We have found 19,407 posts across 4 actor forums:
Wanna hear how my first gig in the industry went? by yeah_it_was_personal • last post Jun 17th
Got the job through Backstage, a project in Spanish, and immediately the casting director asks to move the conversation off the platform and over to email; first red flag. Company website and CEO's LinkedIn (LI) profile are kind of barebones, another red flag. Company is based in California, but the contact I'm talking to is in Buenos Aires? I've lost money to internet scammers before and it's starting to look like Berlin 1945 here. First meeting, we shoot the breeze talking Latin American politics for about ten minutes, then the client goes over the project and discusses budget, which I hadn't even realized was listed as 'deferred' on Backstage just because I was so excited to land my first gig. Pay's great though! But now we have to schedule another meeting the following week to actually do the recording with the copywriter in attendance. In this time, I look up more information on the company, and I find it listed on LI with over 400 employees, and find my contact in Argentina, getting his last name off an email. The dude's LI is spotless; university of Buenos Aires majored in production, and several years of TV and audio production experience. Fear's a little more assuaged. That's when it hits me. This dude doesn't even work for the client; he's a contractor. Making me a contractor of a contractor. I know that's just how it is, but it doesn't sit right with me at a systemic level. Come the next meeting, I get there early, say hi to my contact, and introduce myself to the copywriter, a guy actually in California. We go through the recording, and after a couple of retakes and some direction, it goes great! Better than great! They start discussing among themselves bringing me back for other projects planned in Latin America, plus even doing some English work on ongoing projects stateside. The contact asks me to send him an invoice, W9, and the actor release, and we sign off. So I send those in the evening, working through my first invoice (Brad Venable has a GREAT article on voiceover invoicing btw), and sit back to wait for my money. Then I get an email, \>would you mind sending the recording and paperwork ASAP? ...........................what? It's at this point that I realized I hadn't actually recorded the session. I thought the client had been recording over Zoom or something. My head implodes and the panic sets in. After about 10 minutes of almost-crying I have an idea. I re-record all the lines, several takes, variations in intonation and delivery. One file per line for editing. And I send over all the files with the paperwork in an email that reads more or less, \>running some final checks, I there were very noticeable flaws in the audio quality, so I re-recroded everything for you. The issue was on my end, so it's free of charge; I just want to deliver a quality product. And I sit there for about 12 hours with my heart beating in my throat, before the email reply comes in. \>Thank you so much, you are truly super professional! We're setting up budgets for our next quarter, and I'll do everything possible with the copywriter to keep working together. So I've just been spending the day setting up supplier accounts with the client's payroll portal. Kind of annoying how much automation we have to support; like, can't you just mail me a check and log it to accounts? Anyway, it's not dulling my shine. Still SUPER excited to be getting started in the space. Still sitting at my desk, looking at my mic, in awe here that I not only landed a gig, but it paid for all my equipment in one go, and then some. AMA if you like. <3
Can beng an extra hinder my chances at becoming an actor? by throwawayfitness1997 • last post Jun 17th
I know that being an extra doesn't in any way advance my chances of becoming an actor, but could it in any way hinder my chances? For reference, I live in England. I'd rather make money being an extra than waiting tables, and then learn how to act on the side. But I really hope the isn't some bullshit thing where the industry looks down on and penalizes aspiring actors who have a body of extra work. Is it the case that extra work is looked down upon?
Union or not by notshakespear • last post Jun 17th
I am a union eligble actor. Will joining the union help my chances with casting directors and productions and bookings.
Does anyone else struggle with how to interpret praise? by sauronthegr8 • last post Jun 17th
This is a weird thing, I know. If someone says they like you and your work, you should just take the compliment, right? But I tend to doubt it's real. It's kind of a combination of a rough childhood and the nature of the business. I've been doing this long enough to be considered playing the long game, and in that time I've learned to temper expectations. But lately I've been receiving some decent praise from high places. I had a Zoom audition with a major casting company that often calls me in, but I've never booked with. During the course of the audition the CD gave me a re-direct and started coaching me in what he wanted to see from me, but it turned into him telling me I'm one of the best actors in our city, how everyone in town knows me and talks about me. Actually kinda threw me off my game a little, but afterwards he said I gave a better take because of it. However, once the meeting was over I was kinda left wondering "Did he really mean all that?" I booked a show a few weeks ago that will air on a major cable network's streaming platform later this year. It's a multi-scene co-star role, basically the best friend of the episode's lead. On set they were loving it. I got high fives from the director. Everyone was telling me they thought I was hilarious. Another cast member moonlights as a commercial CD and said he wants to call me in. I've just been offered a contract with a new agency, my second. They're a top 10 in my market and have branches in NY and LA, which hopefully will provide opportunities to expand in the future. I thought it was something I was really going to work hard to sell myself to them for when I learned I got a meeting. I stayed up almost all night prepping and creating bullet points for the meeting to highlight the work I've done so far, CDs I have relationships with, close calls on big projects. Turns out I didn't need it. They basically offered to sign me immediately. We had a nice conversation and they said they'd send over the paperwork. The agent ended the meeting with "You're going to work a lot." So, this is weird, but my first instinct with all this is to dismiss it. After years of doing this I'm so used to not getting my hopes up and just carrying on that I can't tell if it's genuine praise or if people are just being nice, or *maybe* they do like me, but telling me I'm the best in town or will work a lot are techniques to get what they want out of me. The truth is I don't book much. While my first agent got me work, it was slow going with weeks and months of no auditions even 5+ years in. I'm a good ten years in now with a couple small co-stars, two commercials, one legit budgeted movie with a supporting part, and a litany of independent shorts and projects by local filmmakers of dubious to decent quality. I come from humble small town theater origins, started acting professionally late in life, and I'm usually too poor to remain in class regularly. I'm just not used to actually feeling like I might be "succeeding". So what is it? Am I right in assuming I shouldn't take such high praise at face value? Or maybe this is some form of imposter syndrome, the years of work and intermittent training might finally be paying off, and I'm on the precipice of some major career breakthrough?
