00;00;00;00 - 00;00;25;05
Unknown
Welcome to Film on Tape, a free audio library for creatives in film and television. My name is Misha Calvert, and I've worked as an actor, writer, director and producer for many decades. I had so many questions when I was first getting started in New York, and I just wanted fast, free answers. That is what this library is for.
00;00;25;05 - 00;00;47;06
Unknown
The work that you do as a creative. It's so important. I really hope that this library is going to help get your work out there. Film on tape is sponsored by Vermillion, a coaching and educational company for creatives. You can learn more at Club vermilion.com. This should be a relatively quick episode, but do not underestimate the information about to give you.
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Unknown
This is a formula that takes my clients from zero auditions a week to as many as ten auditions a week, and people with no agent, no manager booking their first costar booking guest stars. In some cases, getting called in for a 24 films multiple a 24 films. So what I'm about to lay out for you is gold. If I do say myself, I've been watching actors audition, and as a former actor, I've seen everything that you can do wrong, right?
00;01;31;10 - 00;01;55;12
Unknown
I track just how you actually go from audition to booking. And, you know, for most actors, there's this big expanse in the middle of this vast middle ground where, you know, you're not just fresh out of school, but you're also not booking film and television on a regular basis. So what do you do? What do you do to cross that desert?
00;01;55;15 - 00;02;17;24
Unknown
I have a triangle that I use. It's really simple. Most people won't do it for whatever reason. Scared, lazy, I don't know. We all have reasons that we don't improve our lives. But this triangle works. So I'm going to lay out this formula for you right now. These are the top three ways to book acting jobs in the current market in the current climate.
00;02;17;25 - 00;02;39;13
Unknown
Who knows what's going to happen in a few years? But this is what I see now at the top of this triangle. We have self submissions. So if you're nonunion, that's a no brainer. You're going to be on Actors Access and Backstage. I ask for five minutes a day on each Monday through Friday. Once a day only actors access backstage five minutes, five minutes.
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Unknown
So ten minutes a day. Total 15 minutes a week.
00;02;45;03 - 00;03;09;04
Unknown
Now, if you're union, there's fewer opportunities for SAG actors on those sites. Obviously it does mean there's none. So you can set up an alert for only union Productions. And that way you don't need to be surfing actors access. You can just set up an alert to let you know when those union productions come in. Like, you know, hyper specific talents or niche backgrounds or, you know, very old, very young.
00;03;09;04 - 00;03;36;10
Unknown
So you can set up those alerts to come through backstage is probably not going to have so many union offerings. However, more and more, we are living in a global market for the first time ever. I believe this year the US was not in the top five of its own filming locations. So we're talking about all of the film and TV that the US exports.
00;03;36;13 - 00;04;03;00
Unknown
The US didn't make the top five list of places to film those things. That's insane and very depressing. So you got to start to think, okay, well, where are they filming and where can I go? What if Netflix can go overseas? Then maybe I can too. Maybe you can get on spotlight, which is the UK and I believe Europe's, casting database.
00;04;03;02 - 00;04;36;27
Unknown
Can you figure out a way to get listed on there? Can you start auditioning in Canada? Can you? If you have a Canadian passport? Definitely make yourself available to those markets, because two of the top five places that U.S. productions are filming are Toronto and Vancouver. So you can be self submitting to those markets. And, you know, increasingly, I would just recommend to think of yourself as a talent available in the global pool, not just the US pool.
00;04;37;00 - 00;05;02;18
Unknown
I am so excited to tell you that I'm launching a brand new slate of classes that are incredibly helpful on my website. Some of the classes include on camera acting technique and how to self produce your own film actor self care, which is something that nobody talks about and how to write a feature film in ten days, which I'm going to teach you how I did it and how you can do it too.
00;05;02;21 - 00;05;29;21
Unknown
And believe me when I say I poured my heart into these courses. Go to Club vermilion.com. I am so excited about this website. I can't wait to work with you. There's a number of other sociopolitical reasons why production may change in the coming years. I'm not going to spell it out because you can probably figure out what I'm trying to say here.
00;05;29;23 - 00;05;57;20
Unknown
The nature of film and TV content in the US may change. So I encourage you to give yourself optionality and not just relegate yourself to a dwindling market. Now, that said, there's still plenty that is filming in New York. There's a lot filming. My L.A. friends are like, there's more filming in New York than in LA. Well, I don't know about that, but there is a decent amount filming here, and I'm working with a lot of casting directors team teaching with them, and they're working a lot.
00;05;57;21 - 00;06;28;19
Unknown
So I don't want to make it sound like there's nothing going on, but just try to orient yourself to a global market. Okay, enough on that. The second corner of the triangle is a casting director push. Now, this is for. You've been booking Indies already? I mean, there is something to be said for getting in front of a casting director if you have very little experience and just how much it inspires you and excites you and makes you a better artist.
00;06;28;21 - 00;06;52;14
Unknown
Kind of shows you what's possible, but you're just more likely to see a result. If you already are very experienced with auditioning and you've been booking Indies for a while, especially the higher up the casting director. So what I see mostly is actors meeting all casting directors like one time, and they think that that's going to work. That's not going to work.
00;06;52;14 - 00;07;12;04
Unknown
That that's just is a terrible strategy. I think I go through this in the casting director episodes that I just did recently. How to make casting director love You. Part one and part two. They're not going to remember you from meeting you once, most likely. So what I recommend is a three by three by three casting director push.
00;07;12;07 - 00;07;39;05
Unknown
And this push is to create a relationship with the casting director, not just meet him once and they never really remember you again. But make sure that you are locking it in and that you are making a good impression. You're making multiple impressions and that by the end of a year's time, you're going to be front of mind for them when it comes to someone of your type.
