The Successful Talent: Tips for the Actor & Model

THE NEW YEAR

 

As we enter 2012, most people are excited about the opportunity of a fresh start.  The new year is a great time to recap the past and set your sights on the future, but tackling such immense and abstract ideas can be challenging to the creative mind.  How are you going to make the most of 2012?

At The Avenue Model & Talent Agency, this time of year is one of my favorites!  We reach out to our talent and get one-on-one time with every face on the roster to help them recap the year and prepare for the future.  The talent who make the most of their time reviewing the prior year and setting goals for the new year consistently show the highest earnings in the next 12 months of work.  As an agent whose income is directly proportional to my partners, I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to pad both of our pockets!

Your review and goal setting can be just as effective on your own!  You can make it as elaborate or simple as you feel comfortable doing -- and the bottom line is that you will reap the benefits of having done so!  Here are the basics of what we find most effective during this season of out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new.

First, take time to really measure the prior year.  (If you do this in the middle of the year, set a clear start and stop time line for consistency.)  I ask talent to clearly tell me what their highest moment and lowest moment were.  These triumphs and challenges are personal.  Sometimes they involve monetary gain; sometimes they are simply personal fulfillment.  However you judge them, they are YOUR high and YOUR low.  Write the down to make them tangible!  Then also make note of any other significant events in the given time-frame.  Did you get new headshots?  Did you have a break-through booking?  Again, make it tangible by putting it on paper for you to see!

Second, take time to really set specific and well-defined goals for the new year.  The hardest part of this step is making the goals specific and measurable.  Common knee-jerk responses are usually, "Make more money" and "Book more jobs."  Well, you can make those your goals if you so choose, but more streamlined -- and therefore, more effective -- goals would be specific steps you can take to get there.  Think about what the year is likely to hold . . . or maybe some time last year where you were unable to meet the demand.  Did you lose a casting opportunity because your English accent comes and goes?  Are you embracing your stereotype?  (Red heads better have good Irish and Scottish accents!!)  Is there a hobby specific to your region in which you don't excel?  In the midwest, riding horses might be important!  Adding to your skills, hobbies, and experience will always help you book more jobs which will in turn, make you more money.  Be specific with your goals so that when you look back at the end of 2012, you can honestly pat yourself on the back for completing the things you said you would.

New Years Resolutions rarely stick -- just don't bother!  Put your hand written list of no more than 3 goals (maybe four for those who are self-starters with high drive) on your bathroom mirror or inside your closet door.  Pick a place where you will see it daily to be reminded of your aspirations.  Then be inspired to accomplish them and dare to launch your career!

How are you going to make the most of 2012?

VIRTUAL MANNEQUIN

H&M Virtual Models

By Sarah Lorsch 

Do you ever look at an image of a swimsuit or lingerie model and wish you had that PERFECT body? The just right legs, the slightly protruding hipbone and the flawless breasts to fill the most adorable bras?

Surprise, surprise, your dream body may not be so real after all. H&M was exposed earlier this week for using computer-generated models for their swimsuit and lingerie apparel online. Claiming it’s the same idea as using a mannequin in the store, H&M sees nothing wrong with deceiving viewers into believing that the Barbie body does exist.

Claiming this technique is used to make the consumer concentrate on the garment as apposed to the model, H&M press officer Hacan Andersson told a Swedish Newspaper, “This is done for all garments, not just underwear. It applied to both women’s and men’s clothing.”

Very curious, I immediately hopped on my computer and went to the H&M site to check out these cyber models. Andersson spoke the truth. These “models” are used for all forms of clothing. However this girls isn’t used for every image and I’ve come to wonder why this is the case.

They aren’t worried about a blond bombshell steeling the attention away from a sparkly push up bra, but fear high-waisted underwear wouldn’t be sold if a normal model wore them. Something isn’t adding up.

H&M spokesperson Nicole Christie said it was not their intention to make anyone believe that these “virtual mannequins” were real bodies. If this were the case, then why would they intermingle fake models with real ones? I have my own conspiracy theories but…

Regardless of the reason, H&M either needs to make clear that the model bodies are fake or use them all of the time or not at all. I’ve been to the H&M site countless times and never before noticed the use of fake women, just perfectly shaped ones.

The lesson to be learned from this is, fake or real, we need to become aware of what we are taking in on a daily basis. Don’t aspire to be like anyone but yourself.

[This post was reposted from The Network's Talent Community.]

What do you think of using virtual models to sell clothing?

 

FINDING CENTER with Kristina Anapau

Finding Center (In Your Life and Acting Career)

By Kristina Anapau 

As I embarked on writing this article, I abandoned my plan to discuss goal-setting as it pertains to one’s acting career. Instead, I thought I should address what must take place first, in order to make one’s goals a reality. The concept of finding your ‘center’ is expounded upon around the globe, through an endless stream of New Age masters, ancient belief structures, yoga classes, self-help books, and so on. I am a proponent of engaging in any activity that brings you a modicum of peace and clarity, and it is important for you to seek out the avenue that best resonates with you.

But who (without trying to sound too esoteric) are ‘you’? That is really what you must contemplate before finding your ‘center’. Some call it the soul. I have a very easy time thinking of it in this way, but – living in a city (LA) with enough spiritual jargon to make your head spin - perhaps we should refer to it as the animating force that is beyond your physical body and mind. Creates a slightly more inclusive description. My boyfriend is an atheist neuroscientist, so this description was a necessary element in our relationship.

You may be wondering what all of this ‘finding center’ business actually has to do with your acting career. It has everything to do with it. Can one succeed in this business without having attained this? Certainly. Your chances of reaching all of your goals and continuing to constantly expand even after you have reached them are much higher if you do, however. Or at least attempt to. You will be able to accomplish what you desire with greater ease, have greater depth to offer on stage and screen, and have a sense of peace and certainty that will affect all you come in contact with. All of which helps you book the acting jobs you want.

In many ways, if you are immersing yourself fully in each character you audition for or portray, you must temporarily relinquish a portion of who you are in order to serve that character. Even if the character is very similar to you, I think most professional actors would agree that this process takes place on some level. This can be a dangerous game if you don’t have a solid center to come back to. In addition, as I previously mentioned, your acting will be even more multidimensional if you have a solid center to expand from.

With the time for New Year resolutions fast approaching, this is a great opportunity to explore that ‘you’ within the you that walks around the world. While I am in no way going to sell you on the teachers, practices and knowledge that I have incorporated into my life with wonderful results, feel free to contact me on the twitter page below if you have any questions or would like some guidance.

More on detailed goal-setting next time. In the meantime, contemplate what you really want to accomplish while you are here in this life. I think you all would agree, we are meant to be more than just amoebas checking things off a to-do list. It is due time to inject a bit of consciousness into our lives… and our careers.



Photo Credits: Half-face Kristina is Mike Ruiz. Kristina looking down is Paul Smith. Kristina smiling is Paul Gregory.

Born in Hawaii, Kristina Anapau spent her youth studying classical ballet, music and theatre. She graduated from high school at the age of 15, and that same year began her studies at The University of Hawaii.

Proving to be a true triple threat to Hollywood, Anapau has wowed audiences on the big and small screen. She plays “Galina” in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, in which she starred opposite Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, and Barbara Hershey. Kristina recently completed the starring role in the feature film, Sighting, directed by Tedi Sarafian and will be seen next on Alan Ball’s HBO series, True Blood.

[This blog has been reposted from The Network's Talent Community.]