The Successful Talent: Tips for the Actor & Model

WHAT DOES YOUR AGENT NEED?

Pamela Goldman, an agent in the commerical department at Don Buchwald and Associates Inc., shared what some agents look for in a talent on backstage.com. There are few things more exciting to an agent than a talented model or actor who knows the ropes and has a professional approach when they walk in the door.  Even if you don't have experience, showing you did your research to be prepared speaks volumnes!

When an actor becomes a client of a talent agency, especially a larger one, it is essential that he or she realizes that they have certain responsibilities. Agents must delegate their workday to securing and signing talent, pitching their actors to casting directors, and putting out auditions in a timely manner. We often don’t have time to check up on each client to make sure all documents are in order. Here are some of the things that youth agents, specifically, rely on parents to be in charge of:

1. Current headshots. If your child looks nothing like their photo that your agent has on file, it’s time to update. This is an investment! It is the number one thing we need. If we don’t have a current headshot, it’s not very likely they’ll get any further than a submission. If you’re going to spend money anywhere with regards to a child’s career, this is it.

2. An updated resume. We can’t keep track of everything your child books, their current height or weight and their latest special skill. Along with a headshot, this is very important especially in the theatrical world. Please take a look at your child’s resume every few months and make sure that it is current. Children's information changes often, and the casting director needs up-to-the-minute information on who the talent is and what they’ve done.

3. Work permits and trust accounts. If you’re new to the business, the agent will most likely walk you through getting a 15-day temporary permit that can be downloaded from the NY State Department of Labor website [see your own state's regulations on what permits your child may or may not need if outside of NY]. After that, parents must mail in an application for a permit that is valid for one year. Please, please keep this date on a calendar. If we book a child on a job and the permit is expired, they cannot work under any circumstances. It is the parents’ responsibility to know the expiration date and send away for a renewal with time to spare. There have been many, many instances where agents are left with no recourse when a child is booked and the permit isn’t valid. Don’t let it happen to you. As well, trust accounts are a must by law for child actors, and parents only need to open one (in person) once. Do it early.

5. Passports. More and more, commercials shoot outside the United States. We get numerous castings that take a child and parent to Europe, African countries, and on international cruises. There is no reason why a serious actor in this business shouldn't be willing and able to leave the country for a job opportunity. Again, it means your agent giving up an appointment time for your child if you don’t have the proper documentation. Make sure an adult in your family also has a current passport to travel as their guardian.

6. Bookouts and current school/after school schedules. As stated in previous columns, agents need to know when a child is unavailable. It’s your responsibility to email that information to your representation so they can document it in the system. We have no idea if you’re out of town if you don’t tell us.

7. Knowledge of the material. If your agent gives you copy to learn for an audition, please make sure the child knows it (preferably off book). Most of the times in the commercial world, scripts aren’t given in advance, but when they are, our clients need to be very familiar with them. Agents consistently hear from casting offices that their talent wasn’t prepared [and OH, It is embarrassing and causes the agent to lose confidence in the talent for the next pitch]. Parents need to do their part and study it with their child if they confirm the audition. There are probably other things going on that night – homework, soccer practice – but if acting is a priority, please make sure they know their lines.

You have expectations for your agent's place in your success -- likewise, your agent has expectations for you as the talent.  The end result is a successful team for those who both pull their weight.  What are you waiting for? 

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Meeting a New Agent?

WANT AN AGENT?

Brian O'Neil, a former agent and author gives us insight into the process of getting an agent.  Looking for the right fit?  Try one of these suggestions!

1. School Showcase. This is one of the more common ways a young actor secures representation. Each spring, hundreds of BFA and MFA graduates strut their stuff for an industry-filled audience. However, if you’re not in one of these programs, you don’t qualify.  [Insider note from Melinda:  These types of showcases are also done in some acting workshops with coaches outside of educational institutes.  Check with coaches in your area to find out more on what is available.]

