Talent Chef's Blog - Tasty Good!
Simmering Castings And Sundries...
Your Talent Chefs blogging about insider info and guidance, current castings and bookings (only those made public), tips on improving your booking chances and how to use your Webcomp portfolio as a virtual agent to land more work. Get yourself in the Soup!
Remember that giant Natick Collection project? Check this out http://tso.to/r1d3QB
Friday August 12, 2011 by Chef
The BTS, or Behind The Scenes, video is awesome. As usual, Scott Lowden Photography creates a stunning video to go along with his still imagery. Check out the video http://tso.to/r1d3QB and to see more of Scott's amazing work, go to http://www.scottlowden.com/
Celebrating success in others while getting some inspiration!
Wednesday August 10, 2011 by Chef
Really creative folks, and I count our talent in that group, truly amaze me. I often find myself in awe of certain pieces of art, or a performance, or music. Creativity possesses such power and it seems to cross everything that might divide us as inhabitants of Earth.
When I ask those creative folks, like our talent, where does it come from? How do you find it, draw it out, and point it toward something? There are many answers to that question but one is consistent: the inspiring work of others. So we can draw on it in others?
In our industry, among the talent, there seems to be an amazing spirit of "group celebration" in the success of one of the members. Perhaps it's because talent know how hard their craft can be and when a peer succeeds, they know it's worth celebrating? Whatever the reason, the Chefs here at TalentSoup celebrate daily at the amazing abilities of our talent to make great imagery (still or moving) which results in happy clients. A few of you have asked to see the Welcome to Webcomp page talent examples again so here you go. And know we celebrate every small creative victory with you!
Webcomp is the most effective and powerful talent portfolio ever created! Yes, we are proud!
Friday August 05, 2011 by Chef
Webcomp has been in the wild for about 7 weeks now but today we are announcing it's "birth" officially! We've always used our technology to submit talent for projects we manage and our client's love how we "package and present" them. But true to our mission of Putting Our Talent To Work, we are turning loose of Webcomp for our talent's benefit. Now they can leverage our technology and all the tools we've built just to get them booked!
- Facebook and Twitter postings of your Webcomp are a click away
- Plastering yourself everywhere is easy with Public Link. Add the URL to your FB profile, your email signature, your Holiday cards, your bumper...heck, get a tattoo!
- Who's looking at your Webcomp? How did they find you? Now you can know with Stats link (next to your Public Link URL). Click Stats to see some pretty graphs and lots of information that can help you plan your personal marketing strategy
- Send a mini version of your Webcomp in the body of an email message. Don't just send a link, send a well designed email using the Email My Webcomp button!
- Finally, your Public Webcomp has a Book Me button. This means that your Webcomp can act as your virtual agent, connecting you to a professional organization (that's us) and giving clients peace of mind, knowing they are hiring a professional (that's you). We get the call for your booking, collect the project info and then contact you. You decided how to proceed (with our without our help).
Webcomp is truly the future of online portfolios. It's power connects our talent to the market, 24/7 and keeps them in control of their modeling or acting career. We don't make bold statements that often because we want the focus to be on our talent. But we know Webcomp has no equal in the realm of talent promotion, casting and booking! Now stop reading and start promoting yourself!
Entry Webcomps get talent booked too! Ryan W is a great example of our talent at work
Tuesday August 02, 2011 by Chef
We're all skeptical of the free version of anything. Especially when a company dangles a paid version right next to you during your buying decision. We get lots of questions about how effective Entry (our free) Webcomp portfolios are at getting our talent booked. Well, results speak louder than words! http://on.fb.me/oCYLRt
Great work Ryan. I'm off to get a loan from Navy Federal!
Now casting Atlanta hand models for a product shoot
Tuesday August 02, 2011 by Chef
Who knew we'd have so many great hand models in the Soup? We are now casting for a quick product shoot and they need some lovely hands! This project pays talent $150 an hour, 2 hour minimum and will likely shoot on later this month. Here's what the client is in the hunt for-
- Caucasian ladies, 20-35, with great hands, wrists and forearms
- Live within 50 miles of Atlanta
- Have at least 2 hand shots in their Webcomp
- Have Part Model marked in their Job Types tab
If you fit, you'll be submitted automatically! Break a...finger? No, that's not right. Happy Tuesday folks!
Talent University - All About Video (your reel, promos and actual work)
Tuesday August 02, 2011 by Chef
Our talent hear from us constantly about their "visual packaging" (which includes photos, tear sheets, video links and resume) and how important having the right elements are to landing work. Well, Video is a powerful ally in your Webcomp portfolio and today's Talent University class is talking about making your Video Links work for you.
Video is a powerful tool to sell you to clients, as it shows you in action. Most of our actors have loaded at least a demo reel, with some featuring their actual paid gig (be it industrial, advertising, entertainment or performance). As we have a lot of models who also act (or actors who also model), showing off actual commercial work or performances here is huge!
