-526-4900, or email info@crewconnection.com.

You work in a visual industry, so shouldn’t you have a portfolio that reflects that fact?

Your company profile on Crew Connection is like your very own low-maintenance website. Adding imagery is one of the biggest changes you can make to increase traffic and transactions on that “website.”

Here are some tips and tricks to get more bookings simply by adding images to your Crew Connection company profile.

Add Your Best Stills

You do great work and have flawless attention to detail, right? Prove it! Add some stills to your company profile that show off your editing studio, your newest gear, and some of your best work.

Quality stills can be especially impactful for hair and makeup artists, wedding/event videographers, and still photographers—all of whom are welcome to join Crew Connection.

Dazzle ‘Em with Your Profile Photo

We live in an increasingly digital world; yet we still want to connect on a personal level. That’s why a profile picture can really set you apart from your pack of competitors.

If you’re an independent operator, upload a clear and approachable photo of yourself. For larger companies, use a crisp logo to add a professional touch to your profile.

Make Your Search Result Background Image Shine

Since clients won’t be able to see your stills or your profile photo until they click on your company’s profile, your search result background image is your best chance to catch their attention.

Think of this image as big ole free ad on Crew Connection’s vast database of vetted crews. Choose a clear, strong photo that exemplifies the kind of work your company is best at. Keep it professional and choose a photo other than your profile photo to maximize the exposure of your best images.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign up as a crew or log in to your company profile on Crew Connection.

2. You’ll land on your My Account page. Click on Company Details in the left sidebar under Crew Profile.

3. On your Company Details page, you’ll see a Portfolio Images section. You can upload up to 10 images that are 2MB each. Your images should be in .jpg, .gif, or .png format; at least 200 pixels high; and square.

4. After you scroll down and click Save, you’ll see the pictures you just uploaded in the Upload Images section. You’ll be able to delete as well as choose one to be your search result background image.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Profile Photo section. Here you can upload an image in .jpg, .gif, or .png format that is up to 2MB and square.

6. Save your updates and use the View Profile button on the upper left corner of the sidebar to view your updated company profile!

It’s that simple. If you still need help making these improvements to your company profile, contact one of our crew coordinators today.

Know a media professional who could benefit from Crew Connection’s matchmaking services? What are you waiting for—tell them to sign up!

About Crew Connection

Crew Connection puts a suite of marketing tools at your fingertips. Get your demo reels, stills, gear, awards, and more in front of the biggest clients all over the world—for free. At Crew Connection we pay video and post production providers within 30 days of receiving your invoice so your work and your life are never interrupted. Need live assistance or want to add quality jobs to your pipeline? Our crew coordinators are on call around the clock. Sign Up on Crew Connection, call 303-526-4900, or email info@crewconnection.com.

When you want to hire a video crew; finding a reliable, creative, and well-equipped team can feel as treacherous and unlikely as a trip to Mordor—the enemy-guarded kingdom at the end of Frodo’s quest. And, like the ring bearers, when you find that perfect crew, you want to hold onto your precious, rare commodity until the end of time.

Hire a Video Crew Anytime, Anywhere

It’s an understandable sentiment. Who wants to go through the trouble of finding and vetting a new video crew with every project? Sometimes though, you just want to mix things up. Different DP’s have different approaches and a fresh perspective can be, well, refreshing. Other times, you’re hiring in an unfamiliar area or you need a local production crew on the other side of the globe rather than spending the money to send your tried and true team. 

Whether you just want to mix things up, are looking in a new area, or need a strong bench for when your go-to team is unavailable, it helps to have some reassurance you’ll find the right person for the gig. A botched job by someone who doesn’t understand your vision is costly, but a reliable production crew who just plain gets you is priceless.

Hire a Video Crew Easily (Seriously)

When you want to mix it up with contractors, but don’t want to risk hiring a bad camera crew, a crewing service can save the day. You get to skip the vetting (which takes time, patience, and money) and still know you’re in good hands. The best thing Crew Connection provides is reassurance that anyone you pick will have the skills and equipment to get the job done right the first time. We’ve already found the very best crews—which makes the creative team happy—and ensured they have the right paperwork—which makes every legal department breathe a sigh of relief.

Whether you’re a large corporation or an indie filmmaker, we’ll equip you with any size team of the right contractors. No strings attached.

