Hello beautiful people!
Let’s spy on the tools in use at the next-tier!
Huh?
Listen up!
Okay. So did you get the warning about not doing this if you’re in a bad headspace for comparing yourself to others, thinking that life’s unfair, or otherwise going through a bout of low enoughness? Please take that seriously. I present the Self-Management for Actors tools so they can help you, not so you can beat yourself up with them!
Assuming you’re in a great headspace for this, let’s take a dive and see what we find!
Today’s work: Using IMDb-Pro and your first hell-yes target agency’s or management firm’s client roster, open up these folks in new tabs and start checking out their IMAGES section. Does your target agency have clients with loads of red carpet events? (Ooh! Any below-the-radar events that you could add to your recon from Day 58, so you could do some organic networking like you promised you would in Day 41 and Day 18?) Are all the headshots similar in composition, color scheme, and vibe? Can you track a particular photographer thanks to photo credits or watermarks?
Download the SMFA Hot Sheet of recommended photographers whose galleries are a great place to cross-reference the images you’re seeing at IMDb-Pro. What patterns are you finding in the demo footage your target rep’s clients have in the VIDEOS section at IMDb? Is everything super short? Very funny? While you’re at it, are you noticing any consistency in things like the fonts used for lower-thirds or music beds in place under the montage or intro/outro sections?
For my non-showbiz creatives, your work is the same, but using the tools that are essential in your niche. At the very least, a visit to your pace cars’ websites and social media to learn what folks whose businesses are a tier above yours HAVE will be illuminating. Easy opt-in for a regular email blast? Easy download of a free PDF or MP3? An online store/shopping cart situation? Photos of people sharing words of praise about their offerings? Can you opt in for a few of these things to start learning how it feels to be on the consumer end of their goodies and notice how you’d like your buyers to feel by comparison?
Extra credit: Pop over to these actors’ websites (listed in the top info block at IMDb-Pro, or available via a good Google) and even use the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) to see earlier-tier versions of these tools, so you can get a sense of how these actors’ tools looked when they first caught the eye of these reps you’re now targeting. (My non-showbiz creatives can make good use of that Wayback Machine too! Same warning about the comparison-itis though!!)
Can you track even more patterns about how much of a social media presence certain agency’s clients tend to have? Does everyone repped by Management 360 have a YouTube channel with a subscriber base of more than 1000? Is everyone in the TalentWorks stable ridiculously tough to find online? Ooh, and what does that mean about the Fascinate advantage — Day 39 — to which TalentWorks may be attracted?
Again, without spiraling into some weird bout of comparison-itis that is no damn good for you, what can you learn about the “class” you’re hoping to join? See it like college. You’re learning whether your number-one school is all about the jocks or the brains. You’re learning whether it’s a party school or a political machine. You’re learning whether you’re going to be expected to be out at every function looking your best or in by curfew reading a stack of scripts.
All of which are phenomenal things to learn before you do your damndest to get in for a meeting with these folks!
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
this is good stuff!
i’m learning many things already. like; how much variety there is, even within an agency. i am attracted to agencies that have a unique, but specific roster and talent that celebrates how they stand out. and this actually gives me sympathy for young, pretty, pale-skin chicks because i now can SEE how difficult it is to stand out. pretty is a trap!
re: reels, one of my target reps must actually request the men with shirtless scenes cut them into the top of their reel or something – no kidding! i like it. it’s revealing. being half naked and doing your art really reveals how you feel about yourself. it’s super honest and ripped bodies aren’t always the winners here. unless the casting simply calls for a six-pack and then the abs take the gold.
i’ve always had my own tastes on headshots and reel editing styles – i enjoy making those two things as content within themselves. but this exercise has already changed my taste! beyond bold character, unique features and naked people whom like themselves, i personally prefer a new style of lighting that is also very revealing. i like when scenes open up to reveal a little more, too. i am attracted to revealing circumstances – setting one’s self up (in art, self-promo, life) so that we can’t hide.
but this exercise is more than following suit or discovering my own tastes. it also is about getting a real deep feel for the patterns of agency’s signings. you can almost see where they need another peg in the board. this is research that warrants DAYS of investigation.
i plan on having some HOURS next week to start with!
Awesome! Love the way you’re taking this on, Tonya. And not surprised! 🙂 I geek out on this kind of stuff too because it’s so revealing about the psychology of attraction, ultimately, which is what we’re selling when you think of the agent picking up the phone and pitching a client, knowing what the tools are that will back up that pitch. It also further cements the connection in the web of trust between agents and casting directors or particular directors, showrunners, etc. — you can SEE the conditioning happening. Glad you’re enjoying!
Love this! It sounds great. Good luck with your work, Tonya!! ; )
LOVE this!!!
Oh, I’m so glad! 🙂
This is seriously awesome! GOLD! I’ve got so much homework to do when I get this show opened! 🙂
Thank you, Bonnie!
This is Laura 🙂
Woo hoo! 🙂 So excited!
