We have found 20,630 posts across 4 actor forums:
If you love something, let it go... by FurmidableCat • last post May 20th
There is a quote that sounds like « If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it is meant to be. If it doesn’t, it never were. » and that’s kind of what I am doing right now with my acting career. I used to make a living as an actor and have around one role per month. But since the pandemic has started, I am not hired for the types of roles I usually get, I am fighting to do something as simple as background work, I often end up working on unprofessional sets. and I am missing tons of opportunities because of the covid restrictions in my province. I have dedicated my whole life to my career and put so many efforts but I am not getting anything back anymore... This is why I decided to let it go (while still submitting myself to some projects I would be great for) and work on other things without being so desperate about acting. Turns out, I get much more good opportunities as a host and writer and am much more appreciated for what I do. I am not quitting acting, just not being so desperate about it, and it turns out I can now see how easier it can be to get work in an industry the recognizes my value. I feel like if the industry wants to keep me, they will have to show that I am important to them. It has happened to me in the past when I refused to do background work so they hired me as an actor and when I was not interested in a role so they paid me way more so I would agree to do it. I don’t know if anyone has gone through something similar or has an opinion about it? (and if you could tell me if there is a subreddit for hosts, that would be very helpful)
Actors access - cmail video quality by SnooPandas4350 • last post May 20th
So because of the pandemic I get sent pretty much all my auditions now through actors access in a cmail request from casting. I record all my auditions on an iPhone 12 HD camera and it looks great. I then upload to actors access and it still looks great in small screen, however if I click full screen it now looks terrible and practically unwatchable quality. Actors access help said this is normal, because they compress their videos to be viewed in the small standard player, and that casting doesn’t watch full screen. But wouldn’t casting want to watch in full screen? No matter what I do the video always comes out looking terrible if I expand past the small screen. Wanted to know if this happens to anyone else and if it’s actually supposed to be this way? I find it odd they would have a full screen option if it’s just not supposed to work that way
Music Videos on IMDb by Kait Feeney • last post May 20th
Are music videos never eligible for IMBd? I can understand why many would not be. But some videos are almost like mini movies with a narrative and performances by professional actors.
Demo Reel on Actors Access by faTMATA_BAH • last post May 19th
Hey guys, so I am planning on making some acting clips to upload to my actor's access but I was wondering how many clips should I put? Since im new to this and I saw they are $22 per minute I was thinking of just adding two 30 seconds clips (one comedy and one dramatic). Do you think two clips are enough or should I put more?
[PAID] Female voice actor to play the role of a mother by cbmscenes • last post May 19th
We are looking for a woman who can voice act in our short film. The role is of a mother who has been rung by her son. The character speaks over the phone and has only 3 lines (2, if you don’t count the “hello?”) A sample script will be sent upon request. Please message me here or on Instagram (preferred) @abdullahosmn The actress will be credited in the film, which will be shown on our Production Company’s Instagram account (50k+ followers) Payment will be $15, since the lines are VERY short.
footage/clips/reel question by Rainingsun15 • last post May 19th
Hello! In the next few months I'm going to be getting footage back from a few features and I just know I'll have way too much footage to use concisely in a reel. I had a quick idea that I would love to run by this community. There are 3 kinds of roles that I consistently go in for and book. They're pretty distinct. I was wondering if, instead of way too many clips on my Actors Access and website, I could separate them into character reels. ​ Essentially on AA it would look like: DRAMA reel COMEDY reel TIMID GIRL-NEXT-DOOR reel TYPE-A NERD reel TROUBLED TEEN reel and then also: PERIOD reel and a clip of an ASL scene until I have enough to make an ASL reel. ​ The thought process is, 1. When my rep submits me, they know exactly what footage to use and 2. It shows the CD that I have played this role at least 3 times so they can trust me. Plus I just overall feel like it's neater and people would be more likely to click on one of them because they're not overwhelmed with 20+ clips. I would love thoughts on this! TLDR: Would it be better to add specific character reels to AA or keep it the way it is right now with a bunch of separate clips? ​ If you can't tell, I'm an overthinker!