2. Getting your work seen. In this instance, an actor’s work is seen in a play, at a film festival, on YouTube, etc. The downside is it's difficult to “make happen.” Often it’s by fluke that this method comes to pass. However, it’s always the best. Having your work seen and being called in as a result of it trumps everything. They like your work. Now they want to see if they like you!  [Note from Melinda:  Don't lose sight of this last statement!  Stellar work is great, but it only gets your foot in the door.  You still have to sell yourself as someone we want to work with!]

3. Referral. Actors are often granted a meeting when a mutual party (i.e. casting director, current client of the agency, friend, etc.) ask an agent to see a particular actor. The downside is the meeting has been arranged by a mutual party and not out of pure agent-to-actor interest. Often, an actor will say to me, “I had a meeting with an agent yesterday. It didn’t go well.” And I’ll say, “Oh, was it a referral?” And the actor always says, “Yes! How did you know?” And I say, “Because they didn’t want to see you; they had to see you as a courtesy to whoever referred you.” Still, it sometimes does the trick. A note here: If you attempt to go this route, try to get whoever is referring you to pick up the phone, or at the very least, email the person to whom they are referring you. Simply mentioning the person’s name in your cover letter is far less effective and too easy to dismiss or not see.

4. Mailing of photo/resume. This method is usually effective when the actor is a) young and extremely attractive or b) has amassed – perhaps through the efforts of a previous agent – a reasonably impressive resume. If an actor is not in either of these categories, a mailing is a usually a long shot, especially for legit/theatrical representation.

5. Industry classes/seminars. This refers to venues where actors pay a fee, and as a result their work is seen by agents. Mostly effective for actors who fall in either category “a” or “b” as described in number 3, above. It is a more flexible method for attaining commercial representation, however.

Here's a note for all the methods listed above. Although it sometimes happens that the interest isn’t as strong as the actor hopes, it doesn’t mean the situation is dead in the water if representation is not initially offered. Pro-active career measures and reports of the results can make an agent who has previously passed on an actor the first time around, later re-visit the situation. As a former agent, I’ve seen this happen far more than one might think. Hang in there.

What challenges do you encounter (or have you encountered) when submitting for representation? 

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STOP PLAYING THE BLAME GAME

 

Anthony Paul Meindl, a stage and film actor is the founder and artistic director at the MetaTheatre Company and the Director's Workshop in Los Angeles, California. In this video he explains how we as people tend to avoid taking ownership of our actions or results by playing the blame game.

When I was in New York recently, I went out dancing with some friends and I tried to do a very "Dance Fever"-ish kind of move. The tightness of my jeans prevented me from getting as low as I could go so I got stuck somewhere in between. Awkward.

I blamed it on the jeans, which is what one does when one’s ass can’t get quite as low as it used to.

My friend, watching the whole escapade, rolled his eyes and said, “You can’t blame that on the jeans!

Busted.

I immediately realized that was a great metaphor for life.

It’s easy to blame outside forces for where we are (or aren’t) in life. In love. In career. Whether it’s too tight jeans or an agent (or zero agent) or a boyfriend (or lack thereof) or the business.  When we play the blame game, we simply refuse to take responsibility for what actually is holding us back.  Which is essentially . . . you.

People don’t hold us back. We hold ourselves back. There’s no force outside us. That idea suggests someone else is in charge of your happiness. Your creativity. Your self-expression. Your success.  The more we give up our power to external events and experiences, the more we get to remain the victim. We get to be stuck. We receive a pay-off in staying in stasis and not really doing anything to improve our situation.

I get it.  At times it’s easier to blame than to step up and face the fears we project onto others and onto external events. Doing that means we don’t have to examine our own insecurities, our own fearful thinking, our own self-imposed limitations. So we continue to experience more of what our own self-worth demands. And to be honest, our collectively low self-worth doesn’t demand a lot.

So we settle. Or complain. Or get angry. Or blame.