00;07;39;08 - 00;07;57;24
Unknown
So how do you do this? Well, you invest, you invest time or you invest money and you find three ways to get in front of that casting director over the course of a year. Now, that could be a class. That's where you invest the money, by the way. Like zoom classes are really cheap these days, like zoom classes with casting directors.
00;07;57;26 - 00;08;22;18
Unknown
There's a lot of them, and some of them are very affordable for like a one off. So if you're only doing three people, which is what I recommend to start with three people at three different offices that are casting something that you could go in for tomorrow. It's like perfect casting the stuff that they work on. Find three individuals and then hit them up three times over the course of a year in person is ideal.
00;08;22;18 - 00;08;41;16
Unknown
Just energy is exchange. They feel you. You feel them in the room. You know there's more of a chance to make an energetic hit with them, but they can also get a hit off a zoom call, and they can also get a hit after a panel. If you introduce yourself, go up to them, you know they're speaking on a panel or at a premiere at a party.
00;08;41;18 - 00;09;06;04
Unknown
So I say three touches over the course of a year, and if they haven't called you in by then, SMS is probably not going to happen. But I actually I don't know anyone that's done that where they haven't been called in by the end of three times. So that's really cool. And you know, by the time you spend all that money on them, they're probably like, oh, this actor's spending all his money on me.
00;09;06;04 - 00;09;25;26
Unknown
Like I should just call them in. Like, I'm sure I got something, I got something I can call him in for. I mean, they just show nice in class and they're so positive. Like, the least I could do is call them. And this is how I would think as a casting director. So. All right, so CD push is the second corner of the triangle, the third and final.
00;09;25;28 - 00;10;03;04
Unknown
This is networking. And we did a whole episode about networking. If you haven't listened to it, it's really great and full of great strategies on how to network. But this particular approach to networking also includes email or social media. Basically, I want you networking and meeting and making connections with people at more at your lateral level. So directors, producers, writers, showrunners, actors, I really want you 3 to 5 nights a week, like out out meeting people.
00;10;03;05 - 00;10;27;20
Unknown
That includes coffees. So afternoons, evenings 3 to 5 times a week. And if you're not, like, live outside the city or something, you can stack them, stack them. Do like three coffees in a row. You'll be full of energy, but really, what this is, is face to face marketing. It's in person marketing, and it is one of the most effective ways to market yourself.
00;10;27;22 - 00;10;50;04
Unknown
So most people, when they think about networking, they're like, oh 3 to 5 times a week. Oh my God, it is a game changer. Why? Because no one does 3 to 5 times a week except me. Because I just love it. So if you do something that other people aren't willing to do, you're going to see a game change like a power of ten shift in your business.
00;10;50;06 - 00;11;15;21
Unknown
Don't forget that this isn't a hobby you're running a business. Now I can also say, okay, how many directors have you emailed over the past year? Most actors come back. They're like, they're like, email the director. I would never who do I think I am? But the ones that do email directors because they they see a film and they're just so moved.
00;11;15;24 - 00;11;46;03
Unknown
Or maybe they meet someone at a film festival and they're like, oh, I got to stay in touch. It'll be like, I don't know, one a month. They're emailing these directors. Well, what if it's a hundred a month? When you start to run numbers like that, your business exponentially increases, because by the way, the way that you're most likely to book something is if you work it properly, is the networking corner of the triangle.
00;11;46;05 - 00;12;07;09
Unknown
And we're talking straight offer no audition. They just love you. They see you in an acting class. A friend of a friend is shooting something. You get in the good books with a screenwriter who you love, who happens to be directing their first film. So it is really powerful because also, when you think about it like those 3 to 5 times a week, what is that?
00;12;07;09 - 00;12;37;11
Unknown
That's an audition. You're having coffee, you're having dinner, they're getting to know you because who you are is who you bring into a role. Who you are is who comes into the audition. So you're essentially, I've never said this before or thought this before out loud. You're giving yourself 3 to 5 auditions a week by sitting down with these people and charming them and making them want to have coffee with you all for the price of a latte.
00;12;37;13 - 00;13;08;24
Unknown
I think that's a pretty good deal. So to summarize the three ways to book acting jobs, we have the triangle self submitting at the top. That includes being a part of the global market casting director push at the bottom and then at the other bottom networking laterally. Actors, writers, directors, producers, getting out there, getting out there. Now notice, notice what's not on here.
00;13;08;26 - 00;13;33;14
Unknown
Social media. Social media is great, but it is not for everybody. Whereas these three things are for everybody. And I say that because some people just they hate social media, even though it is a tool and it's effective when you use it. You could employ social media in the networking corner of this, but it's not essential. It's not mandatory to book a role.
00;13;33;20 - 00;13;55;26
Unknown
So I need to talk about that in a different episode, because there's just too much to unpack for me to, to really do it justice here. But these are more like going directly to market actors. Access is a marketplace. Backstage is a marketplace meeting. These directors. That's essentially they're in a marketplace. So this is going more for sales than anything.
00;13;55;26 - 00;14;13;22
Unknown
And it's just a very direct, very efficient way to drum up work for yourself. So if this works for you, please let me know. I really want to hear. And it's been such a pleasure talking about this with you. I will see you next week.
00;14;13;25 - 00;14;40;00
Unknown
Thank you so much for listening to film on tape. If you like the way that I approach the industry, check out our other classes, consulting and mentorship at Club Amazon.com. Vermilion is a home for artists and those looking to expand creatively. Whether you're an actor, film professional, an entrepreneur, or a CEO, we'll help you find your voice and hone your skills to thrive in any market, at any scale.
00;14;40;02 - 00;14;52;15
Unknown
You can schedule a free phone consultation at Club vermilion.com.