Is being "indie" fair justification for paying voice actors less? by Mechtree • last post May 19th
I hope everyone is doing well. Recently, it seems as though most paid auditions out there stipulate one of a few things: 1. "Please send your cost per line or word" - a manner in which the VO industry doesn't operate as far as I can tell, and a way of saying "don't try to send me an 'easy to Google' link to standarised GFTB rates card based on time, I don't want to pay that aka I don't want to pay for your time" and "we're going to compare you all in terms of cost rather than solely on your audition" which frankly, puts me off spending, or should I say, wasting my time auditioning. I know agents negotiate, and negotiating is a part of the process, but there is a time-based minimum in that space for a reason, and this always feels like a blatant sprint at low balling. 2. "The gig only pays X amount because it's a small part" is something I've literally just read on this sub. You're not just paying for the small part. You're paying for years of someone developing their craft, conditioning their booth, building their gear, building their edit skills. 3. "We're an indie project so, therefore, offering 25%-50% of what we should" despite the fact it's a project geared at the commercial space. More often than not, a PC game for Steam. Yeah, get out of here with that nonsense. It's obviously market saturation that is driving fees down but let's look at this in terms of the actual work involved, what it takes, what it's worth, and what creators save on just by casting via the indie route instead of the traditional one: \- no studio hire because the VA provides the equipment they bought themselves: money saved \- no engineer because the VA records themselves with the equipment they bought: money saved \- no audio editor because we are expected to edit: money saved \- we're also sometimes expected to name and organise files in a ridiculously time-consuming fashion...btw, please don't if anyone asks you to...you're not their production assistant... either that or charge for it, it's only fair. Even if indies paid what a VA should be earning for recording an hour in the studio for games/animation, they would still be making a huge, huge saving. Of course, things are very saturated and this is why this can happen to begin with, but I think it's about time we start trying to normalise a few boundaries. Some might disagree with this but if your project isn't for commercial gain, I can get on the unpaid/for the love & craft/minimal payment wagon with you a bit easier. Everyone has to start somewhere. I did and there are projects that will get you good exposure even if they are few and far between, to be honest. Even then, a back-end agreement, if the project was to be financially successful, isn't such a crappy idea. People look at indie/student animation projects and think it's acceptable to work for free just because it's only one guy or a few poor students creating it.... but cartoons win at festivals all the time. These prize pools can be anything from £250-£5000, and you deserve a piece of that in the instance that happens on an unpaid job. Where I seriously lose my mind is when creators are trying to lowball on a project blatantly for commercial gain. Now, I can understand that that person may not have the money there and then, but I've got to say, I was raised in a very "if you can't afford something, you don't have it" sort of culture. Maybe save up? Maybe go without? OR At the very least, capped back ends and/or payment plans need to become commonplace. The market might be saturated, but why should any creator get us cheaper than the minimum studio time-based cost for an hour when they are already saving so much by going the indie route on casting? Would love to hear everyone's thoughts. Feel free to disagree. I'm just a little worried to be honest because I'm a video producer too, and while I see this happing online in the VA space, I can see the VO space on the agency and corporate side of things also getting infected with lowballing. So much so, it's becoming how things just are. It's going to be normalised as a standard in a few years if people don't start saying no and ditching the content mills a bit more. I really just want talented people to be able to make a living from doing this, you know? And I think the only way to at least try and effect any real change is to keep having dialogues about this, and hopefully shift people's minds so they don't leap to insulting payment offers quite so fast.
Monologue Competition by No-Worldliness-7339 • last post May 19th
Hi Everyone, I used to act in college and a bit after before getting into tech. I'm working on an actor discovery app for fun. The way it will work is: 1. Each week we'll pick a monologue or scene 2. Actors can perform the monologue and submit in the app 3. People come and vote on their favorite performance. My hope is that actors looking for a creative outlet will have some fun with this and hopefully get some more followers. I'd be interesting in hearing the thoughts of this sub, if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. If you'd like to learn more, the site is here [https://actout.io/](https://actout.io/).
Is an industry day job good or bad for actors? by DangerousNanMcGrew • last post May 19th
Do you think working for a studio, agency, production company, etc. as a day job is a good idea or a bad idea for an actor? And if you do go after an industry job, is it beneficial to hide the fact that you’re an actor?
Does your rep get you feedback from casting directors? by CuspChaser111 • last post May 19th
I smirked at this when (long overdue) reading Jenna Fischer's book "The Actor's Life" - some great insights for all levels in it but when she writes to get feedback from Cds from your reps...do your reps do that for you? ​
Thoughts on using a teleprompter for an audition tape by StrictlyLoony • last post May 19th
So I have a big audition tape due in a couple days and the sides that have been given to me are pretty lengthy. I’m worried I might not have time to memorize everything for the tape. Another actor friend recommended I use a teleprompter app to read off of and just line it up with the reader or whatever I’m using as my eye line. Has anyone else ever tried this? If so, what have been the results?