I was doing some Day 54 homework last night and now that this assignment popped up for today I did notice a few patterns in the media sections but I didn’t actively think about that at the time. Time to go back in and get even more specific!
Couple questions to make sure I’m getting the right data:
If the agency is on the bigger side, do I still research their top clients who have been in the business longer, or would it be better to keep my focus on those who are just a tier above me and see what their media looks like?
And does it matter if some actors are with a certain agency for commercial or theatrical or voiceover rep only vs. those who are getting representation for all of the above with this one agency? Because the media is looking a little different…
Last question first: As long as you are labeling your data collection correctly, it’s all good info to collect. Unless of course you would never ever ever do voiceover, in which case noting the pacing and style and voiceprint of a VO reel wouldn’t be worth your time so much. 😉 But I’d say gather it all and just note which are folks who are commercial only or which are across the board, etc., when you’re noting who has what types of tools.
As to the first question, I’d say you could look at the upper-tier clients IF you’re curious where this would head for you (never a bad idea to look at what they expect if you’re to grow with them to become one of their top clients), but if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the collection process, then sure, you could limit it to just those folks whose footage is representative of what you’d reasonably be able to amass in the next few years (vs. a decade). As for the photos, it shouldn’t matter. If they’re headshots and there’s a TONE to the agency’s taste, you want to know that no matter what tier the actor happens to be.
I am quite happy with my v/o agent. I’m not 100% sure about my manager, but she has gotten me some excellent auditions — I know that you said on a previous page that EVERYONE wants more auditions. And another day said that as you do move farther up the tiers, you will have less auditions.
So that’s something I have to consider. My manager doesn’t have any big names, but her actors seem to work a lot. I’ll dig into that further. What this is making me realize is… what do I want to do in this industry and where do I want to be?
One important thing — my feeling has always been if the agent or manager does 10-15% of the work, I have to do 85-90%. In other words, don’t necessarily blame the manager or agent.
Thank you for this!
Exactly. Blame ’em? No. Do the deep-dive research now and then to be sure they’re still a hell-yes FIT for your new tier? Absolutely! And then recalibrate as necessary over time!
sooooo MUCH GOLD!!!!
ninja moves on steroids!!! love this =-
also opens my eyes up to really having a micro view of my tools and do I truly really fit at an agent on a deeper level and not just the initial macro level that I first thought.
Yay!
I’m getting caught up after vacation, and I LOVE DAY 66!! I’m going to stop here for a little while. 🙂
Hooray! Welcome home! Hope you’re refreshed and relaxed and happy to dig back in! 🙂
I got to this yesterday….and (it’s been percolating in me for a while). So I called my agent to have that “pep” talk.
I think she’s the best agent I’ve ever had in terms of understanding me, the biz and what I need, attention to detail and the time she gives me. But I’m not getting out to meetings and I’m in a space at the moment where these things are starting to make me go a little loopy.
I’m doing a lot, (I m hearing Abraham go “oooooooh”) I’m patient, I don’t complain but something is not working and I can’t avoid not seeing this it’s glaringly obvious. (Inserted after: I think I just touched on it. It’s the “doing” that’s the issue; not my landscape).
I also think this is also indicative of a wider issue because, my life is not panning out at the moment either, I’m not in alignment. And nothing seems to be falling into place. (Maybe this is because I have made so much of my life revolve around this career of mine, that momentarily is on hold).
I had a lovely talk with my agent. She wants the best for me and is as acutely aware as I am that I’m not being picked up and this is getting to her too. She wonderfully declares, that this is going to turn soon. She knows it a matter of time and has literally said I’m her best client.
It’s me, I got to keep the faith. Something internally is still not lining up yet.
Lois, the agent, thinks I should back off from all this work…and just go out into the world and play more!
It’s true, my work-life situation is a total imbalance. I work so much, and she is concerned that when I come home, I get to work with this (GIG) and am just constantly analysing.
What do you think Bon? I am wondering whether I should take a break for a while. I hear what she is saying in a way, I’m not creating any room in my life to play and have fun, it’s all so earnest at the moment! I love doing this work though, I’m just not going out and making a splash, I’m not my happy self.
I wonder if there is anyone else out there experiencing or relating to this? ❤❤❤
You know we’re all about the aligned hustle, babe. NOTHING you do (this work at the site, your research, even meeting with your agent) is worth a piss if you’re not aligned before going in! Also, we specifically built in play days and breathing days NOT because that’s how often we think that needs to happen but because creating *a* day to play and asking you to put on your calendar a PLAN to go play on the regular is enough… YOU are the one who has to execute those boundaries and that playtime! 🙂 Most of all, YOU have to do the real work, which is getting aligned, because nothing you do ’til then will help at all.
I know more than anyone in the world this about myself. The onis is always on me. But I am struggling at the moment. And I was hoping you could see that this was not a criticism of the course (which I LOVE and you must KNOW this) but a cry out for help (Day 67) because like everything in my life, when I’ve got something I love, I go for it hell for leather, and disregard the caution signs or stop signs, until I’m in the burn out zone. So….You must see that I could not be bringing the course into question?
