Casting the net !!


At the weekend I decided the big pile of old magazines and newspapers dumped in the corner of my room had to be weeded out and tidied. The pile was unruly and  getting a bit out of hand but I really don’t like to throw them away so I always leaf through them carefully  and select ones with favourite articles, recipies, beauty and health tips I want to hang on to a bit longer and then recycle the discarded ones.

Anyway decided to do the deed and as I was going through a pile of “The Stage” from August the headlines of 2 articles caught my eye about Casting in the online age.

I’d not noticed them before as I normally flick to the job pages and then may read a West End review or something but thought there may be something interesting I ought to be aware of especially as the opening line read,
“Michael Wharley observes the accelerating pace of change and suggests actors and agents need to do more to keep up! For the broader process of casting and the fundamental mechanisms by which actors or agents promote and engage with the profession there is a word that has huge implications – the internet!” One thing this course has done for me is to promote my individual awareness and exploration of such articles I probably wouldn’t have taken much notice of before. I now explore any issues relating to the internet and networking especially issues related to the arts. It has given me the opportunity or should I say “forced” me to think about these issues and how they affect me.

Michael Wharley is a London based head shot photographer and freelance arts writer.

The article states in 2010 there are endless websites for those of us seeking or supplying casting profiles and the options are “dizzying”............. Spotlight, The Stage, Casting Call Pro, Cast Call, Cast Web, Cast Net........ it seems the list of websites to promote ourselves as performers are endless. Some I had heard of others I hadn’t, so I have definitely added to the pool of web sites that I can use in the future.

Obviously Spotlight is the one that is the most well known, of which I am already a paid up member, with over 36,000 profiles.  This implies to me straight away how important a good profile is. As the head of Spotlight, Ben Seale puts it, “Print directories are still extremely popular but are used more as a reference tool these days. The business of casting is largely done on line.”

Spotlight’s Link casting software is now everywhere at once and its strength lies in having integrated the content of  36,000 online directories with the casting communities breakdowns. This is an amazing concept and I was fascinated that the weekly e mail to distribute castings that I receive has gone through this process. Two separate parts of the process have been brought together simplifying casting for actors, agents, casting directors and their clients.  This means performers and agents are not sent untimely and unsuitable submissions and a barrage of casting information from multiple sources. Their Link system cleverly matches the casting requirement to the profiles.

By adhering on line to strict editorial standards Spotlight has a reliable reputation for anyone involved in casting to trust its resources. For me this is of significant importance learning that the information supplied to Spotlight is being used for the correct purpose and that I can trust its integrity. This is especially meaningful when I read other articles showing the downsides of the net, cyber bullying, identity theft, etc and the trials and tribulations of Facebook. I feel it is essential to me in my professional practice to have the confidence in what is out there about me. It made me feel better reading in black and white by a reputable authority that the agency I use to profile myself has a reliable reputation.

One agency I have not previously looked at is Casting Call  (I think this site is mainly used by “pure” actors, I tend to use dance and musical theatre based agencies) which is widely becoming a credible site in the casting process, now having 29,000 members each with a headshot and training credits. Casting Call now offers new ways of searching its actor database and allows actors to connect with each other on a professional networking model. CVs, show reels and photos are shared across the supply chain at the press of a button. So this is one new way in which the internet is taking a fundamental role in casting.

Michael Wharley conducted a survey for the article of 100 casting directors across the spectrum of television, theatre, film and commercials casting.

What was interesting was when asked to select the most important resource for accessing an actor online before audition, casting professional responses were -
9%      specified headshots
28%    said credits
21%    show reels but
41%    said the whole package.

 This suggests that casting professionals are using a performer’s on line presence to dip in and out of various resources and according to the survey many performers and agents need to do more to keep up.
This was suddenly very relevant to me – what could I do to improve my web presence as a performer but ensure the information was being viewed by the most relevant people?

In the survey findings casting professionals commented about the need for credits to be regularly updated. Even though this may seem a very basic requirement in the online era, the CV should be a growing document and an organic representation of the actor’s career and skills. It seems many CVs on Spotlight are out of date. This was a good reminder to me of the importance of keeping my information up to date. We were constantly told at college that a poor CV creates a bad impression and you risk your CV being dismissed before it is even read. You don’t want it to look as though you haven’t been working recently when you have and you don’t want to miss out on an audition opportunity because you haven’t included skills on your CV that you have put time, effort and money into achieving.

This made me feel quite pleased with myself because I had just updated mine last week in my personal documents, on Spotlight and Star Now, which are the 2 agencies I subscribe to, to include my latest panto job. However I think I could improve the overall layout and presentation quality of my CV as mine is based on a template we were given to use at college and this is something I could take forward and work on improving.  

Secondly, headshots which are a fundamental, long standing touchstone of the profession are being used more successfully. Performers may select a main photo for the print edition of Spotlight but on line on average four shots are attached to a CV. Being able to select the best photo for any given application with a few clicks of the mouse makes this really useful.

The same survey revealed that,
96%         of casting professionals still view the headshot as important to the future casting process and
48%         prefer black and white,
17%         colour and
35%         didn’t have  a preference.

This implies to me that the headshot is still an important casting tool and will continue to give performers the chance to make an impression on agents and casting directors whether they are new graduates like myself or well established in the industry. It is a good way to sell yourself and in an expensive business, the headshot is still relatively a cheap and cost-effective way to promote yourself. More good news for me!