So who would we be without the blame?  Well try it and see for yourself. Even if everything doesn’t come up roses right away, there’s a freedom, a sense of empowerment in finally letting go of all the energy we’ve been expending toward blaming others.  It might feel like a sense of peace. Or resolution. Or lightness. In short, dropping the heaviness that we carry around with us and perhaps realizing, for the first time, that to not blame feels like . . . well . . . the jeans fit just right.

Instead of blaming outside forces on your undesired results, meditate on what you can change to support the results you would like to see.  Now, go try it!  Feel empowered?

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HOW TO BECOME A FEARLESS ACTOR

Gwyn Gilliss, the founder and creator of the Actor's Market provides advice from backstage.com; on how to overcome your fear.  It is merely human nature to feel fear of the unknown and entertainment has an endless supply of both!  How can you learn to harness your natural fears to create something artistic and exciting?

Whether you are preparing an audition, or on your way to an interview with an agent and you suddenly have an attack of fear or doubt, how do you get over it?  What do you do?

First, recognize what fear is and where it comes from. Second, fight it the moment it raises its ugly head.

A client recently called me in tears. She was delighted with the idea of relaunching her career and coming back into the acting business after a hiatus to raise a family. Still a beautiful, vibrant, and talented woman, she was in a panic. Overwhelmed with the idea of getting new headshots, meeting new agents, auditioning when she hadn't been active in a while threw her into agony.

"Where does this morbid fear come from?" she asked. It comes from anticipation of failure and a negative outcome. It comes from the "What Ifs" – "What if they don't like me?" "What if the pictures turn out bad?" "What if I'm too old?" "Or not attractive enough?" "What if I spend all this money and I can't get an agent?"

Fear comes from living in a thought realm, an imagined future, that isn't real. It's only a thought, a negative thought, and it can be a habit if you’ve created negative thought patterns. You need to change the habit. Sometimes fear comes from the past when things didn't work out and the thought pattern – "This awful thing is going to happen again" – sets in. It's negative energy stored in your memory. It's also the old part of the brain we all have as humans. It's called the "Croc," "Mammalian," or "Lizard Brain" (the amygdala), the one that is always on edge waiting for a future event for you to be attacked or devoured by a Dinosaur.

Wait! There aren't any dinosaurs or monsters out there! It doesn't matter. The Lizard Brain doesn't know we’ve left the caves and there aren't any stalking animals, fires, floods, or volcanoes. The Lizard brain was dominant in our systems to protect us eons ago. Seth Godin writes in Quieting the Lizard Brain, “It hates change, achievement and risk.”

But those are the very qualities you need as an actor and a creative entrepreneur to be successful!

The good news? The more modern, intelligent, creative brain developed – the one responsible for science, math, writing, the arts, happiness, JOY! So all you have to do is tap into the more modern brain, and that is sometimes difficult because the Lizard Brain has dominance most of the time. Yes! Most human beings are walking around in a state of fear, doubt, and depression. It takes effort to change that condition. How to fight back? Think of something or someone you love – something that would make you happy!

For my client I advised her to think of the flip side of the previous "What Ifs." For example: "What if the photos come out strikingly beautiful?" "What if the interview goes well and the agent loves me?" "What if I'm really good at that audition?" "What if it all works and I book that guest-starring role?" "What if the investment in my career pays back times a thousand?"

Now wouldn't that make you happy? Right. That's using your modern, creative brain overriding the other circuit. And in the process of thinking about what you love, what will make you happy, you become a warrior who wins the battle! You trick the lizard into thinking everything is safe. If you do that daily, for 21 days, you create the habit of conquering the fear. YOU control your thoughts and your reality. So you control your success!

Just by thinking a thought about what you love, you stay in the creative brain.

Then, that brain releases endorphins and all kinds of happy chemicals so you feel better, function better, and accomplish everything easily and successfully! See? It's fun to outwit monsters!

Next time you're afraid to audition, return an agent's call, commit to that class, buy those gorgeous red shoes, or take any step to go forward in your career, call it what it is, Lizard Brain! And tell it to go away!

