Why CD Workshops are good:

• It is ONE way that an actor can get in front of a CD.
• The workshops that provide feedback are worth going back to because you are getting educated about your look / acting / headshots / etc.
• Workshops help Cds find talent that they might not normally see.

Why CD Workshops are bad:

• Fiscal responsibility is being shifted from Studios (used to pay for the actors themselves), to CDs (who studios pay now & when actors were no longer studio property), to now actors (because CDs can do workshops to supplement income).
• Some workshops have the reputation of taking money and running (hence the bonding of workshop houses).
• Most actors who attend workshops (90%+) are under trained in the ways of LA, casting, and acting (This is base on the number of calls to auditions actors get from workshops).
• The under trained actors that ARE attending these workshops are giving actors as a community a bad name, making all of us look unprofessional, unprepared, and in general not ready for the opportunities that casting directors might have available to them.
• The percentage of getting cast directly getting called in for an audition from a CD workshop is VERY low, around 3% or less.

What myself, and others, are doing to challenge the norm that CD workshops are the only thing out there:

• Calling casting directors directly and setting up generals
• Sending out postcards to casting directors
• Going to Q&As that casting directors are at
• Joining The Actors Network for more information on LA, casting, acting, meeting some of the same CDs who do workshops, and more.
• Suggest that SAG, AFTRA, EQUITY, or even the city of LA provide a free business based class for actors that talks about LA, casting, acting, and more
• Suggest that a line item in the new law be that workshop houses have to up front tell specific items to their students, including, but not limited to: not being an audition, what the purpose of a workshop is, and other ways of reaching out to the current casting director.
• Design new workshops that incorporate a live set where any above-the-line crew can come and observe actors in their environment, on set.

What you can do to change the norm:

• Calling casting directors directly and setting up generals
• Sending out postcards to casting directors
• Going to Q&As that casting directors are at
• Joining The Actors Network for more information on LA, casting, acting, meeting some of the same CDs who do workshops, and more.

My final thoughts are pretty simple.  This is a discussion that we need to be having with each other, with other CDs, and quite frankly with the government as a whole.  From online content production to acting resources and needs, I believe that we, as an entertainment industry, are currently in a fundamental shift that will change the ways that we do business as a whole.

And, as always, please comment below and discuss for yourselves what all of these changes mean for you, and your career.

I get this, I get that we need to be protected, but to what degree.  According to the new law CDs who attend these bonded workshops can no longer take your headshots with them, because this is considered an “audition.”  What the hell?!  A workshop is NOT an audition, I am not paying money to AUDITION for the CD.  I’m paying money to get in front of them and for them to take my headshot with them, and put it in a special stack in their office that they go to when they are casting.  I am paying to be a select few that they use when it comes to casting.  It is also beneficial for the CD because it saves them time when it comes to casting.  They see people who are good before casting, and have type-cast them already, so when they bring them in they know what they’re getting.

So, they’re solution, as an actor we are allowed to “follow up” with the CD after the workshop.  Let’s take a look at this really quickly.

The average CD receives hundreds, if not thousands, of headshots A DAY!!!  And, normally, the actual CD isn’t even looking at those headshots, it’s their assistants, who were NOT at the workshops.  They have no idea who I am.  You say, why not put REFERRED TO on their.   I would argue that there is still hundreds of “referrals” that they assistants go through regularly.  And, I know some who just throw mailed headshots away.  They don’t even look at them because they don’t have enough time in the day.   And, yet again, everyone thinks that actors are made of money.  I know it’s only a few bucks to mail your headshots, but that’s more money that an actor has to spend.

The other option is to do personal drop-offs to the CDs office.  Yes, this is definitely a much better idea.  Most offices have bins outside their offices for people to leave their headshots.  I’m not sure who goes through them, but I would assume that normally it’s the assistant (comment below if you know otherwise).  But, again, I’m stuck with the same problem of being shuffled into the mix with who knows how many people that the CD may or may not have met in person.  I would also assume that these headshots get added to the mailed in headshots (comment below if you know otherwise).  And, again, like above, more money.

Statistically if a CD office (normally a different CD per workshop) goes to 3 workshops a week, that’s on approximately 90 headshots that they’ve collected.  That is anywhere from just over half to a tenth, a TENTH, of what they would see in ONE DAY, let alone in one week.  My odds for getting called in just skyrocketed because I went to a workshop and the CD took my headshot.  And, the CD, not the assistant, has seen my headshot.  I have also seen / heard that most CD offices have a special drawer / dresser / locker / whatever that they keep headshots of people they’ve seen in workshops for easy access.  It’s normally their 2nd, maybe 3rd, point of reference when looking for actors.