[ Incidentally, I said exactly the same thing to my agent , when she said this, that there are lots of play dates built into the course.]
But it’s not really about this, it’s about where I am at, and what the course is refelcting back to me, what this course is bringing up for me and what I a working through. I am noticing so many folk coming back round having had breaks, I haven’t really taken any breaks, and momentarily, things got a bit touch an go for me. Information overload, overwhelm, knowing where I want to be, not being there, all of these things, and I am not taking the breaks and the rest days….so this is totally on me! But this…is definitely a reach out day 67, not a blame game. I don’t want to blame anything, not myself or anythinng out of myself, I think I doing wonderfully, I love the fact that despite the fact I have turned everything upside down, I still trust the process and I still believe in me. I deffo don’t think I deserve any heavy handedness. Right now what I owe to myself is to be gentle and offer more self care. I put myself out there, I share and give. I put my neck out remain honest and full in terms of what I share and for those of us that that do, do this I am noticing, and don’t hang back and lurk, sometimes it puts you smack in the firing line. So kudos to anyone who is willing to go there, because there are many many who are not, and that too is also fair enough!
But no one can say I don’t put myself out there,I’m just saying its definitely time for to givesome of this juice back to myself.
And my focus, as I have written in Day 67, is going to be exactly in these areas (mindset, woo woo + my non negotiables).
I sincerely hope that you are picking up that this not criticism of the course, on the contrary. [please don’t even go there, haha] I am doing a 68, and asking for Help! I am reaching out, like you said we should do, cos at the moment, things (though I never stop trusting the process) are a litte treacly right now. I have literally ripped the the carpet up in all areas of my life, and I am feeling it. I am not just dealing with emotions, which are in actual fact pretty ok, and balanced, I have a healthy perspective on all of that. It is just the growth spurts also throwing up physical conditions like eczema, life throwing up technical conditions like no comp with all my work, and usage for all my online earnings, all of this, on top of what I may or not be going through internally….
“Thas all I’m sayin'” some of us find it hard to ask for help, and I definitely don’t wanna be shot down when I do; however, bad an attempt at it, it is, I’m not good in this area. And also similarly, I certainly don’t want to suggest that it is anything other than my own alignment that is bringing these things into play.
I totally understand where you are coming from! I don’t want to use the word overwhelmed but I am experiencing a lot of burn out. I know I need to get out and play more but I also never feel like I work hard enough and I am constantly working. But on the other token I feel I may just be treading water. I do think that getting our lives in alignment will help a lot with our careers and taking charge. There is nothing wrong with taking a break, whether it is a day or 10. This course requires a specific mindset for sure and is there to help us change our mindset. I was thinking this morning that I am so worried about catching up with the days I have missed and not really putting enough time into specific days. That my macro view of it all should maybe switch to micro on some days. I need to not worry about everything right now. The career goes through lots of ups and downs. We need to get our lives and mindsets strong enough that handle those moments (I know there was a day on this) But I totally understand where you are coming from. I feel like my life is not aligned right now and it makes everything else harder. I have not gotten to day 67-68 but that is admirable that you are reaching out for help. I am here for you if you need it!
You’re awesome, Sandra. Just know you’re building a muscle. Give it the time it takes and trust you can always circle back to do exercises again (stronger) after you’ve created more core strength for the WHOLE workout. 🙂 You’ve got this!
Or misalignment! Xxx
This is so much fun!
I just started looking through photos and reels of one of my target agents. So fricking interesting to see why some people are consistently booking. They are on brand! There are the funny, cute girls. There are the “period” girls. There are the sexy ones.
My target agent has no one like me: powerful, American accented, 40+, made for Netflix and high end television.
Now- I feel like I need to work on my reel so that it so on brand he can’t ignore me.
He came to see the play I was in as he represented one of the other actors. He told him that he thought I was great.
I am getting ready. Oh my god, I am so excited!
Yay! Your excitement is contagious! I love it! It’s so valuable to do this work — but very important that we do a lot of the “I am enough” work first. If we’ve not done enough of that, this type of research can derail an actor, so the order of operations is quite important. Glad you’re having fun diving in and next, beefing up your tools to compete at that target to be your partner at the next tier!
Hell, yes on the deep dive research! And in addition this day made me wonder, if I am looking at the right level… What I learned from my Day 54 research was that 98% of actors at co-start level for my target shows are unrepped (I looked through 5 shows on imdb).
So I think what I’m gonna do is
1) perform the Day 66 magic with the one and only agency that somewhat stood out
2) re-do the entire research at guest star level. Because, why not? 🙂
LOVE it! Such a great strategy. Isn’t it amazing, what patterns can teach us?
This day has the wheels in my head turning in a good way!! Had a great Face-time session with my mentor Laura Daniel and I may be diving into this day soon… hmm… so many things to consider but I got super excited and it brought some things to light that I hadn’t considered yet.
Well, yay! That’s exciting!