Yes, whistling a happy tune or just daydreaming about playing your dream roles, working with your ideal agent, or on the set with terrific A-List actors you admire, all those thoughts become your reality. Just do it – it works!

How do you control your "iizard brain" -- and in turn, control fear?

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OVERLOOKED HABITS OF A VOICE ACTOR

Want to be a voice over artist?   Want more voice over work?  Learn the ropes!  Dave Courvoisier of corvo.com, provides seven habits/tips that are overlooked on how to be a successful voice actor.

#1 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

Take care of your mind and body and soul.  Health, good eating, sleep, exercise, and equanimity/moderation in all things.  It’s the core.  The center.  Get off-kilter in any of those foundational concepts, and the strain starts to show elsewhere…like your reads!

#2 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

Relationships.  Before we knew anything else, we were relational.  Family, friends, acquaintances, work-mates, neighbors, and virtual/distant persons.  Not just people in voice acting, but people from your past, your present, and relations-in-progress.  This is the richness of life.

#3 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

Perspective.  …also known as balance.  Spend too much time on any one thing, and you miss the big picture (forest/trees?)  Be a well-read, broadly-influenced, renaissance man/woman.  Inspiration can be drawn from the most unexpected reaches of newly-discoverd corners.

#4 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

Career vs. Job  I’ve mentioned this before on my blog.  Jobs can be gotten.  Careers are planned.  Jobs pay the bills (sometimes).  Careers set you up for life and retirement.  Jobs can run your life and your schedule.  When you have a career, you can more often choose time and place.  A job will keep you in the trenches, with a career, you can at least choose which trench.

#5 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

See the broad/high/long view.  Details are important.  You can diligently build a beautiful house, but if you did so with the wrong plans, then your detail work is for naught.  Keep the value of hard work, but look up from the plans long enough, and often enough, to make sure you’re following the right blueprints.  In Driver’s Ed (remember Driver’s Ed?) they used to call that the broad view — keeping your eyes high and attentive.

#6 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

Surprise yourself.  Restated:  Stretch yourself.  Sometimes you just have to ask yourself:  “If I don’t do this, will I spend the rest of my life wondering if I should have?”  But the admonition here is beyond challenging yourself.  It’s choosing to place yourself in an uncomfortable position to reap the rewards of discovery.  Did it work?  Maybe not, But you learned something.

#7 Overlooked Daily Habit of Successful Voice Actor

Never underestimate practice, persistence, patience.  Now it’s time to get into the trees.  Application of desire and planning.  Can you look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and assure yourself that you did the WORK?  Was there progress?  Do you have the patience to build on today’s incremental success to achieve your goal in the long run?

What are you overlooking in your career that could make a difference?

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JOE ESTEVEZ'S ADVICE FOR ACTORS

David Patrick Green, a private acting coach and entrepreneur, had the pleasure of speaking with the well known actor Joe Estevez. During their conversation, Joe shared information from his 30 years of experience in acting and gives insight on how to have a long lasting career within the industry.

As with most secrets in life, being a talent boils down to "things your mother told you." Even though he might not tell you this, I would say that one of the reasons Estevez has been successful must be due to the fact that he is such a kind and generous man. Actors take note!

He boils his success down to the following three factors.

1. Positive Thinking. Estevez has acted since high school. At first, he didn't take it that seriously and not much happened for him Shortly after returning from military service, he lost nearly everything and found himself in a small, sparsely furnished room in the Hollywood Hills wondering where his next meal would come from. He was feeling dejected. Fortunately for him, the Beatles had begun experimenting with meditation and positive thinking as a result of their exposure to some of the gurus in the Far East. Estevez decided to immerse himself in any material he could find on the subject of positive thinking. He turned it into a way of life. Everything suddenly changed. A small movie role turned into a huge voiceover contract. He noticed that if he kept the positive energy flowing, he didn’t have to look for work. Work was finding him.