In my humble opinion, there is not really a great reason to go to a casting workshops any more that you have to pay for, unless you’ve already been in front of that CD.  We paid so that we would be remembered.  They won’t remember us in a week if they don’t have our headshot, or if our headshot is stuffed somewhere else.  There are places that offer Q & As from CDs, and I would assume that you can actually leave your stuff with them then.  If you feel like CD workshops are still worth your time and money, definitely drop off your headshots in person, do not mail them.

I just got an email from a well respected, highly used, Casting Director (CD) workshop explaining a new law that has come into play since January 2010.  In essence the law (The Krekorian Talen Scam Prevention Act of 2009 / Assembly Bill No. 1319) is designed to protect actors from getting screwed by companies that want to be charge actors for for “training.”  The training companies now have to get bonded, other companies can’t get kick backs for referrals (i.e. you have to use “our” headshot photographer), and there are rules / regulations on charging for training.  A lot of this is to stop companies from saying, “if you pay us [X] in dollars, we’ll be able to guarantee you work.”  Of course, as all of should know, there is NEVER any guarantee of work in any business (that is to say, unless you join a Union, they’re governed to find you work… and NO SAG / AFTRA / etc. are not unions).

I get this, I get that we need to be protected, but to what degree.  According to the new law CDs who attend these bonded workshops can no longer take your headshots with them, because this is considered an “audition.”  What the hell?!  A workshop is NOT an audition, I am not paying money to AUDITION for the CD.  I’m paying money to get in front of them and for them to take my headshot with them, and put it in a special stack in their office that they go to when they are casting.  I am paying to be a select few that they use when it comes to casting.  It is also beneficial for the CD because it saves them time when it comes to casting.  They see people who are good before casting, and have type-cast them already, so when they bring them in they know what they’re getting.

So, they’re solution, as an actor we are allowed to “follow up” with the CD after the workshop.  Let’s take a look at this really quickly.

The average CD receives hundreds, if not thousands, of headshots A DAY!!!  And, normally, the actual CD isn’t even looking at those headshots, it’s their assistants, who were NOT at the workshops.  They have no idea who I am.  You say, why not put REFERRED TO on their.   I would argue that there is still hundreds of “referrals” that they assistants go through regularly.  And, I know some who just throw mailed headshots away.  They don’t even look at them because they don’t have enough time in the day.   And, yet again, everyone thinks that actors are made of money.  I know it’s only a few bucks to mail your headshots, but that’s more money that an actor has to spend.

The other option is to do personal drop-offs to the CDs office.  Yes, this is definitely a much better idea.  Most offices have bins outside their offices for people to leave their headshots.  I’m not sure who goes through them, but I would assume that normally it’s the assistant (comment below if you know otherwise).  But, again, I’m stuck with the same problem of being shuffled into the mix with who knows how many people that the CD may or may not have met in person.  I would also assume that these headshots get added to the mailed in headshots (comment below if you know otherwise).  And, again, like above, more money.

Statistically if a CD office (normally a different CD per workshop) goes to 3 workshops a week, that’s on approximately 90 headshots that they’ve collected.  That is anywhere from just over half to a tenth, a TENTH, of what they would see in ONE DAY, let alone in one week.  My odds for getting called in just skyrocketed because I went to a workshop and the CD took my headshot.  And, the CD, not the assistant, has seen my headshot.  I have also seen / heard that most CD offices have a special drawer / dresser / locker / whatever that they keep headshots of people they’ve seen in workshops for easy access.  It’s normally their 2nd, maybe 3rd, point of reference when looking for actors.

In my humble opinion, there is not really a great reason to go to a casting workshops any more that you have to pay for, unless you’ve already been in front of that CD.  We paid so that we would be remembered.  They won’t remember us in a week if they don’t have our headshot, or if our headshot is stuffed somewhere else.  There are places that offer Q & As from CDs, and I would assume that you can actually leave your stuff with them then.  If you feel like CD workshops are still worth your time and money, definitely drop off your headshots in person, do not mail them.

Tradition series’ episodes are self contained, meaning that you can watch a single episode and see a beginning, middle, and end story arch.  Now, of course this does not mean you’re going to get the back story of the characters, their relationship with each other, etc.   What it does mean, is that you can watch one episode in one season and watch another episode in another season and still enjoy each episode independently.

With a mini-series, you are looking at a series of connected pieces that are broken up into episodes.  Really, if you took all of the episodes from a mini-series and crammed them into a single stream, you would have a really long feature film (speaking of traditional 1 hr. mini-series episodes).  Mini-series have the tendency to be on a singular topic, i.e. World War II or John Adams.

Where there is similarity is the long story arch of the characters between episodes.  Of course with mini-series, it’s expected that you’re going to see character development happen over the course of the episodes.  However, with tradition series, you should also see the characters evolve.  Even with a 30-min sitcom you should see character arches through a season.