Just went through one of my top rep’s roster and see a couple of patterns:
– headshots are largely dramatic with rare comedic/character shots
– one photographer gets used the most, hands down
– reels are fairly long in length but only for actors with network guest stars, not all actors have reels
– my current starmeter rank falls at about the halfway point of their roster
– there are a few other white women with brown hair, two of which are my age and both have more credits/a higher rank than mine
Good recon!!
I haven’t noticed any agency patterns yet in all my digging on IMDb – mostly just feeling the overwhelm of 250(!) agents in this town. But, listening to this just gave me a new laser-focus idea! Because in-peron/Moth-style storytelling is a big part of What I’m Up To, I’m going to research which Moth GrandSLAM Championship winners are actors (most aren’t), and see who reps them. I’d love to be on a roster of pro storytellers!
Brilliant method of narrowing it all down! Look at your next-tier peer group, find the patterns in their reps, and set some longer-term/higher-tier goals… and track the path those pace cars took TO their current reps (because they were repped SOMEWHERE before, in most cases). That’s the good stuff!
Hell-yes to this ninja technique! It served me very well a while back.
I done this around January/ February with the youth division of Abrams Artists Agency. Research showed me that they DO have a few young actors at my tier (also read an interview in which the Head of the Youth Department, Pamela Fisher — that interview still gives me butterflies to this day because of how hell-yes-ly all the things she says resonate with me — said that *sometimes* she’ll take on someone even though she feels they’re not quite ready). But since these clients are obviously not the majority and live in the bottom percentile of her roster, I concluded that it might be wiser and more reasonable to keep this for higher tiers.
I know that if it’s meant to happen it will. And when it’ll be the right time, it’ll happen. Trusting the universe. Cause I’m enough.
Day 55 <3
OH WAIT JUST REALIZED HOW PERFECTLY ALIGNED IT IS. To all my number junkies: Day 55 and day 66 go super well together. And they are both multiples of 11. Man.
Other than that, I love using this brilliant technique for training! Sometimes you'll see *incredible* a gold mine of patterns emerging that'll kick your bootie (in the best ways!) like nothing else.
wuups bra-brain went cray-cray. I meant *did
Numerology in this curriculum NOT an accident. 😉
This is great stuff for where I am (looking for new representation.) I’m in New Orleans, and we have some reputable agencies to choose from that represent the Southeastern states, including Atlanta. These agencies aren’t all that different from my last reps, and I even have friends who could refer me to almost all of them.
From my recon, I see that headshots aren’t necessarily consistent across the board for any 1 agency, the majority of talent are SAG-E (since we’re right to work down here), demo reels are hit or miss on the media page of imdbPro, and most of the talent are co-star level of locally filmed network productions or lower-tiered.
This all being said, I’m going to do more work on higher tiered representation outside of my market to see where they “sit” in terms of the above. I’m not currently available to travel to auditions or callbacks outside of the NOLA area for personal reasons, so my concentration has been largely restricted to NOLA based productions and reps.
My next-tier peers are all locally represented, so I do feel like I’m on the right track, but I’d like to take that a step or two further and look at the long-term higher-tiered goals.
Fun stuff!!
Excellent recon! Also take a look at the actors’ own websites for more marketing materials if their IMDb profiles are hit-or-miss with content. 🙂 Glad you’re enjoying this. Good work!
This was great, also motivated me to update my resume, imdb pics, so good to look up next tier actors for reminders, cheers!!!!!
Right on!
felt really good to finally hit stop on the audio and acknowledge that i have feelings. going to circle back to this one next week. thank you for the encouragement to LISTEN to ourselves just as much (if not MORE!) than we listen to you. 🙂
WAY more! 🙂 I’m here to provide a little, “Uh-huh. Your gut is never wrong,” pretty much all the time. It’s actually quite rare that my job is, “OMG, you soooooooooo have that wrong! Listen to me. Ignore your gut.” Like… almost never do I find myself saying that. 😉
Bon, that Cheap Trick video, c 1979, drummer with cigarette, wallabees cutaway, is EVERYTHING.
Thank you. And OMG, that was so my childhood at the public pool. Holy crap. 😉
Just curious: for what reason(s) might someone have to skip the co-star tier?
It varies, but generally it’s someone who needs to be perceived as “born a star.” So for a very particular age/type/brand, there’s a value to “coming from out of nowhere” and that can be designed by a combination of clearing OUT lower-tier credits to make it appear as though they never happened *and* angling toward a larger POP — working relationships and theatre and little-seen lower-tier projects and screentests and unaired pilot presentations, network table reads, etc., so that there’s been risk assessment without a watering-down of the brand on those one-line co-stars.
Ah, fascinating.
this is really great timing and I have work to do. I feel like co-star work would water down my brand so this is really curious to me if I might be one of them. Other than commercial world, I’m not known in CD land and I’m taking this GIG so I can enter the market, aligned with being enough, prepared and ready to kick ass as an on brand and a badass actor. I need a coaching session so I can clarify my next steps really.
Can I do a mini coaching at the NINJA discount in December? I’m on the 100 days till 2018 plan.
