A challenge consistently faced by commercial producers is the ability to not only identify, but secure the best production crews. Christine Bellet was one such producer. “Like every producer, I have my go-to team, but when they are not available, we look back at old call sheets and phone our colleagues for recommendations,” Bellet said. “It was on a major job that I simply was up against a wall, and wished there was a straightforward, easy-to-use system that I could simply shop for the crew that I wanted, put them on hold for the days we required and press ‘click’ to book them.”
Bellet was not the only one faced with the challenge, and within weeks the idea took hold and BookYourCrew.com was born.
Bellet and her entrenched board of directors invested in creating a site they themselves would use. Launching in the Fall of 2013, BookYourCrew.com and the mobile app are both currently in beta, with new crew members signing up every day.
BookYourCrew.com employs a proprietary technology on a mobile platform that is quickly changing the way production companies find and book their crews. “BookYourCrew.com integrates texting, GPS positioning, and a plethora of other features to make the process seamless and easy” said Christine Bellet, CEO of BookYourCrew.com.
Employers – Site Overview from BookYourCrew.com on Vimeo.
“This past year has been very energizing, as we’ve developed BookYourCrew.com’s proprietary database, and we’re thrilled to be ready to bring this powerful crew-booking system to the people who need it most: commercial production companies needing professional crew members, and professional crew members wanting to make it easier for them to get booked,” Bellet said. “Our research indicates that the average crew boss will save hours per project by using BookYourCrew.com instead of more traditional spreadsheets, phone calls and emails. This is one of the last frontiers in digitizing the production flow process, and we anticipate that BookYourCrew.com will change the landscape permanently; similar to what MovieMagic did for film budgeting. Only here, it’s all on your phone. In the time it takes to walk over to the catering truck, a crew member can be found and booked.”
“As a production manager, I’ve gone to other crew sites looking for a last-minute replacement, and what I would find are kids still in film school, crew members who are trying to break into the business, if I could find anyone it was hard to tell if they were available for work. So I’ve designed BookYourCrew.com to avoid these problems and provide a powerful way to find the crew member you need, right away.”
A sponsor of the Association of Independent Commercial Producer (AICP) awards show in Los Angeles, BookYourCrew.com will be hosting a series of private tutorial receptions, to showcase how the program works to the industry leaders.