2. Commitment. Estevez wasn't always an actor. After returning from military service, he moved back to Ohio and started doing factory work, which he soon found he hated. Taking a leave of absence from the factory, he left for California and never looked back. He committed himself completely to his craft. He said humans need to open themselves to all of the possibilities of life. We are a spiritual entity far more than a physical one. If you set a timetable for yourself, if you give yourself an out or have a backup plan, eventually you will take it and never realize your true potential. You have to be willing to ride the highs and lows. He believes the universe recognized his commitment to acting and the results were inevitable.

3. Helping Others Without Reservation. Estevez believes that if you read for a part and you can think of someone else who might be good for it (despite you wanting that job), you must tell them about it. The universe will reward you, not necessarily how you might think, but the reward will come. Wish other people well. While it can be difficult, the practice of being happy for others can help us pass through negativity. Joe believes he is often hired because he is easy to work with and people enjoy being around him more than anything else.

Estevez realized another reason he kept getting work was that people kept referring him for projects. He started to realize that if you treated everyone well, everyone would always be happy to recommend you. So from the gaffers to the grips, to the casting director and the production assistants, Joe treats everyone with equal import. As they say, your reputation precedes you.

One final piece of advice I got from Estevez - and this may be a downer to some - is that you have to "live" life. He believes that if he hadn't felt dejectedness and lived in squalor, he wouldn't have realized the need for extreme positivity. You have to face your demons to destroy them.

The only real regret I could get out of him is he wishes he had been nicer to people, including his first and second wives. He said that if someone had told him at eighteen this was the life he was going to have, he would have taken it in a second. To me, that is the real sign of success and a complete person. The trappings of fame and fortune do not make you happy inside. They do not reveal, but instead disguise the truth. It is what is inside that really counts. And Estevez's insides are made of gold.

Are you really living your life in a way that will aid your career?

 

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THE MUST HAVE CAREER SITES

Taryn Southern, provides great advice from backstage.com; on what websites are best to use in today's marketplace. Whether the goal is to socialize, promote your work, or just to be current with the latest trending technology, these sites are worth considering. 

Q.: I want to start building a presence online, but I’m so overwhelmed I don’t even know where to start. Do I need to have a Twitter page? What are the “must haves”?

A.: There are no musts, and maintaining a social media presence simply isn’t of interest to some talent. But if you want to optimize your brand, industry relationships, and work opportunities, you should strongly consider investing your time and energy in the following sites:  

Facebook Fan Page Unlike a personal Facebook page, a fan page is a place where you can safely and shamelessly promote your work without confusing potential fans and collaborators with photos of you knocking back margaritas last Friday. Once you create an account, upload your headshots, press photos, and demo reel, and update the page with posts about new projects.

Personal website This is the only platform over which you have complete control. That said, a crappy site is worse than no site at all. Make sure it looks professional, can be viewed on a mobile device (no Flash!), and contains the following: contact info, résumé, reels, short bio, social media links, and photos. 

YouTube Account Even if you’re not out there making your own videos, you can still benefit from having a channel page that showcases your demos and/or clips of your work. If there are videos or trailers already on YouTube with you in them, you can create playlists so these videos will automatically show up on your landing page. Confused?  Head to my channel, and check out how I organize my playlists.

Twitter It’s hard to explain the benefits of Twitter to people who don’t actively use it and engage with the community, but it can be a wonderful tool for self-expression, branding, and even networking. It’s the one platform where you can easily reach out to pretty much anyone, as well as read about last-minute filming opportunities, screenings, and events. If you’re going to make the leap, just make sure you learn and abide by proper Twitter etiquette.  

Before you get started on any of these platforms, make sure you register one name across the board (e.g., my Twitter, Facebook, and website pages are named TarynSouthern) to avoid confusion. 

Caution:  taking on too many new sites at once could cause you to feel overwhelmed.  Pick only a couple to start with and commit to becoming comfortable on those chosen platforms before adding new accounts.  And have fun with your social medias!  Just like in the casting room, the industry is drawn to those who express positive ideas and thoughts relevant to our interests!

What social media platforms are you already comfortable using?  How have you already benefited from them?

