Actor Growth

I have been recently checking out the independent scene here in Vancouver to see some of the new productions that are attempting to create something big. The interesting thing was it seemed like so many of them were using this site called Indie Gogo at http://www.indiegogo.com/ which I guess you would classify as a public funding type of site.

Basically, you create a project and then show the world your idea in an effort to raise capital to create your project. This also made me think how this is probably a good resource for actors as well that are trying to create their own mini web series and require some kind of funding.

Happy new years everyone. 2010 was a semi interesting year for me thus far when it came to things I have experienced in this profession. Of course, the biggest change and decision I made was that I changed principal agents as I felt that my old one simply wasn’t working out. Indeed, I have been getting out a lot more to auditions since the switch which just shows you how much of a difference an agent can make.

Another interesting thing in 2010 was that I noticed that my IMDB profile that I created for fun way back as you may all remember had a credit added to it by a production which I wasn’t really expecting at all honestly.

All in all, it seems like the journey is moving forward. No big breaks or anything yet. One thing I was unsuccessful with last year which you may all remember is that I wanted to gather up the right people to start something serious like a web serious. Had a lot of inquiries but no one really followed up. People have been telling me to just do it myself solo, but it keeps running across my mind that it would be better to work it with a team of other enthusiasts.

Let’s see what happens in 2011.

The other day I was having a conversation with some actors who expressed a common thought that I have heard from many. Basically, obviously every actor wants that principal role in say a TV show or a featured film. There is usually a huge downtime though as you have to wait for auditions for appropriate roles within your category to come up.

However, usually in between there are a ton of commercials that are being shot which requires actors as well. It sounds like it could be a great way for an actor to make some income while waiting for the bigger opportunities. But surprisingly you often hear actors saying that they would avoid commercials at all cost as it will affect their image and worth.

I have even tried asking people before to find out the exact reason for it and usually the most common answer is that they won’t degrade themselves from having trained at say some of the best schools to be used in projects where it is mostly about showing a pretty face. While I guess I can see the argument in that, it does kind of puzzle me as you can technically get an actor role on say a TV show or movie where you don’t say anything at all as all you do is smile for the camera.

It makes you wonder sometimes on whether or not we are simply way too picky about the things we can do in this industry and field.

So today I went to visit the agency to have a sit down with my agent since the changes occurred. I must say, this has probably been the best sit down I have ever had with a talent agent. We briefly just talked about what to expect in the future, what my hits are when it comes to film work as well as looking for the types of roles I have been submitted for.

Actually, this is the first time an agent has openly showed me a detailed list of what shows I was submitted for and the casting directors who are responsible for bringing people in. It just makes me so much more confident about this partnership and that the opportunities will definitely be presented soon enough.

So yesterday I did the shoot and it went well. It was pretty casual and I had fun talking to the photographer and makeup artist as the day went by. I just received the proofs today too and it looks like it will take some thinking on which ones to go with.

One thing is for sure, I definitely will have enough variety now I’d say.

Okay, talk about twists in life. As you all know I just recently decided to go with a new agency and thus far it seems like it is working out way better which goes to show that the agent can play a huge factor in getting you in the door. It can’t be coincidental that all of a sudden when I switched I started to get more opportunities.

So to my surprise I recently just learned that the agent is no longer with the agency. I only found out as when I logged into the casting workbook it all of a sudden indicated a different person from the agency who was representing me. So this caused me to want to get some clarification and when I contacted them sure enough they said that the original agent was no longer with them.

This has never happened to me before and it is definitely something new. Although, the good thing is that the agency is working hard still it seems and so everything should mostly be the same from my end. It is just really weird as I have never met my new agent or had time to chat with him yet just to make sure we are on the same page. But he did offer a sit down with me as I just needed to arrange a time to do so.