Archive for the ‘Actors’ Category

Front page of aol.com today:  A Chinese woman paid $600,000 for a Tibetan Mastiff dog.  She had been searching for years for just the right dog and found it. 

When I saw this, it got me thinking about my actor and screenwriter clients who want to be paid for their services – presumably all of them! 

So I have a question for you:  How much would someone pay for your acting or screenwriting talents?  Or anything else you do for that matter? 

For the most part, the most difficult part of an acting or screenwriting career is getting paid for doing it.  It’s easy enough to act in a play, a student film, or a no-budget film, but to be HIRED to do it is a different story. 

Same with writing.  You can get a video camera and shoot a few no-budget scenes, edit them with free software, and then post them on YouTube for the world to see.  Doing the thing itself is not so hard.  It’s getting paid to do it that is the hard part. 

So the question is, what is it that makes someone PAY for what you do?  And a lot of money at that?

Here’s the answer:  The reason they pay you (your audience, that is) is that they perceive a particular and unique value in what you do.  Someone pays for a Madonna record because they perceive what she delivers as being unique AND they like it. 

Someone pays to have you act in their film because they perceive that you will deliver something unique that’s worthy of paying for.  They also think that, in turn, others will also perceive it as being unique and worth paying for.

Said another way:  You have to be unique in some way, or more accurately, perceived to be delivering something unique that is valuable enough that the buyer will pay for it.

Let me break it down.  First, for actors:  Most actors fall in the category of what’s called a “commodity.”  A commodity is something that can be easily replaced with another similar item.

For screenwriters, it’s the same thing.  Most scripts that I’ve critiqued are actually okay, not bad.  But most of them could be classified as commodities, meaning easily replaced with a similar one. 

The problem with being a commodity when it comes to marketing is that you have little leverage in getting someone to pay money for what you are selling over another commodity, unless you are a name brand (meaning a star name actor or proven screenwriter).  Think of computers:  they are now commodity products.  The main difference is the name brand.  Most people prefer to buy a name brand over a no-name brand, even when they could get more for their money with a no-namer.  

There is more perceived value in the name brand commodity than the actual product itself, therefore most people stick with the name brands.  And on top of that, even the name brand companies are very competitive with each other, trying to separate themselves from the others in a sea of commodities.

As an actor or screenwriter, you are a commodity until you have a name.  It’s the chicken-egg story.  How to you get to have a name if they won’t hire you so you can build your name? Well, you have to do one thing.

 I’ll put it very simply: 

If you want to be paid to do your acting or screenwriting, you have to go to work on increasing your perceived value in the Hollywood market place.

It’s not about your real value or your worth as a person.  It’s not about how much money your movie would make if we could see into the future and really know.  It’s about how much the Hollywood marketplace perceives that you or your script is worth.  So you have to work on increasing the perceived value of what you provide.

How do you do that?  It’s not just one thing, there are lots of things that you can do.  Everything from being great at your craft, to being unique, to getting fans of your work, to being great to work with, and much more.  It includes all the steps in the process of branding yourself and making a career — and it’s not as elusive as you might think.  (Stay tuned for more insights on how to do this or check out Smart Girls Productions services for marketing actors and screenwriters as a starting point.)

To bring the point home, let’s go back to the $600,000 Mastiff… was that dog really worth that much money?  Who knows?  How do you even tell?  It’s a made up number.  The bottomline is that the buyer thought that he was worth it and she paid it. 

What is the perceived value of your talent in the market place?  How will you increase it?

Pursuing a Hollywood acting career is one of the bigger challenges there is in terms of a career that has nothing to do with saving lives, so I’m going to address the extent to which you might go to move your career forward.

If you are pursuing an acting career, you will very likely, eventually, find yourself wondering what you should do next to try to break through because it seems so hard.

One of the possible actions you can take, a possibility which arose only a couple decades ago and was conceived of by a company called One-On-One Productions, is to pay to audition for casting directors.

Anyway, what they did, which many other companies have since done, is to create paid workshops that actors can attend, a “class” type thing, where a casting director teaches you how to audition.  So you get to meet with them in this “class,” and you learn their little quirks about what they like and don’t like.  That way, if you should ever get called in to officially audition for them, you know what to do. 

The fact is that these “workshops” are basically paid auditions, and some people object to this whole idea.  It goes against the grain of everyone who’s ever held an office in SAG and every died-in-the-wool artiste actor.   But I, on the other hand, coming from a perspective of success and a marketing background, believe that if that will help you begin a relationship with a casting director which could later get you cast in your dream role, you might as well fork over the $45 or $50 bucks they’re asking for.

I’ve worked with literally thousands of actors who would love to be able to audition for certain TV shows.  And if they could get in the game, then they would feel an inner sense of peace knowing that they at least have a shot!  Many are upset because they don’t even get that chance.

One of my clients who started doing these paid “workshops” way back when put it very well when he said, “Hey, whether I like it or not, if that’s how the game is played, then that’s how I’ll play it.  If it helps me get seen by the casting directors, bring it on.”  He met dozens of casting directors at these workshops, followed up by keeping in touch with them through postcards, and went on to be a consistently working actor.

The bottom line is that in most competitive businesses, it is common to wine-and-dine and to try to buy someone’s business, so to speak.  When someone else has the upper hand and you want to do business with them, you need to put out a little bit more.  You need to somehow get the attention of that person so that they look your way. 