Hey hon. We always give best coaching rates to folks actively working Get in Gear for the Next Tier. Just reply to any email you have from us saying you want to get something going and we’ll get you all the info! XO
Already feeling very HELL YES about this. My main target is Pamela Fisher over at Abrams. A huge chunk of her clients are WORKING actors, but only a handful are “Stars”. She seems very accessible and picks up a lot of people at my level and sticks with them. The more I research the rest of her roster, the more aligned I feel. My brand totally aligns with what she’s selling. I’m definitely noticing a trend of crisp, clean photos, a good deal of red carpet, and a LOT of project screenshots. Oddly not a lot of BTS photos, only ones with actors sitting in the director chair with the show name, or in front of their trailers, or with the series regular of the show. Other than that, not a ton. I immediately went to my IMDB, and saw how non-slick my BTS shots looked. I’m cleaning those out in favor of some great screen grabs from projects. I have to go do NYE stuff and a show, but I can’t wait to delve into the reel sections and do some deeper diving.
Love this exercise, esp because I’m getting new headshots later in the month. I think what I’ve learned most from the IMDB Headshot/media research that I’ve done thus far is that I need to do more work/refine my agency target list…starting right now!
But ok, so I’ve been looking at one agency and I’ve literally looked at 3 actors and I already see trends…
Love it!
Gee: not a lot of comments on this day. It’s a big project, no doubt. I just barely scratched the surface on 2 managers I’m looking into, and already one seems way more stylistically appropriate for me than the other. Really love this exercise, though it’s a ton of work. It’s gonna be a while, but I think this will really help narrow things down and also focus what I present to the reps I ultimately pursue
Hooray! 🙂 Oh, and it’s an indicator of a tough bit of homework *and* the fact that most folks don’t stay “on time” with the days. Especially by now! We still have inaugural students (joined with us at the launch, January 1, 2017) who haven’t finished all 100 days yet. There’s a lot here, depending on how deep you go with each thing. AND as you have growth in any area, many find revisiting earlier days from a new perspective, new tier, etc., feels really great. So… no rush. 😉 A little of both may be what you’re seeing here. Glad this is helping you narrow it all down! 🙂
I decided to take a break from my agent targeting work to do the next day in the 100 days, and of course it’s more agent targeting! Hah. So, I’m going to hold off on this next part until I have my finalized agent/manager target list.
At this point I’ve narrowed it down to 11 offices. So far these agencies/managers all have an NYC office, they have had at least 3 or more clients in co-star roles on my target shows (Younger, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kevin Can Wait, & The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), they have at least some online presence (living in the twenty-first century is important to me), & they have somewhere in the range of 20-115 clients per agent/manager. Now I’m going through to make sure they don’t have lots of Cynthia clones (aka thin, average-height, white women in their 20s who look wholesome & have star meter ratings bigger than 100,000) already on their roster. We’ll see if that narrows the list down any further. After that I’m going to check to see if they have clients working in theatre.
I sense some awesome updates to that thick and juicy Show Bible! 😀
Woo HOO!
One thing I know for sure on this one, is that I should never stop doing this work. Yes, I have an agent, but I should always be looking to improve and maybe they are not what is the best for me as I was reminded during the recording. They are getting in me the door, but perhaps not the best for me in the long run.
For one, I have this gut feeling that something is amiss in the fact I don’t have an actual contract with them as my higher target lists do. Not saying that is right or wrong, but interesting to me.
I know I need to get my materials in higher level. I really like TMFA’s representation Sundays, I really learn a lot from the individuals that submit to the managers and agents on Wendy’s Facebook page. There are so many higher tier levels on there it is very eye opening and just as eye opening for the one’s that submit and clearly are not ready.
This will definitely be ongoing work.
xoxo
Great way to frame it, Kim. I love your dispassionate labeling of what might still need to be done. This is really good work!
Very interesting.
I picked Sovereign to do this with – as their the highest tier agency on my list of 9 that I came up with last week.
Immediate Observations:
*Most of their clients have more still frames from projects in their image gallery as opposed to red-carpet shots or headshots
*Most of their clients have a full team, including manager and publicist
*the higher tier clients do not have demos on their imdb page, but trailers from recent projects.
interesting info!
LOVE that data! You can also do a little recon on those other members of their teams (managers, publicists) to see if THOSE might be the more powerful factors in their next-tier bookings in some cases. You may find a window to climb through that will ultimately lead to the front door. 😉
Ah yes, I did jot down a few managers and publicists names that appeared multiiple times.
Gonna have to revisit that day’s work!
Good call!
Yay!
I am oh so obsessed with this sorta work. I didn’t do a full deep dive this time around because its something I just find myself doing fairly on the regular. My targets are mainly Abrams (Youth Theatrical), and CESD (Theatrical). I have a feeling I’m gonna be doing a VO deep dive in the near future so I can sort of see what my competition at the next level looks like and how they treat their craft.
But as far as On Camera Theatrical….
