Monday, June 29, 2009

Canadian Actors Ratify Contract

Canadian performers [ACTRA] have ratified the new Independent Production Agreement...
The deal will take effect on January 1, 2010 and expire December 31, 2012

(from ACTRA National's website). This means all North American on camera actors have contracts in place for the next couple years. Even if a project chooses to shot in Canada, locally hired actors won't be striking.

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this posted by David August at 7:15 PM - 0 comments -  

Monday, June 22, 2009

Your Success Will Be Unique

A group of masterminds from Wharton came to Hollywood to study the business model, figuring they could analyze and demystify it. They applied every 'rule' of business to what they witnessed in agents' offices, pitch meetings, casting sessions, producer lunches, and studio powwows only to leave Hollywood scratching their collective business head. There is no science to the entertainment industry. That is why it's so important to remember that your path is unique. Reading about others' experiences is of value, commiserating with other actors is also of value, but none of it provides a recipe for your success

(first emphasis added, from The Actors Voice: Return on Investment).

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this posted by David August at 2:38 PM - 4 comments -  

Demo Reels' Affect on Actors Access Submissions

Q: I was recently told that when submitting to a casting breakdown via Actors Access or Breakdown Services, actor profiles that contain a demo reel are automatically listed first when the CD is viewing the submissions, regardless of whether or not the actor physically fits the role and ignoring the first-come-first-serve basis. [Is this true?]
A: Casting can sort/arrange submissions but yes, actor submissions who have video will list first unless casting has chosen otherwise. Video is most telling (how one looks on camera, how they sound, movement, etc.) and today's online technology makes popping open a video as simple as once was clicking a photo for an enlarged view. It 'can' make a difference.
A CD I know has a good success rate with two particular agencies so he tends to first sort by those agencies (video or not) and then view more submissions. Everyone works their own way, it would be hard (impossible) to generalize it

(from darkpwca and ShowfaxBob's forum posts).

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this posted by David August at 2:17 PM - 2 comments -  

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Sex and Cash Theory

THE SEX & CASH THEORY: 'The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.'
One year Travolta will be in an ultra-hip flick like Pulp Fiction ("Sex"), the next he'll be in some dumb spy thriller ("Cash").
As soon as you accept this, I mean really accept this, for some reason your career starts moving ahead faster. I don't know why this happens. It's the people who refuse to cleave their lives this way- who just want to start Day One by quitting their current crappy day job and moving straight on over to best-selling author... Well, they never make it

(from gapingvoid).

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this posted by David August at 1:16 AM - 1 comments -  

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Screen Actors Guild Ratified TV/Theatrical Agreements

Screen Actors Guild announced today that members have voted overwhelmingly to approve its TV/Theatrical contracts by a vote of 78 percent to 22 percent.
The two-year successor agreement covers film and digital television programs, motion pictures and new media productions. The pact becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. June 10, 2009 and expires June 30, 2011

(from sag.org). With this, and the freshly ratified commercial contract, commercials and TV/Film will be actor-strike-free for the next 3 years.

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this posted by David August at 6:43 PM - 0 comments -  

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Video Release Timing

If you are self-producing for the internet (web shows, viral videos, etc.) I have put my recommendations for the timing of the upload in a post 'Video Release Timing: Go Live Early, Announce Late' on my Details blog which has other ideas about online video and internet promotion. If you need online promotion and/or distribution, Vicious Concepts may be able to help.

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this posted by David August at 7:03 PM - 0 comments -  

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Could Downturn Be Good?

Our current media ecosystem is a tree farm, not a rainforest. The soil is poor, the ground is packed, the sunlight is blocked and there's plenty of scrubby undergrowth in the way. But a fire changes all that overnight.
The few alternatives that have taken root exist today in the shadows of that tree farm and must struggle for leftover resources. But let a fire race through it and see what happens: Nutrients are released to the soil. Light bursts through holes in the canopy. Healthy young seedlings stand a chance against opportunistic weeds that have adapted to life in the half-lit-margins.
Tree farms and other artificial monopolies are not healthy, but you don't get from a tree farm to a healthy climax forest without a nice cleansing fire first

(from The fire that frees the seed).

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this posted by David August at 10:44 PM - 0 comments -  

Thursday, June 04, 2009

SAG Ballots Due June 9th

Your vote on the Screen Actors Guild theatrical (TV/Film) contract must be received by June 9th, mail your ballot now.

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this posted by David August at 8:55 AM - 0 comments -