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THREE OF THE BEST TIPS

 

Amy Jo Berman, a successful Casting Director for 18 years in Los Angeles shares these three acting tips using the great actress Lena Dunham as her muse and inspiration.

1. Be Yourself. I know you’ve heard that a million times. But truth, isn’t Lena just the embodiment of that? She doesn’t have the traditional size 0 body that most female leading women have in Hollywood. (By the way, when did 0 actually become a real size? That just seems wrong.) In fact, she regularly parades around naked on “Girls” despite the fact that she’s not “perfect”. And yet, she doesn’t seem to have a care in the world about it. And it certainly has not limited her success in any way.

She doesn’t think, act, look, or talk the way our common perception of a leading lady in Hollywood “should." And yet, there she is. So how is it that she is such a success? This leads us to…

2. Follow Your Passion. Lena did not sit idly by and complain about her crappy agent and wonder why she was NOT a success. What she did do was CREATE. She wrote and created shorts and did creative projects. This led her to create her indie film “Tiny Furniture” which she wrote, directed, and starred in. That film led her to her deal at HBO, which led to “Girls” and here we are.

What is YOUR lesson in this? Do what you’re passionate about while being yourself. Maybe that’s filmmaking. Maybe it’s writing. Maybe it’s totally outside of entertainment. Maybe you like baking pies. Whatever it is, do it passionately and with joyful enthusiasm while being you.

As a casting director, what I noticed from meeting thousands of actors over the years, was that many of the ones that were the most successful always had something else fulfilling and creative in their lives. I’ve talked to actors who had antique businesses, who are passionate about doll-making, skydiving, owned and rented out villas in the Italian Riviera, record MP3 meditation CDs, etc. The list goes on and on.

So, do those passions guarantee a successful career as an actor? No. There are no guarantees in show business. The only thing they guarantee is that you will be way more interesting, more passionate, and more creative and connect with way more passionate, interesting, and creative people in your life AND career.

Do you think that that passion and flowing creativity might give you an edge in your next audition or meeting over the other actors out there who aren’t?

My experience says a resounding YOU BETCHA!

3. Make Authentic Connections When Meeting “Players." When I was working on the L.A. casting of the pilot for "Girls," there was one thing that certain actors did that lit Lena up like a Christmas tree. If you do this regularly, you will give yourself a great advantage in this business.

Find out a little about the people in the room BEFORE you get in there. Sure, it's easy to know about the Aaron Sorkins and JJ Abrams of the world and all their projects.

But many times, when you audition for a pilot, the Creators are NOT that well known, like Lena Dunham when we did the “Girls” pilot. For goodness sakes, GOOGLE THEM! IMDB THEM! Find out what you can.  

Will it get you the part? Probably not. But will it make the beginnings of a CONNECTION with a mover/shaker in this industry? Abso-freakin-lutely!

Lena lit up like a Christmas tree when someone came in to our producer sessions to audition and genuinely told her what a fan they were of "Tiny Furniture."

Genuinely.

Be genuine.

Be authentic.

Don't kiss up.

Just do your homework and find a bridge to make a connection or just make someone's day.

Keep planting seeds like that and watch the amazing harvest you will have in your career.

These three simple ideas can change your perspective; can change how you are received and viewed; and can change the direction of your career to a smoother and more fulfillling road!  Which idea might be the most difficult for you to implement?

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HOW TO LOOK YOUR BEST FOR THE STILL CAMERA

Bryce Buell, a international professional model gives tips from his experience on the best way men can prep for a photoshoot. Not all of these tips are just for the guys, though.  Listen up ladies and heed some good advice!

As a full time fashion model throughout the 1990’s, fitness took a vital role in my career. While I was a fashion model and not a “fitness model” per se, my ability to maintain a lean, fit body led to many opportunities that my thin but unfit counterparts could not partake in such as underwear ads, Men’s Fitness articles, swimwear, romance novel covers, etc.
The secret was to maintain a body that looked very muscular in underwear or swimwear, but still allowed you to wear standard catalog industry suit sizes (40R – 42L) nicely and other clothing for my more mainstream work in catalogs. The secret to achieving this balance was simple: definition.

