AWD is excited to announce our partnership with Portrait Creative Network, an invite-only network for modern media, and entertainment. Portrait helps members manage relationships, tap into contacts, and stay ahead in a fast-changing industry.
“Portrait is something worth checking out. It seems to have everything. And then some.” – Ted Hope
AWD Directing Members get to skip the line. Request your invite before Nov. 15th to be entered into a raffle to win a gift card!
AWD spoke with Portrait about how this new app can help them navigate the entertainment industry and build their network.
AWD: We are all about community, and Portrait is a great way for directors to keep track of their extended networks. Can you explain how Portrait’s platform differs from other social media or professional sites and how that benefits creators?
PORTRAIT:
- Mass social media wasn’t built for industry’s web of relationships, and it shows. As Instagram prioritizes mass, viral video to compete with TikTok, it’s harder than ever to stay on top of professional contacts (and search has always been terrible). LinkedIn’s data model is structured around companies, not who worked with whom on what project.
- Meanwhile, tools built in entertainment tend to be highly transactional gig platforms for last minute staffing or raw databases.
- We think there’s a better way: Portrait is a space for directors, producers, financiers, execs and department heads to stay in touch, keep track of their extended network, and stay on top of opportunities, funding, and deadlines.
From your early prototype to the app’s launch during Tribeca, what feedback from initial members helped shape Portrait’s features? Could you share any specific insights from directors or creatives that led to pivotal changes in the app’s design or focus?
- Staying on top of the industry circuit really matters. We didn’t know we’d launch robust tools to see who from the industry was heading to what festivals or who had a project premiering where. These developed in response to enthusiastic feedback.
- We didn’t realize a weekly industry snapshot would be so valuable — we assumed the newsletter market was crowded enough — but members really value the curation of deadlines, contacts behind the headlines, and what’s coming this week. Every week, we still see an extremely high open rate of 62%, and a big spike in app use for the 72 hours that follow.
- We heard time and time again how difficult it is to stay on top of fellow members and alumni within groups like AWD. In Portrait Groups, you can see who from your group is featured in the news, who is heading to what festival or event, who has landed new distribution deals and other industry updates, automatically.
- We love getting weekly feedback and building for members’ needs. A web platform is also coming in 2025.
We’re all low on time and bandwidth these days, and integrating a new app can sometimes feel overwhelming. For our directors, what are your top three action items for the first time they open the app?
- Phone contact sync: This simply shows you who you already know on Portrait so you can save them as contacts if you want and keep track of what they’re up to. Don’t worry! It doesn’t give the app access to any new info or send any notifications.
- Check out the side menu for festivals, funding, job opportunities, deadlines, as well as Work Of The Week, a great place to get lists of the top talent behind major new work that’s just been acquired, in festivals, or premiered.
- Check your draft portfolio and edit it. Our system pulls in your credits and basic information, and you can sync from IMDB anytime. Now you can make it your own!