Never say these directions to an actor on set. by ActorDirectorTalk • last post May 19th
Advice on Training by amtaru • last post May 19th
Hi everyone! If I can get some help/advice on my training I'd be extremely grateful. I went to school for Finance and then decided I wanted to be an actor so I already have an undergrad degree (and no more financial aid). I applied to NYU's summer acting program - specifically the 6 week Stonestreet acting class. The cost is $13k + room and board. My question is - if I do this summer intensive would it be better than only having done scene study classes/acting technique classes at studios like Stella Adler and Berg Studios. Is the $13k tuition worth it? Or should I just continue taking classes at studios like Stella Adler. Thank you!!
TV Credit Question on Resume by S_Gertie • last post May 19th
The standard for the production column on resumes for films tends to be: \- Production Company. Director But for a television series, I generally see it as: \- Network, Director Makes sense since with prime time network shows the network is the production company. Is the same standard holding for what people are seeing for things on cable TV and streaming services where someone else might be producing the content and the network is just the viewing platform? From what I am seeing.... Yes, still show the viewing platform...but I wanted to be sure I wasn't only seeing examples where the streaming platform/cable TV channel was also the production company. For a maybe better example: If Pizza Studios creates a series that is going to be viewable on Netflix, does the actor put "Pizza Studios" on their resume or do they put "Netflix"? People reading the resume will be more familiar with Netflix or Amazon Prime or whatever. But, that's not necessarily the ones behind the project.
Best shows to watch? by SnooPets9936 • last post May 19th
I like watching shows and movies to learn about how many successful actors act. Do you guys have any recommendations?
Has anyone heard back from Disney Showcase NY? by RaccoonJust7243 • last post May 19th
Has anyone gotten an audition from them? I know people in LA did a few weeks ago, but I don't know anyone in NY who's heard back which is odd since some of them are great actors with good agents that I would've expected to make it past the screening round.
YouTube channel asking for narrators said my price was too high. Should I let this opportunity pass? by HappyAnonymity • last post May 19th
So I saw a YouTube channel that I follow asking for voice actors. I sent my audition in and he liked my voice and said they could do it for their next video and see how the audience responds. Then he asked for my price. I told him I could do $100 per video minimum as was willing to go lower if my first video was accepted well.(10 min video with lots of voice over, probably 1-2k words) He responded and told me that he usually pays $10 per video(for the current narrator) and that my price was way too high($10 was “his budget”). Keep in mind he gets 5k views regularly and has several videos with a couple million. Now I could try to compromise somewhere between his and my price, but I feel like anything less than $100 is a bit cheap. I mean I would be paid for multiple videos(1 every other day), but $10?! That’s like $30 a week! Am I wrong? And would It be worth it to try and negotiate for around $50 a video? (He might not even be willing to pay that though) Or would that be selling myself short? I’m a bit of a new voice actor, so I don’t know a ton about pricing this kind of stuff yet. Any help/advice appreciated.
[TOMT] [Movie Actor] Who does this actor, named Mike Bash, look like? by ShubShubShubShub • last post May 18th
I was watching Doubting Thomas and this actor named Mike Bash showed up in a scene where he has one line. I thought I recognized him from something iconic in the 90s , but his imdb doesn't show anything that old and he is way too young to have played an adult in the 90s. Here is a link to his actor website that shows a picture of him: https://mikebash.weebly.com/ The original actor I am thinking of played a character that was scruffy haired with crooked glasses and king of nerdy. I can picture him explaining something to the main character as if he we an authority on the topic (possibly drugs) within the group. I can see him speaking in a kind "hey man, yeah man" stoner kind of way. My first thoughts were Dazed and Confused or Encino Man, but it's neither of those.
Acting in Vancouver, BC by Imslightlyconcerned_ • last post May 18th
Hey, so I’m a new actor who is moving to Vancouver soon. I have experience in child acting classes, high school theatre, etc. But I’ve never done any professional work. Does anyone have any advice as to how to make the leap to professional acting in Vancouver and also where to find work, and audition materials (monologues, etc.). Also I’m thinking of getting headshots done with Buck A Shot. Any reviews on them? Anything and everything would be helpful.
I got an offer! by PrincessCake94 • last post May 18th
(17F) Hi, I'm an aspiring actress. This is my first time taking acting classes so I don't have a headshot, etc. I recently got an official offer to be a part of an agency. What should I do? I wanna work on my craft more before I do other things. Can I have some advice. Thank you, my fellow actors <3