Hire A Video Crew Now

Head on over to the Crew Cloud to hire a video crew in a few clicks. As the character, Samwise Gamgee said to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring, “It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.”

About Crew Connection:

Crew Connection connects you with video production crews across the country and around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience and thousands of shoots with film crew pros to our credit, you can trust our expert coordinators to match you with the right freelance video crew and equipment—every time.

In both online dating and video crewing services, the stakes are high. Bad dates are the stuff of legend and poor productions cause busted budgets and endless headaches. To make matters worse, online profiles aren’t exactly known for being trustworthy. Some businesses pay for glowing reviews and some people use pictures from the 80s. Anonymity makes it easy to game the system. What if a third-party service could confirm that a potential date’s hair is real or a company’s reviews are from real customers?

Whether booking crewing services or finding a date, it’s nice to have some reassurance you’ve found a good match. That’s why we are so proud that Crew Connection was named one of ProductionHub’s Top 100 most popular and trusted profiles in 2016. We’ve built our business on optimism, integrity, entrepreneurship and customer service—and our film and video crewing services stand out because we are true to those values. 

Along with a shoulder to cry on after a bad date, we also offer a world of experience, prompt payment and around-the-clock service.

Expertise

We’ve been in the freelance video production business for three decades and know the best crews in every corner of the globe. Our crew coordinators are video veterans who always match you with the best crew for your unique project.

And if you’re looking for experts who bend over backward to offer you personalized service—look no further than Crew Connection.

Quick Payment

We pay crews within 30 days because we know happy crews are productive crews. Can your overworked media department, harried HR team, or current crewing service say the same?

Always-on Film and Video Crewing Services

Transparency is a major part of our company’s integrity. You can view our database of vetted international film crews anytime at Crew Connection. And if you need to talk to a dedicated crew coordinator immediately, you can always get ahold of us on our emergency lines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

Contact us during business hours online or at 303.526.4900. After hours? Call  303.829.5895 or shoot an email to info@crewconnection.com.

About Crew Connection:

Crew Connection connects you with video production crews across the country and around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience and thousands of shoots with film crew pros to our credit, you can trust our expert coordinators to match you with the right freelance video crew and equipment—every time.

Another hectic day is drawing to a close, your stomach is rumbling and your brain is starting to make weird connections. Could the process of hiring a video crew be as easy as ordering a pizza?

If you’re working with Crew Connection, that answer is absolutely a yes!

Hiring a great video crew could be a hassle, but at Crew Connection our team makes it pain free and fun, just like us. When we aren’t busy throwing Superman-themed wedding showers and playing Gatorade pong on flannel Fridays, we’re matching the best professional video production and live events crews with some of the biggest clients out there. It’s as easy as visiting Crew Connection to book a vetted video crew right when you need it or calling our team of video veterans when you need more hands-on help.

We are so honored to be among ProductionHub’s Top 100 trusted profiles. We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary  to get there, we just love what we do so much that it’s getting us noticed in the video production and live events industries.

Here are the values that have made Crew Connection such a success for the past few decades. If they strike a chord with you, get in touch to hire a video crew or join our team of pizza-loving ping pong pros.

Optimism:

Our outlook is as bright as the Colorado sun and our foundation is built on optimism. We don’t see challenges, we see opportunities to find solutions.

Integrity:

Since day one, our team has held  itself to a high standard of integrity. It shapes everything we do, both internally and in our relationships with crews and clients.

Forward-Thinking Mentality:

We’re never “done.” Both PayReel and Crew Connection were born from an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to give clients our best. We handle every aspect of video production and live events projects from on boarding to payment so you can get back to the work you really love.

High Level of Service:

Knowing and anticipating our clients’ and crews’ unique needs allows us to provide great service and build long-lasting relationships. Our team is is highly flexible and we understand your business. You’ll be greeted by your first name every time you call your personal account manager.

We’re very proud of the honor and look forward to continuing to show current and new clients why we’re among ProductionHub’s Top 100 most popular and trusted profiles.

About Crew Connection:

Crew Connection connects you with video production crews across the country and around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience and thousands of shoots with film crew pros to our credit, you can trust our expert coordinators to match you with the right freelance video crew and equipment—every time.