My two targets have a pretty heavy focus on very natural, pretty headshots that really just look like someone on their best day. They aren’t charactery or over the top, and the backgrounds tend to be that blurred city scape or nature or a gate, NOT “here I am being cute against a bright purple wall or against a faux studio brick wall”. I get a vibe of groomed and beautiful, but real and natural – from both agencies. I’ve also noticed CESD clients lean towards more on-set/production stills in their clients IMDB. I went through and pulled down my red-carpet photos that don’t feel on brand anymore (from before I really ever got into the SMFA world), and popped up a still from my latest Nickelodeon stint. Much better.
I’ve also noticed they do clips instead of full linear reels. Which I already do and like. I feel like mine may look a hair cluttered because I have more music on mine than before, but its all useful I think. It may get combed out in the new year, but for right now I’m happy.
Yay!
oh, you so KNOW that i’m all over this assignment!
thank you and thank you, Anna, for apprising us of this kind of homework. i know you’ve discussed Anna before in other areas; i’m super-inspired by y’all’s work together!
i’m super-happy to report that i was already doing this with target agents. yay! i really examine their client roster. i’m going to go back and pay more attention to headshots & other photos.
thus far i have a bit of a mixed bag–i’m seeing a lot of actors on these rosters who have either the old-school longer reel (but not posted on their IMDb, only if you find it on their site or the youtubes) or nothing. they have stills from shows or step & repeats.
i’m thinking that i’m looking at folks in my generation (and some older) who no longer require the innovation we are discussing, perhaps?
i’m also happy to report that this kind of work does not dig my enoughness. whew! i actually find it pretty damn fascinating. it helps me think i may actually crack this nut! haha!
thank you and i look forward to more digging!
Yay! That’s so fab!
This is gold. On it.
Man. I did a deep dive yesterday on one of my target agencies in LA and what an eye opener! Thanks to this course, my materials are SO MUCH BETTER than people at the bottom of the roster. I had to move up considerably in order to really start evaluating.
Btw, you know how you said you can spot certain photographers’ work? I’m beginning to spot ninjas! Who wouldn’t want to sign us? We’re baddass!
Right?!? 🙂 Isn’t that wonderful!
This is genius. Cannot wait to dig in. You know I love this kind of work.
Also, I loved the shoe/eye glass store analogy 😀
Isn’t this so much fun? Love getting deep in the data like this!
Bonnie, Anna – brilliant information! I love knowing this, thank you. Big hugs!
Isn’t it great? 🙂
I love this work so much! I ended up signing with my manager by pre-paving the work before hand. It’s so empowering to track the data and know so much about the management company and their clients before presenting our materials.
This makes me so happy! 🙂 Yay!
This is another day to add to my list to revisit. I spent much longer than I expected on this, but it was invigorating. I like looking for the patterns now.
Just like I wanted to be here and practice showing up for myself each day, I also wanted these surprise moments where I get to realize there are things in the business you CAN predict. Whaaa? Wooow! Really?!
Yup! Even though most of the time it all looks pretty helter skelter; even though most of the time it seems to lack rhyme or reason.
Days like this are fortifying. And I felt myself buzz with excitement on certain people’s pages and I like that feeling so much-it strings back to yesterday’s realization of wanting to connect as authentically in this business as I can-the way I desire to do with my friends and the people I love most. Why can’t we deepen our connections here too? Yes, it’s a business, but when art and creativity are on the line, in the air, all around us, we’re elevated! So, yes, and! We can. We can raise vibrations, have fun conversations that lead us further to The Field. With everyone.
Gah!
Yesssssssss!
Oohhhh, such a fun rabbit hole to go down during corona quarantine!
Since we’re stuck inside, I’ve been watching a LOT of agency/CD zoom videos and facetime talks. It’s funny/encouraging (and totally thanks to you Bonnie!) how my knee-jerk reaction now is immediately open up Airtable and take notes on each of the participants. Getting that DATA! It’s awesome when I start seeing the connections.
Back down I go!
Yayayayayayayay! I love this! 🙂 Airtable data QUEEN!
This research is Ninja on steroids!
SO many folks have some type of red carpet/industry-related events on their profiles that I’m seeing just how important those photos are. I can see why you’re rehashing it again, and again, it’s for a good reason! I am learning quite a bit about what to tweak and change on my IMDB page as well, and this research has been even more helpful at what I can do to improve it.
A good amount of the agencies that I am looking at have like 10 to 15 clients at the top, but when I try to collapse the entire roster it isn’t responding so I am searching for a way around it. For those target agencies that I have opened, I am seeing a few headshot photographer’s names repeated, two of which my buddy shot with. My old photographer has moved to LA so I’ll be putting together a new target list. I’m seeing some great lifestyle shots on profiles too. I have been wanting to get some lifestyle shots taken so it will be fun! For headshots, I am starting with the Hot Sheet that you attached above. I’m seeing a good amount of mixed media, from professional television snippets to lower-tier films, so I am feeling pretty good having footage to show at my tier.
I’m stoked! 😀
Yay! Loving the stokedness! 🙂 With IMDb, have you tried another browser? Mobile app? Just thinking of what may help you get to see the whole roster. Happy data-gathering!
