A Chat with Craig Heyworth, Founder at FILMD

Editorial Team
6 Min Read


Inform us about FILMD

 

FILMD is the house of filmmaking: a community and workflow platform the place solid, crew and inventive groups join, collaborate and run their productions in a single place. It’s a dwelling working system for the business, bringing careers, collaborators and tasks beneath one roof.

The business nonetheless runs on a patchwork of spreadsheets, WhatsApp threads, PDFs and scattered job boards. That fragmentation prices filmmakers time, cash and alternative. FILMD pulls these items collectively in order that discovery, hiring and manufacturing administration can lastly reside in the identical ecosystem, from script to display screen.

On FILMD, filmmakers construct wealthy profiles, showcase their work, map and search the group, publish and discover roles, message collaborators, and handle actual productions by way of instruments just like the Manufacturing Suite and Screening Room.

There’s a free tier so anybody can be a part of the community, plus FILMD Membership – a paid plan from £11.99 per thirty days or £119.00 per 12 months – which unlocks superior discovery, manufacturing instruments and analytics. Posting jobs and making use of for work stay free; we monetise by way of Membership, hirer instruments and institutional partnerships, not by charging individuals to be seen.

 

 

What makes FILMD distinctive?

 

First, FILMD is constructed round careers, not simply gigs. Success isn’t measured by what number of job adverts are posted, however by what number of long-term careers and productions the platform helps to form – from first shorts to recurring work.

Second, FILMD is designed as “one house, one business”. Profiles, tasks, popularity, manufacturing workflows and, more and more, funds sit in a single, trusted atmosphere as an alternative of including yet one more silo to an already fragmented panorama.

Third, belief is designed into the product somewhat than bolted on afterwards. Verification, accreditation, clear popularity alerts and clear states (who’s verified, who’s paid, who’s obtainable) sit alongside portfolios and credit to assist each side – expertise and productions – make higher selections.

Past the product, FILMD’s tone and model are deliberately inclusive and filmmaker-first. It speaks in plain language, avoids jargon, and treats customers as friends – a educated, supportive and playful pal contained in the business, somewhat than a indifferent SaaS software.

Lastly, FILMD isn’t simply an thought on paper. The platform is reside on internet, iOS and Android, with over 14,500 filmmakers already on the community, greater than 220 productions created and practically 17,000 messages exchanged, all operating on a contemporary Azure stack that retains every part safe, performant and able to scale.

 

 

How has FILMD developed?

 

FILMD started with a easy frustration: proficient individuals lacking out on alternatives as a result of their careers had been trapped in disconnected pockets of the business. Drawing on first-hand expertise on set and constructing large-scale platforms elsewhere, we began by specializing in the impartial movie and TV group – the individuals most uncovered to word-of-mouth hiring, last-minute crewing and admin chaos.

The early variations of FILMD had been primarily about connection: higher profiles, a members map, and instruments to convey solid and crew into the identical house. Over time, that developed into a wider working system, underpinned by a transparent imaginative and prescient, objective and set of values that put “filmmakers first”, “one house, one business” and “careers, not gigs” on the centre of each determination.

Product-wise, the platform has expanded from fundamental networking right into a full network-and-workflow mannequin. That now consists of superior search and filters, saved searches and alerts, the Manufacturing Suite for operating exhibits, the Screening Room for sharing cuts and gathering suggestions, and native cellular apps so FILMD travels with filmmakers wherever they’re working.

Alongside the product, our desirous about monetisation has matured. Quite than leaning on pay-to-play fashions, FILMD has moved in direction of a mixture of Membership, verification and accreditation, hirer instruments and institutional seat packs – all designed to make the ecosystem stronger with out placing a toll gate between filmmakers and alternative.

 

What can we see from FILMD sooner or later?

 

Trying forward, the ambition is for FILMD to grow to be the heartbeat of movie: the default place the place careers reside, productions run and groups receives a commission.

Close to time period, which means deepening verification and accreditation, rolling out FILMD Pay to deal with onboarding and funds, increasing the Manufacturing Suite and giving members richer analytics. It additionally means rising institutional partnerships – from movie faculties to manufacturing firms and festivals – so FILMD turns into a part of how the following era of filmmakers are educated, found and employed.

Long run, the main target is on uniting a world filmmaking group in a single house whereas staying true to a easy promise: expertise ought to take away friction and improve belief, however by no means substitute the craft. If we do this nicely, extra tales get made, extra expertise will get seen, and extra filmmakers can construct the careers they dream of, on FILMD.



Share This Article