If that means that you shell out a little bit for a one-night stand – a paid casting director workshop – then so be it.  That is not too bad considering that you are then known to that person and can be considered for being cast on that show.

 When you compare the $50 bucks or so that that you spend for that against the fact that acting classes in L.A. run an average of $200 minimum to $300 bucks a month, I would definitely recommend that periodically skipping class to meet four casting directors or even their assistants might be a good idea

So are Casting Director Workshops good or no good?  I say go for it.  In marketing, you MUST get yourself known, even if it is to be known by the second banana at the office.  That’s better than never having any chance at all.  But then, I’m all about the marketing and having you work as an actor, not just practice your craft. 

If you want to work, you definitely need to be trained, but just make sure that you also start getting yourself out to the market.  Don’t get super comfortable in your acting class where it feels so good and safe.  Get yourself out there.

Once you meet these casting directors, make sure that you keep in touch with them on a regular basis by getting your photo postcard in front of them so they remember you when they have a role you’re right for.

Meanwhile, happy trails in your marketing.

Since you’re reading this, you probably already realize that in Hollywood, as in many other industries (politics and contract work), networking is a very important aspect of a successful career. Strong networking skills are, in fact, more critical than great talent, by the way.

If you’re like most of the thousands of actors and screenwriters I’ve worked with, you probably agree that networking is a key to success in Hollywood, but it probably lives more as a concept in your head than as a real thing that you do. In fact, my guess is that you probably wish it were not necessary, and there’s a good chance that it feels “fake” to you. Bottomline, it may seem like networking is really just trying to sell yourself and get what you want. But if you think of it that way, you are making a big mistake. Relating to networking like that will work against you because you’re going in the wrong way. How do you do it right, you ask?

Here are the Five Golden Keys to be successful at networking.

First Key: Change your relationship to networking itself. Instead of focusing on getting what you want, focus on getting to know people.

If you go to a function, you have to get to know people before you can do business with them anyway. So simply meet people and talk with them as your initial contact. Ask them questions, find out about who they are, what they do, and what they are working on at the moment. As you listen and converse with them, things you have in common will come up naturally.

Second Key: Set a goal for what you want to accomplish before you go to the networking event.

Make a plan to fulfill a goal, such as exchange three business cards with people you could do business with. Or perhaps, introduce and pitch yourself to five people whom you will also learn about what they do. Or it could be to do something like find a potential writing partner or to find a project you can be a production assistant on or an agent whose office you could assist in for a week or a month. There are many kinds of outcomes that you can set that could forward your career – it doesn’t necessarily just have to be getting someone to read your script or getting someone to let you audition for their film. One of the powerful ways that you develop connections is to work with people in other capacities first while not hiding your real aspirations.

Key Three: Make sure you have follow up system in place once you meet someone.

Once you get home, make a strong, clear choice about how and when you will keep in touch with that person and how you will approach them. Then update your contact list and put on your calendar when you will reach them again. Also set aside time for when you will prepare what you will say to them, whether it is to pitch something to them or to offer to buy them lunch or dinner. Then when the time comes, make your call to them. Key Four: Prepare and practice your pitch in advance of the meeting. You need to craft your pitch so that you come across as interesting to whomever you’re pitching to. Don’t just tell about yourself, but sell yourself by telling them something about yourself that they could be interested in.

For example, what I do, from my perspective, is I help market actors and screenwriters. But from your perspective, if you’re an actor, I help you get more auditions that you want or I help you get an agent who can get you auditions. For screenwriters, from my perspective, I help you create a Query Letter Mailing. But from your perspective, I help you get producers and agents to read your script.

When you prepare your pitch, prepare it for what is in it for the audience that you want to do business with and that you are pitching to.

Key Five: Have a strong system for ongoingly keeping in touch with everyone you meet whom you could potentially do business with, so they remember you and they think of you at the right time.

If you’re an actor, go crazy with mailing out photo postcards and messages, update people on your latest activities – whether it’s a new headshot (or just new to them) – or a play you’re doing, a new class you started, or a Guest Star Role that you just got cast in. Get creative about what you announce. If you are taking action in your career, there is always something to announce, I promise you. For Screenwriters, be prolific in coming up with ideas. You can keep in touch letting people know about a new treatment or screenplay you have. You can also contact them to let them know you love their recent project, or congratulate them on something. One surefire way to get them to remember you (favorably) is if you have a fantastic script and they read it, they will remember you for quite some time. It is really great if you also engage in optioning other writers’ scripts because that puts you in a producer role and can give you countless things to talk about to anyone. But that is a whole other ballgame, so suffice it to say that if you are thinking about doing that, it’s a great idea.

If you only want to write or if you only want to act, then you have to get creative about how you can stay in touch or make people remember you. But you must do it. You must put effort and intention in this area of your career.

So there you go. Five Keys for Successful Hollywood Networking. If you taking on mastering these keys, demonstrate patience, and not get too worried about seeing immediate results (although you might see fast results), then over time you will be blown away by the results you produce. If you would like coaching on developing your Quick Pitch for networking events or any aspect of networking, follow up, approach contacts and making requests, check out my Melody Jackson Coaching page  and call me to arrange a time.