Take “How I Met Your Mother”, you can watch every episode outside of the season and get an independent arch.  But, if you watched the entire show, you would see that (DEEP BREATH) Ted was dating Robin, they broke up, Ted got left at the alter, Robin dated Barney (NPH) who’s a “ladies man”, Lily and Marshall are married, but they’re looking for the perfect married friend couple, and in the end they’re still all friends.

Also, if there is an idea that NEEDS to get passed from one episode to the next it’s normally done through “What you missed” at the beginning of the next episode.  There’s also a teaser for the next episode after the episode you just watched.

So, new media; what does new media look like when it comes to episodes, series, seasons, etc.?  I believe that a majority of web series are mini-series.  You have to watch them from beginning to end to understand what is going on.  There is rarely a time that you can watch an independent episode.  If there is overlap they don’t provide a “what you missed” prior to the episode to fill in the watcher.  They rarely make a second “season”.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  there is a time and a place for mini-series.  And, I know, that most of the comments will be something along the lines of “but, we want to make a 2nd season, we just don’t have the money.”  Okay, that’s fine, but do I have to still go back to season 1, episode 1, and watch all of it just to understand what is happening in season 2?

So, if currently new media is a mini-series world there’s a few ways this can go.  One, admit we’re in a mini-series world, add “what you missed” to the beginning of each episode, and allow each season to end in such a way that it closes a majority of the story holes.  That way, if you get to make a second season you have somewhere to go.  Two, admit that new media is trying to take the place of traditional television, and make it so that we’re not isolating people.  Allow each episode to be independent of each other (ESPECIALLY if you’re a comedy show).  Add “what you missed”, if necessary to the beginning of those episodes that need it (i.e. 3 part episode arch).  Or, do both, there IS a time and a place for each, and that’s okay.  If a story can only go one season, let it end there.  I know that this is probably hard right now, since new media episodes are in the range of 3 – 10 minutes long, but if we as content creators make sure the content is kick ass, we won’t have a problem making the episodes longer.

UPDATE:

So, after watching FlashFoward last night, I realized there was a piece missing from what I stated earlier about showing a “what you missed” section before your episode starts.  You should ONLY show the pieces that the audience needs to see that relates to the episode that they’re currently watching.  Think of it this way: could you imagine what kind of “previously on” Lost would have?! That would take forever.  Pertinent information to the episode at hand helps engage the new audience, refresh the already captured audience, and tries not to alienate people by what they think they missed.

As always, keep an eye on the calendar page for up to date information on when I’ll be on television, in the movies, on the web, and at the premieres.

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Physically: start working out more regularly
Spiritually: Read the bible on a more regular basis
My industry (acting):
- Make at least $2000
- Get my SAG vouchers

UPDATE – Produce and star in my own web series / feature film ( which ever happens first )

These are small, but challenging goals. I hope they encourage you to think of your own

LA Casting

LA Casting sends out individual emails, it’s a good and a bad thing. Good in that you can delete projects that you don’t care about, but bad because you can end up getting a ton of email to sift though. As far as I can tell there’s no way to select which kind of projects you’d like to receive not receive, i.e. theater, student, print, etc. To get to what LA Casting calls their “Direct Cast”, click on your profile, then click Direct Cast Prefs. In there you’ll see “Send Email Notices for following types of projects:”. It should be at the very top of the preferences. Select the emails you’d like to receive. Select your “union” status, your age range preferences, extra’s preferences, and direct contact. After getting everything setup, hit “Save & Return to Main Menu.”

Actors Access

Actors Access sends out periodic emails with a list of all the breakdowns that meet your “About Me” under your profile. Again, pluses are that it’s a single email, it’s broken down into the different breakdowns, and the coloring of the email also helps you scan the email pretty quickly for submissions. Honestly, right now, I can’t think of a downside to these emails. I’m not a fan of digest emails, but in this case, I can live with it. Setup is simple. Log in to Actors Access. Hover over my tools and select my account from the list. On the bottom of this page there’s a check box to turn CMail notification on / off; select it, and hit save. That’s it.

Now Casting

Now Casting does a very similar email like Actors Access. It’s easy to skim and search for submissions you want to target. What I find hard is once you get to the submission page it’s hard to see the part you’re looking for. Same pluses as actors access, but I think that Now Casting comes less in a day than Actors Access Email. Setting up: Log in to Now Casting. Hover over “My Account”, and click “Edit My Email Lists”. Look for “Now Casting Notices Alerts”. Click the subscribe button next to the email address you want to use.

And of course, if I missed anything send me an email or post a comment. Hope this helps make your acting lives easier.

www.oneononeproductions.com
www.itaproductions.com
www.talenttogo.net
www.actorskey.com
www.thenetworkstudio.com
www.actorsco-opgroup.com
www.aiastudios.com
www.actnownetwork.com