A note about using Video Links in your Webcomp: Your video must be hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. Be sure you are copying and pasting the actual video URL, not your collection, or personal page URL. And be sure it's not a shortened version of the URL address. When you are successfully using the right URL, your video will load in your Webcomp and you’ll see the opening frame.
Be sure you are the hero, or that you are clearly the focus of the video. Don’t use videos that are difficult to determine who the video is about, or where you show up for 1 second in the background. Those might work against you as the client gets frustrated trying to decipher who they are looking for. Be sure your video is a strong representation of you!
Remember that your Stats Page tracks who reviews you when you send out your public Webcomp via Facebook, Twitter and using the URL the Public Link creates. So get your Webcomp out to the world! Your visual packaging is strengthened by video but remember, you've got to be marketing yourself anywhere you can! Break a leg!
AT&T Casting - Project Pushed (animal wrangling to blame). Reinstated soon.
Friday July 29, 2011 by Chef
Apparently the crew was having a tough time wrangling the mascots together for the shoot day (scheduling everyone) which caused this project to get pushed. We've been assured it will resume at some point in the future. While we hate to get such calls, it's part of our business. Have a great weekend talent!
Yesterdays casting was awesome. Great job guys!
Thursday July 28, 2011 by Chef
It's hard not to be a little prideful when we serve so many incredible talent. Yesterday's in person casting was another glaring example of how awesome our talent are. They. Brought. It.
Great job folks. Watch this blog for all updates but we expect word on selections tomorrow (Friday).
Inviting our amazing Atlanta male talent to a casting on Wednesday for AT&T. Booking it pays $1000
Monday July 25, 2011 by Chef
We've changed our policy for open castings and we'll no longer keep a percentage of Entry Brand's fees. Given our talent work hard for their $$, and a casting requires some effort, we think you deserve it all since you are doing the work! Now break a leg men.
Success, and failure, are your responsibility
Thursday July 21, 2011 by Chef
I almost entitled this post "You're not working hard enough!" but know that most of our talent work really hard but few work really smart. A recent conversation with a brilliant and motivated talent sparked this blog post and I think the idea behind it is worthy of sharing.
Let's start with an inflammatory, bold statement of fact….There has never been a better time to be a model or actor than right now! Yes, read that again. It's an incredible time to be on-camera talent. Here's why:
The web has an insatiable appetite for imagery (moving and still, across advertising, entertainment and education)
We have no idea how big this hunger is going to get but we know it's just getting started
Access to you in some form of imagery is now global
Marketing yourself has never been easier nor more powerful (shameless plug for Webcomp, easily the most powerful portfolio ever made)
Work is everywhere and opportunities are expanding
Access to those opportunities has never been more open
The "gatekeepers" holding the keys to those jobs are getting weaker by the day
Now before you start shooting at this list (or calling me names), think about the process you use now to market yourself. Think about the tools you use and the people you partner with. I'm going to come back to the tools in a bit but for now, think about the people you've aligned with to "get" you more work. Here's the stark reality of your career: YOU are responsible for YOUR success. Not your agent, not your acting coach, not your Facebook page, not your mom. YOU. Don't be fooled by anyone telling you they can "make you a success" in this business. IT'S A LIE. Are there world-class agents that land big projects for their talent? Of course. But guess what? Those agents only pick winners to manage. In other words, those agents don't experiment to find successful talent, they go after talent that they know are successful. So if you are not working hard, and smart, to create that success for yourself, I strongly suggest you stop wasting your time fantasizing about some person that will MAKE you successful. They. Don't. Exist.
Wow Chef, that's harsh. No, that's real. We want our talent, all of them, to be successful. If we could book every person in our marketplace non-stop, we would. But our industry does not work that way. It's highly competitive and, over and over, I see our talent with regular bookings are the folks that are working hard AND working smart. The talent stay on top of their agents. They stay on top of their marketing efforts. And they work at it every day.
So, back to the tools you are using. Printed Comp Cards and head shots are dead. Stop paying for them. Your portfolio, regardless of your focus (modeling, acting or both) has got to be digital. And it's got to be beautiful. Your photos, your tear sheets or video, your reel, your resume. All of it has to be well designed, well executed. You've got to have a great "package" to get noticed these days. Because just as I provided all the reasons it's a great time to be in the market, it's also never been easier to call yourself a model or actor, and throw your hat in the ring. So the competition is fierce! The tools you are using matter. Choose them well and always treat them as an investment. Are you getting a return on those tools?
Think hard about your self-marketing process. Think about the tools and people you rely on to get you closer to landing the gig. But never lose sight of the fact that you land the job. You sell the client. You perform and get the booking. YOU. No one makes people successful in this business. You make yourself successful. Find the people that can partner with you, tell you like it is, invest in you, and truly add value to the journey you are on toward success. We always tell our talent, you've got to be in the game as a marathoner, not a sprinter. Having the right people and tools makes all the difference.