I have just been using IMDBPRO on my laptop/pc But I do have the app so I can definitely try that as well. 😀 Thank you!
I’m really intrigued about this, and where an actor starts and ends up…so this to me is fun! I’m looking for a Southeast rep, many pop up…but I’m not in the know about who is who down here…any ideas?!
I’m looking back at some actors I know who started out in this area, and have moved up in reps as they moved up in tiers…but I don’t know exactly who they were with before…the wayback tool may help…
I’m about to figure out headshots this month…so I’m definitely going to find who it is I’d like to be the target rep, and check out the headshots etc..
Oh, the “who’s repping people here” is easy! 🙂 You just pick ANY show that shoots in that market and start looking up the cast at IMDb — just like in the homework I lay out in “How to Get an Agent” (except you’ll specifically looking at target shows based on where they shoot) — and you’ll get massive data about who’s got rep in that area, who’s co-repped by someone in that area AND an LA/NY agency, who also has a manager, and who’s unrepped altogether! So! Much! Data!
Have fun with this! 🙂
Feeling good! The same agencies/agents keep popping up with all the tracking work, and I feel I have a top 3 for film/tv/theatre now. A swing back around this afternoon clarified the VO/MoCap side further, too! All this research is comforting, actually. 🙂
Niiiiiiice. I love data so freakin’ much!
For any non-showbiz people who are here in the future, there is a site called [BuiltWith.com](http://builtwith.com) that lets you see all the tech that a particular website is using. I’ve been using it to identify which Shopify themes websites I admire are using.
Ok, on to my pace car’s website. I’m using a private browser so I get the full experience since I’ve already signed up for things in the past. She begins with a full-page pop-up offering 10% off in exchange for an email address. I know that once you sign up for that, you’re also offered 15% off in exchange for signing up for text messages. I went to the Wayback Machine to see what it looked like when she started and her opt-in was “Subscribe for exclusive giveaways, photography tips, and updates.” Her products are on the high end for what they are (and worth every penny!) but I see why the discounts seem to do so well for her.
Something interesting that she does is have an entire page for reviews. The reviews also appear on each product listing. But it is pretty cool to see all the reviews at once. I’m going to keep that in mind as I get reviews. Granted, her product is literally a photography tool, but her reviews also have great photos. I think mine is only text at this point. I like the idea of including photos in reviews. Having left her reviews before, I know that she also incentivizes those with an additional 15% off.
The other thing she uses that I’m interested in is a bundling tool. I can go on her website and pick whatever products I want and put them into a bundle. The more I buy, the more of a discount I get. I also get a free product (stands for the photo backdrops) when I buy 2. I’ve already set up bundles for my bridal shower games on Etsy, but you get all the games in 1 design and can’t pick and choose. I like the flexibility of this. It would be fun to have an extra game that is thrown in for free when bundling.
Love! This! Recon! (And big thanks for the Built With tool!)
Wow this is pretty interesting to see! I wasn’t sure I’d notice similarities but my first target I’m seeing a lot of actors with more natural lighting, outdoor backgrounds or backgrounds with visual activity, and very little of what I have LOL! What I like is it’s more in line with the kind of headshots I want, so it’s solidifying my feelings about this agency because clearly we’re into the same stuff. Also a lot of the actors have lots of BTS pics and some action or activity shots.
Side note, is there any way to find out who their photographer is if they didn’t credit them? I’m seeing some really great shots but no attribution.
Yep! Several ways.
The most certain but takes the longest: Go to the headshot galleries of photographers you’re already resonating with (because your gut has already told you which ones to look for/book with) and look for familiar backgrounds, lighting conditions, even full-on matches for the headshots you’ve seen in these IMDb deep-dives. That’s a ding-ding-ding, no question.
Takes a little less time but isn’t as 100%: Go into the websites, social media, online casting profiles of the actors you’re looking at in your IMDb deep-dives. They probably posted “NEW HEADSHOTS!” with excitement at some point and you can see where THEY already tagged or credited the photographers they’ve worked with. Even if they haven’t done that, you can ask in the comments in those spaces. Or send a DM!
The quickest, but hit-or-miss: Google Image Search. Just save a photo you love, drop it into Google Image Search just like they do on Catfish, and see if you get a match. Follow all the matches through to anything that might credit the photographer.
Fun, huh!
Glad you’re going to enjoy getting your profile to start looking more like it belongs “at home” with the target reps you’re researching. 🙂
Hmmmm I think I need to do a bit more targeting homework. I think I may have gotten myself mixed up between researching who’s a true blue north and who reps people who book TV that’s currently filming in NY, which is helpful to know but may not be the same thing as alignment.
I am seeing a pattern of this one headshot photographer / their style that I’m not a huge fan of tbh. A little too overexposed…the actors look shiny…it’s more about the photographer’s coloring flex and making a “pretty picture” than the story the actor’s telling. But I’m also seeing plenty of folks with shots like mine, indoor with natural lighting and blurred backgrounds. And a surprisingly small amount of folks who have footage available on their pages?