As the collective understanding of what makes a good likeness for casting purposes, headshots are timeless and have been used since 1927 by Spotlight. Michael Wharley states, “Leafing through the editions of Spotlight from 1927 to 2010 it is amazing just how little the form has changed in 90 years. The headshot is still regarded as accurately previewing the performer”.

Therefore this re emphasises to me what I was taught at college  -  tutors  always stressed the importance of having good headshot photographs. It is an essential promotional tool and they should be updated every couple of years or so. I am quite happy with my headshots, I have 5 different versions, 3 colour/2 black and white, which were taken by a professional head shot photographer who came into college in our last term and I am happy it is an accurate, current likeness.

What I have learned is that I ought to have included on my profile a black and white version and a colour version. I currently only have a black and white headshot as my main profile picture on Spotlight.

The biggest shortcomings according to Wharley’s findings are when it comes to multi-media.
When accessing an actor prior to audition,
57%           of the casting professionals surveyed said they use on-line show reels a lot,
15%            a fair bit and
28%           very little,
which is 72% who use online video resources more than a little and yet, only 29% of Spotlight members and 10% of Casting Call members have video content on their CVs. This statistic quite surprised me.

I hadn’t thought about this till now (I don’t have a show reel) and how this could play an important part in my on line presence. I think this puts a burden on to us as individuals to maintain a diverse and up to date web presence but given the huge potential rewards in such a competitive industry it has to be worth pursuing. It would give me an opportunity to showcase the full range of my abilities.

It was interesting to learn that the average show reel is 186 seconds long but the average casting director will watch less than one minute. Casting directors and agents receive thousands of CVs and show reels and do not have time to watch every performer for several minutes. The first 30 seconds are the most important and should leave a good impression and the viewer wanting to see more!!

Surveyed for the article, 62% said they preferred to view separate short, contrasting clips. Therefore if I have several contrasting minute long clips alongside each other my CV would not only look comprehensive but would give a casting director what they need to see at their fingertips. However it is also interesting that they said they would be put off by a poor quality one.
This is very useful information for me. I realise this could be very important for me in the future. The only downside is the cost of a good quality show reel, as they are really expensive. 
I wondered what other performers who are on the course thought who have quite a lot of professional experience and may have show reels of their work. Do they think having a show reel has been beneficial in getting an audition or jobs?

It was also interesting to learn that in the US, video has become a basic element of any performer’s on line presence whether it is onscreen clips or simply a profile and full length shots while the actor provides a self summary.
Increasingly in the US , casting directors are using video as a first stage audition filter requiring actors to submit set audition pieces filmed on as basic a device as a mobile phone before subsequently seeing a select handful in person.

Wharley asks the question, “could this be the next stage forward for us in the UK?”
He does suggest, however, that whatever the possibilities presented by online tools this will only ever be, in his opinion, a precursor to the audition where actors can show their true talents, characteristics and skills. He goes on to further suggest it can only be a matter of time though before the whole casting process is on line as any time saving device in a budget pressed industry will find its use.

Is it then, that in the future we will only be invited to audition on the strength of our video footage? I realise if this is the future of the industry then I need to move with the times. I don’t mean I’m going to try and film myself on my mobile phone doing some complicated dance move and be all over You Tube tomorrow leaping about in some badly made home movie but I need to consider investing in having a quality show reel made to promote myself for the future to put on my professional profiles .

It made me recall what Betty Laine said to a group of us at an audition; “I am looking for marketable products!” I hate to condone this side of the business but we have to perhaps put that statement into perspective rather than react to what it might mean on face value. We all need to  be “discovered” somehow and we all have to make the best use of the tools available to “market” ourselves even though we hope we are being selected on our talents.  One quote I read from an advertisement for a photographer is quite apt, “Take a step back for a moment and forget you are an artist and concentrate on the product you are selling! Know what your strengths are and then package them in a way that is attractive to the industry.”

Reflecting on my thoughts and feelings whilst reading the article I think this was probably the most significant article I have read and I had almost missed it – August 26^th it was published in “The Stage” and I read on the 20^th November.

Performers need to invest in marketing and promotion as much as any other self employed business person and we should never sit back  to wait for the next job opportunity we have to be pro-active and market ourselves and treat our careers as a “business”. I have realised that having up to date, well produced promotional material makes a performer look professional and serious about their career and therefore a more desirable person for a director or agent to work with. If a performer can get the marketing right then they are putting themselves in the best position from which to approach the business.

I found it made me want to take action to improve my profiles basically I think because of the “real” statistics that were quoted from casting professionals. That really made  me analyse  how in the future my profile could be viewed and could make a difference whether or not I was selected for audition. 

It is going to be up to me as an individual to provide and maintain a comprehensive and up to date web presence and to make sure that what I put on line is of the highest quality.  I have learned I need to explore further in the future the possibilities to improve my on line presence through new photographs and a show reel to enhance my on line information.

So discovering this article has helped me identify what I need to do for my future profiling, and even though for the short term this may have to be piece meal due to the financial considerations it has given me an awareness of what can improve my on line presence and has inspired me to work towards achieving that to assist me in my professional image. My next step is to make my CV portfolio more “glamorous” and to get some exposure.................... I need to cast the net more widely !!


References:

Reflective practices - A Reader compiled by Adesola Akinleye.

The Stage Newspaper - August 16th and 23rd