By Gordon Meyer

P3GizmoGuy@gmail.com

Since part of getting gigs in town is based on knowing what’s going on and who’s doing what, there are several online databases that any working professional should subscribe to.

Baseline Studio Systems’ (www.blssi.com) showbiz databases Film Tracker (www.filmtracker.com) and Studio System (www.studiosystem.com), are the Rolls Royces of showbiz databases both in terms of depth of content and pricing.

Studio System continuously tracks the status of thousands of projects in development, includes exceptionally comprehensive company and talent representation directories.  While much of this info is available on the less pricey Hollywood Creative Directory (www.HCDOnline.com) and IMDb Pro (http://pro.imdb.com) databases, you’ll often find info here not available on either of the other two, though to be fair, the reverse is also true.

A buddy of mine is a researcher for a major entertainment news organization who’s been using Studio System for years and he swears by it.  I’m just getting into it myself and like its depth of info, though am also a bit overwhelmed by some of the choices.  Fortunately Baseline is very good about providing both online tutorials and a real person to walk you through the system’s features so you can get the most out of what they offer.

Frankly as the Studio System is aimed at high level studio and network executives, the amount of info available there may be overkill for most below the line talent and indie producers.  Fortunately, their Film Tracker database will probably do the trick for a lot less moolah.  Film Tracker is basically a more streamlined version of the Studio System database with a focus on screen credits, representation info, feature and television project status and company rosters.

So if Film Tracker and Studio System are so comprehensive, why would you want to also subscribe to HCD Online and IMDb Pro?  Simple.  Because there’s always going to be info, especially contact info, that one of these databases will have that one or both of the others don’t.  Plus, on any given listing, one database may be more current than the others.  BTW, one of the things you pay for with Studio System/Film Tracker is the fact that each listing tells you at the bottom of the page when it was last updated. 

What can I tell you?  Knowledge is power.  Strategically used, these services can help you figure out who to pitch yourself and your projects to, what your pitching targets have done and often who to send flowers and chocolates to (their assistants, often listed by name) before or after the pitch.  Priceless.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.