How to find freelance clients as a motion designer

Where the work is

Motion and animation studios are the obvious first stop: they staff up per project and keep a bench of freelancers by style and software. Advertising agencies book motion designers directly for social and digital campaigns, often through their in-house studio. Branding agencies need motion systems for identities. In-house teams at tech and media companies run a steady stream of product videos, explainers and social content. Broadcast and streaming need promos and packaging.

Studios value speed and a recognisable style; in-house teams value consistency and turnaround. Your reel and your email should lean toward whichever you want more of.

Who makes the call

At a studio it is the executive producer or head of production who books freelancers, with the creative director weighing in on fit. At agencies it is the head of the in-house studio or a creative director. In-house it is a video lead, creative operations manager or head of brand.

Producers keep lists. Being on the list, with an honest note of what you are good at and your day rate, is worth more than any single email, and the way onto it is a short introduction when they are not busy.

What to send

A reel link and a sentence about what is in it. Lead with the piece closest to their work; if they make product films, do not open with the music video. Say what you actually do: 2D character, 3D, type-driven, compositing, the lot. Mention software when it matters to them. Keep it to four lines.

A short case study of one project, with the brief in two sentences and what you did, is often more persuasive than a reel for in-house teams, who want to know how you work as much as what you make.

Keep it warm

Studios forget. A new piece every couple of months, sent to the producers who have booked you or looked at you, keeps your name near the top when a project lands. A note when they win an award or a client is a natural reason to write. Track who you have sent what to; a reel sent twice is worse than none.

Producers move between studios more than anyone, and each move takes your name with them if the last job went well.

Where Soloish fits

Soloish does the research half of this. It reads your portfolio, works out what kind of motion work you make, and finds the agencies and studios in the markets you choose that hire that kind of work, ranked by fit with the reason beside each one.

Connect the email you already use for work and it shows who you know at each company and who is due a hello. It only sees who you emailed and when, never what was said. When you don’t know anyone there, it finds a person with the right title in the right office and checks the address is real; if it finds no one, it costs nothing.

Every email is written for that one company and shows the piece of yours that fits them best. You edit it and send it from your own Gmail or Outlook, so nothing goes out that you didn’t read. Soloish watches the companies you follow for news worth writing about, notices replies, and brings a follow-up back on the day you choose.