Good work! Go beyond the IMDb pages for these people to see what footage they have on their own websites, on their Actors Access profiles, etc., to know whether it’s “no footage available” or “no footage on IMDb” which of course is a good pattern to see either way.
Glad you’re knowing what you dislike, headshot-wise. Consider if you’re still YES for any of those target agencies what it is you would say when they insist you shoot with whomever that is. And, best extra credit ever, if you can find that headshot photographer’s gallery to see if they have ANYTHING other than this “signature style” at least you could consider shooting with that person and still insisting on NOT having the kinds of shots their coloring flex is strutting out in these patterns you’re tracking so far.
🙂
As for the true north vs. accessible to me here and now balance, it is, indeed, a balance you’re seeking. You want to find stuff that’s BOTH ideally and until then you want to be doing a little of each, in your show bible because there are dots to connect between these things and you’re looking for all points of intersection for this route you’re building.
Make sense?
yes it does my queen, tysm
I’m still compiling data for my hell yes targets and I love how this all unravels once you pull that one string. Yeah, I’ve got a lot to research and pacing myself is tough cuz I wanna know who and what and and and but I took the foot off the gas and realized (duh) that it’s not a task to complete but to cultivate. I mean yes, I will eventually have the lists of agents, managers etc I think suits me. Doing this scrutiny on the few that I do have is really awesome. And I know you said the comparison game can be a factor yet for me I finally feel like okay this is not a huge secret or mystery it really takes ninja data and appropriate actions. I dig it. Thanks.
GOOD! I’m glad you’ve let the comparisonitis atrophy a bit! 🙂
I’m on it.
On this note. I’m more excited about Reps who have huge a huge online presence than I ever was before.
For instance (I mentor out here in Tehachapi) and one of the reps we scored for a mentee has her listed on all of their socials and I can easily look up their talent on their site.
But two others are with what we know also to be a great agency, but they still haven’t quite come out of “old school” behavior. Can’t look up their clients on their site etc.
.
So this added level of recon is so helpful.
.
“I am enough” me is 25% of the time saying I will skip the co-star tier because I already did it.
25% me is saying WTH just go with the flow and to the tiers from ground 0 again.
50% me is just frickin happy to be out there again and will start anyplace as long as it’s on brand. (That ever evolving brand right?)
So this is exciting to add to the tools.
I just briefly looked at my target manager’s IMDB roster and noticed that, even though they’re somewhat boutique and developmental, it seems that the vast majority of talent that they rep are either SAG or SAG-e.
I have one SAG voucher, and my Midwest agents seem to think that I should have had no trouble getting SAG-e by the end of the year… which is a nice vote of confidence, but at the end of the day, it feels a bit perplexing that they would say something like that to me when it feels more or less out of my direct control.
However, that short film that I’ve been co-writing……….. Maybe it’s time to learn more about “SAG New Media” for when that goes to production sooner than later…. 😉
Oh, totally, Liz. Self-producing a piece under a SAG contract is *so* do-able and it’s the fastest way in. Sit with the question of whether you feel ready and if the answer is YES, make it happen! Absolutely you can do this by year-end!
Exhilarating!! Thanks, I will sit with this and see what arises. So exciting to give myself back some of the power in this process… 🙂
P.S. I definitely want the experience of co-producing, co-writing, and all the whole gamut… I’m such a curious mind, and I know that learning as much about the whole entire process from as many angles as possible will simply delight my soul.
The deeper into the 100 days, the more I’m realizing I love research/patterns. It feels like a puzzle to me (and I LOVE puzzles). The thing I need to just reframe in my head, and this echoes what Deborah said above, is that it’s not about completing the data research but cultivating. The search for patterns and data will not stop, so it just takes a little bit of extra intention setting for me with this work, being ok with never getting EVERY piece of data or EVERY piece of the puzzle, but enough pieces that I can make moves feeling confident and clear about what they are and why.
I’m in the process of refining my target lists, so I will jump into today’s homework once I’ve got a list of managers and agencies I’m feeling good about (next day or two).
Yes. It’s important to teach the brain “we’re never done with this” because we’re growing and changing, THEY are growing and changing, the biz is growing and changing, new people are entering the business, others are leaving, our True North recalibrates a bit, and so on… so we’re never done. And what a fun puzzle to get to work on, all through our lives, right? 😉
Sure is!
Many actors who are booking on my target shows and are repped by my target agent have headshots from Emily Lambert, Shani Hadjian, and Sub/Urban Photography. Now that I’m a student in my target agent’s acting and audition technique classes, I asked for headshot photographer recommendations on the community Slack and had these confirmed by the folks there. They mentioned Shani Hadjian the most, and she may be who the agent was talking about in class when he mentioned that the agency had some favorite headshot photographers to recommend.
I’m going to put out feelers to Sub/Urban Photography and Shani Hadjian to compare prices. Not trying to rush into this, and may want to bring this up to the agent by scheduling a meeting during his “office hours” to ask what he thinks of my shots on AA and where I might need supplemental shots. I know mine could be stronger, specifically when it comes to the looks I wear.