Thursday, December 30, 2010

Learning the Industry Rules

By Dean Hunter


You might be one of those people for whom a cubicle life just doesn't make sense. You might be someone who has some real talent, and a desire to share them with the world. You might have the face of America's next sweetheart, or the body of America's most secret dreams. In other words, if you've got these thoughts in your head, it may be time to check out modeling or acting.

There are many, many opportunities in the talent industry for a motivated, driven, responsible individual. But you've got to know how to navigate the often-treacherous waters of the industry in order to avoid sinking. To do that, you'll want to find a good talent agency. These are the people who help you get your composites made and shop you around to various casting directors. It's important that you find an agency that is good, and honest. A lot of them are just looking to get your money.

Finding Your Agency

There are a few key things to seek out when you're shopping for your talent agency. It can't be stressed how important it is to find an honest one. The agency needs to be fully licensed; it should have a list of clients who you recognize; the agency should also have been working in the industry long enough to have made a name for itself, for better or worse -- so do your homework.

Getting those composites done is your first step. These are the headshots and action shots that you'll be carrying around to show casting directors; they're your business cards. Many photographers can help you get these done; your talent agency often can too.

Beyond the Cubicle

Like we said earlier, there are many, many jobs out there in the talent world. You could be a foot model or a hand model; you could find your face in magazine ads, on TV commercials or runway modeling; your voice might end up on radio. Or you could go the entertainment route, where live television shows and big and small budget films. Now if none of this interests you, there's also the wild world of music videos, where you may enjoy dancing on a car or running in slow motion or otherwise getting paid to have a fine time being yourself -- which is to say, being uniquely talented.

Now you may think you don't have the kind of exotic features that sell pants, but worry not. Talent agencies look for all kinds of people with all kinds of looks. So go forth and remember to work hard, find the right people, smile and get ready when the lights turn on.




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