Contourage vs imdbpro?

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  • Contourage vs imdbpro?

    Is it too soon to ask which is more up to date/informative/user-friendly,
    esp. for divining which managers or agents might have similar tastes to your own?

    Haven't tried the former, but my free trial at the latter is almost up and frankly, have encountered a number of errors and weird glitches on it...

    (For one example, wanted to check the years of a TV series I worked on and looked up not long ago there, and for some reason, it's completely disappeared. It only went off the air in 2008 or 2009! A lot's also missing under my own name, which I've never been able to fix, despite hours of trying...)

    I'd be very interested in hearing from those who have used used both!

  • #2
    Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

    If you can only afford one, I would go for IMDB. Not as much personal contact info but it's infinitely more comprehensive. CONTACTOURAGE is on a volunteer basis from what I can tell, so the only people on the list are the people who want to be. That leaves out fifty percent of Hollywood at least However, it is for sure an absolutely great networking tool.

    But it's invaluable to be able to click on a name or company and instantly get a list of past work, partners, and for that IMDB is a great research tool.

    If you go with CONTACTOURAGE, then at least sign up for DDPro if you haven't already. That is an absolute MUST. It's an amazing resource and it's less than 30 bucks a year! You have lists of all the management companies, agencies and prodcos, that you can click on for an instant list of all their past film and TV deals. Plus there is a searchable sales database, so if you're getting ready to send off a horror script for example, you can search the sales for horror and bingo! If seconds you'll have a list of sales that will help you determine who tends to sell horror and who tends to buy it. You can also search with keywords like Spec to get a list of spec sales for whatever time period you want.

    Ideally, every writer would have all three resources because they each have different advantages. But it does get expensive. CONTACT is more of a private rollodex thing whereas IMDB has info on just about every single company out there and while they don't always have emails, they do have plenty of them. I have found a lot of contact off of IMDB.

    Done Deal Pro as I said should be a requirement, it's ridiculously cheap and extremely useful. Less emails than IMDB, but better to track sales.

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    • #3
      Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

      Contactourage has accurate, hard-to-find email addresses, especially many not found on IMDBPro, AND they are regularly updated. But Imdb has other, more comprehensive info about prodcos that a writer needs to have access to. Of course, DDPro is also a vital resource, in order to know what is going on in the industry with script sales, and the info on the forum is (for us) a 'real-world' education about the biz, better than what we learned in film school. Investing in all three services seems indispensible if you are a serious writer - total investiment is what about $200 bucks a year?

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      • #4
        Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

        Thanks, guys!

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        • #5
          Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

          Studio System is the best, if you can afford it.

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          • #6
            Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

            Not familiar with Studio system. How is is better (worth the high price tag for a writer) than trackingb?

            Thanks.

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            • #7
              Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

              Because it's the most accurate and up-to-date information available. The people who work there actually make phone calls and make absolutely sure to fact check everything and keep it all updated.

              IMDB is a joke. It's a fun site to poke around but can't be used for serious business.

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              • #8
                Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                Originally posted by frontburner View Post
                Because it's the most accurate and up-to-date information available. The people who work there actually make phone calls and make absolutely sure to fact check everything and keep it all updated.

                IMDB is a joke. It's a fun site to poke around but can't be used for serious business.
                So IMDB Pro's info is not accurate and up-to-date? Any specific examples?

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                • #9
                  Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                  No examples off the top of my head, but the issue is that anybody can update IMDB. It's like Wikipedia.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                    Thanks. I thought for some reason that IMDb Pro had more oversight than IMDb (which is fairly notorious for inaccuracies), presumably someone paid to check info, though I can't recall where I got that notion. Perhaps I just assumed that since they charge for the service, they would try to ensure accuracy, etc.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                      You would think.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                        I've had e-mails listed on Contactourage come back to me as well. Which is strange since I thought all the people listed volunteered their contact info.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                          Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
                          I've had e-mails listed on Contactourage come back to me as well. Which is strange since I thought all the people listed volunteered their contact info.
                          Very few legitimate people in the industry "volunteer their info." Especially the people who are already inundated with query letters and pitch calls all day.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                            Originally posted by frontburner View Post
                            Very few legitimate people in the industry "volunteer their info." Especially the people who are already inundated with query letters and pitch calls all day.
                            I would agree that it is strange that nobodies such as the President and CEO of Newline would volunteer their contact info

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                            • #15
                              Re: Contourage vs imdbpro?

                              We use Studio System in my office as well.

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