Work in the Horror Field? Interested in Working Within It? Then You NEED to Know About H.O.W.L.!
Steve Barton
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Where was this when I was breaking into the biz?!? A new resource for horror film/gaming talent is opening up its doors this Halloween, and if ever something had the potential to be one of the most important tools for bringing your terrors to life, this is it!
From the Press Release:
In an attempt to further communication between all fields, levels and regions of the horror film and gaming industry, an online workers’ resource has been established.
H.O.W.L. (Horror Online Work Listings) has been developed as a go-to site for members to list their various talents and interests in the hopes of finding further work in the horror film and gaming industry.
“One of the primary goals of H.O.W.L. is to streamline communication between directors, producers, crew members and talent as they’re building their various projects,” says Geoff Hoff, co-founder and webmaster of H.O.W.L. “Let’s say someone in the middle of Iowa wants to make a horror film, but they don’t have any contacts. Through H.O.W.L. they could access talent in their region that they might not have known about otherwise. That’s the goal, anyway.”
The idea of a kind of Craigslist for the horror film industry came out of necessity. “I’m always out there looking for the next projects,” says horror actor/director/writer Ezra Buzzington, one of the investors. “I discovered that there wasn’t really any job site specific to the horror genre. And there’s very little out there for directors, producers and/or writers. At least on the indie level. H.O.W.L. is a listing service for all departments and categories in the horror film industry. Not just actors or anything. And I like that idea.”
Filmmakers list themselves in however many categories and whichever region they choose and can post whatever information is appropriate. They can upload up to 4 pictures and include links to reels, other networking sites, personal websites, etc.
“The whole idea is to get information out there that hasn’t been readily available till now,” says Hoff. “But it’s a membership driven concept. Members need to get involved and excited for it to work.”
The organizers have recently sent information about H.O.W.L. to every Film Commission in every state and hope that the government agencies will see the potential of the site’s benefiting the local economy by helping raise the awareness of their homegrown filmmakers.
The eventual goal is to be international.
“Horror is a universal language,” says Buzzington. “Everybody gets scared.”
“We already have some impressively credited members,” Hoff adds. “You’ll know a lot of the names. What we want now is to get the word out there for potential employees. Anybody who has a job to offer, whatever level, is welcome to send their information so we can post it and help them find the perfect person for the position. Getting the word out there is the tough part. And we’ll depend on members to help with that.”
A few other features offered at H.O.W.L. will include a “Don’t Panic!” panic button which, when pressed, will send a call out to the H.O.W.L. membership requesting whatever is needed by the poster: an actor flakes at the last minute, a DP take a better paying position, a Department Head shows up drunk, whatever… “Don’t Panic!” says H.O.W.L.; you have a group of nationally connected film professionals at the ready. All of whom have contacts all over the country.
A forum is available for members featuring anything from general industry talk to the selling of equipment. There is also a “Future Screams” link that will deal with films and rumors of future films.
While the site is free for listing any work opportunities, H.O.W.L. membership requires a small monthly, quarterly or yearly fee.
“The site is still evolving,” finishes Hoff. “There have already been major changes implemented by membership suggestions. The whole point is to serve the filmmakers. And anything we can do to help them conceive, begin or finish a project we will do.”
H.O.W.L. is a workers’ listing website dedicated to furthering the communication between all fields, levels and regions of the horror film and gaming industry.
For more information visit the official H.O.W.L. website and follow H.O.W.L. on Twitter.
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