Definition is achieved through maintaining a very low body fat percentage. A high degree of definition makes you appear very muscular when in fact you may not carry a lot of actual muscle mass on your frame.

Once you achieve a low body fat percentage through proper diet and exercise, your biggest enemy to looking as defined as possible is water retention. Water retention makes one look “soft” and less defined. Fortunately there is an easy, natural solution. If I knew I had a body shoot coming up, my trick was to drink at least a gallon of water a day for at least four days before the shoot, five days is even better.

Drink more water so your body looks less bloated? That doesn’t make any sense… or does it?

The reason may seem counter-intuitive at first -- but the science behind it and the real-world results are sound –- the more water you drink, the less water your body will retain. Why? Because unless you are already drinking at least a gallon of water a day, your body is in a state of dehydration. Anytime you are thirsty, your body is heavily dehydrated and desperately needs water – hence it signals you, “Hey, I am thirsty!” As a result, any water your body receives it will hold on to, often under the skin, making you look smooth.

When you drink at least a gallon of water a day, after a few days your body realizes it is getting enough water and therefore it no longer feels the need to retain as much as it can and it dumps it. The end result is your musculature will look sharper, feel tighter and will photograph much better. When you drink that much water your urine should be very clear – so clear that as my dear friend and model colleague Jonah Taylor used to say “you could re-bottle and sell it.”

Working the still camera as a talent is imperative!  There are many reasons as models cross into on camera work and actors continue to do still shots to learn the other side of your industry as a talent.  What other tricks have you found that make you look your best before a shoot?

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USING TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

As you prepare updating your audtion tapes, Youtube videos and ect., here's an option you may want to consider. The following advice comes to us from Sean Kane, who gives us some insight into perfecting a taped audition by boosting the quality of your technology.

Cell phone cameras are getting better every year, and while they still pale in comparison to purpose-built cameras, you can shoot decent video using an iPhone. However, most iPhone footage you'll find online is shaky, underexposed and too blurry to watch. But with a few simple steps, you'll be able to shoot passable footage with any modern smartphone. The iPhone 5's camera can record high definition video in 1080p and also has built in image stabilization, so it's certainly capable of recording high-quality footage. But unlike an actual camera, shooting on a smartphone grants you a lot less control and stability when shooting, so you'll need to figure out a way to keep your phone steady in order to capture as much light as possible from the iPhone's small sensor. First, since your "camera" is so small and light, you'll want something to secure it in place while you're shooting. If your hands are steady, you could probably keep the phone stable for decent shooting. But for the best results, you'll want some sort of tripod. With a little creativity, you can make your own tripod to hold your phone with some combination of household objects and rubber bands. You can also buy a cheap mount system that will attach a smartphone to any tripod for about $15, or for the fancier, the iStabilizer Dolly is a great option. Downloading an iPhone video app will also improve your footage. The Camera app that comes with iPhones is very basic, and specially made video apps, like FiLMic Pro, give you a lot more control over how you're capturing images. For $3.99, FiLMic pro offers three different modes for focus and exposure, allows you to shoot with different frame rates, use different aspect ratios (4:3, 19:9, 2:35.1) and even features an audio meter so you can see how loud your footage is while you shoot. Before you shoot, make sure to back up your existing photos and videos on your phone somewhere. You'll need the extra storage space in the phone so you'll be able to shoot for as long as possible. Finally, always shoot horizontally. Shooting vertically will give you tall, skinny footage that won't fit nicely on any screen (and give away the fact that you're shooting on your phone).

Successful talent in the southeastern markets are highly mobile, moving from market to market as the work dictates -- sometimes on short notice!  Travel-friendly technology is one way to be sure you don't miss any great opportunities and traveling light is always preferable.  Unfortunately, talent are not always up on the latest gadgets or technology, and it reflects in their auditions.  Which tip helps you perfect your taped auditions most?

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