Is it more important to be represented by a top agency or a top management company ? by penguin_reddit • last post Jun 17th
I would assume most actors prioritize signing with a good agent more so than with a manager. In fact, isn't the impetus for most actors signing with managers so that they can get referrals/meetings with agents? Correct me if I'm wrong. Or is it case by case? Which one should an actor really prioritize ?
Affordable and Refutable Headshots In LA? by just_ice523 • last post Jun 17th
Does anyone who’s an LA-based actor have ant recommendations for affordable but good headshots? I’m not trying to break the bank if I can help it since I already have some expensive headshots. I’m just wanting to expand what I have since it’s been a couple of years.
I'm looking for a female voice actor to record some character audio for a video game (PAID) by jackfrench9 • last post Jun 17th
Hello everyone! I'm a video game developer and I'm looking for a female voice actor to work with me on my personal project called 'Galaxy Grudge.' I posted one of these a few weeks ago when I was looking for a male voice actor, and the result was outstanding, so I figured I'd take another shot to hopefully find a lady who could provide a similar performance for a female character in my game. The brief is basically this: I have a bunch of generic sounds in my game that characters will make when they do things. The categories are 'Take Damage', 'Death', 'Gasp', 'Jump', and 'Land from falling'. The game is a very high-energy shooter, so characters need to feel very energetic and in some cases quite pained and laboured. To give some context of the current game build and how it plays, please check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsNYYvAnZ9U As a reference point for the kinds of sounds I'm looking to record with a prospective artist, here is an example of me playing some of my sounds recorded by the artist I found on here last time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cycvWyat278 So if you're a female voice actor, and you are capable of really putting on a believable performance like this, please get in touch with me. If you have examples online of anything that sounds similar, please feel free to send it my way. The price I'm putting on this is the same as the last gig I offered on here - US$150 for the job. A few more technical details about the recordings: * The audio must be high quality (perferably 44.1k 24-bit WAVs) with no reverb or discernible echo. Please, no dodgy bedroom recordings on an iPhone. * The audio samples themselves will only be a few seconds or so in length. * I need a female voice that sounds pretty aggressive and intimidating, like your prototypical solider in a video game. Please get in touch! Thanks!
Headshot-Age Range-Character Type Feedback by AutoModerator • last post Jun 16th
Use this thread to post your headshots for feedback, get info on your age range/type, find good headshot photographers, ask any questions you may have about headshots. If you are posting a DIY headshot for feedback, and not just a snapshot in order to get feedback on your age range/type/etc, it is advised that you do at least some basic research on what actor headshots look like--composition, framing, lighting. You will find a Google Image search for "actor headshots" to be very helpful for this. Non-professional shots are fine for age/typecasting; please keep in mind that one picture is a difficult way to go about this. Video of you moving and speaking would be ideal, but understandably more difficult to post. For what it's worth, the branding workshop at SAG-AFTRA recommends a five-year age range. That's inclusive, so for example 19-23, 25-29, 34-38, etc.
PDFs won’t open in Actors Access (Safari + iPad) by curtisclone • last post Jun 16th
I ignored a film to self-tape for after the pdf wouldn’t open, thinking that the director didn’t post it or upload it appropriately. I now have another audition for a much more professional production and it happened again. I can’t open the pdf! I go to a Chrome browser instead of Safari, and lo and behold, it opens! Not sure if there was an iOS update that messed this all up, but I’m on an iPad Air 4 with the latest software… Has anyone else run into this problem?
My Honest Review of Casting Call Club by Dense-Independent-66 • last post Jun 16th
Casting Call Club is a Voice Acting site that offers free and paid jobs for voice actors, writers, music composers, video editors and some other roles. I will shorten the site to CCC. It has both free options and paid membership options in benefit tiers. The main focus of CCC is pop culture and anime voice acting. The demographic is extremely young with people as young as sixteen often starting a project. There is a discord channel. I made an account with no idea of what to expect. But I was looking for something to extend my VO abilities beyond LibriVox narrating. I did an audition for CCC. I took this seriously. I chose an unpaid voice acting job. But then things got weird. The deadline passed. Yet I got no response. I got none from the project creator. I got none from CCC in my dashboard. I was left with no idea how I went. Also the timer for the project does a weird hourly countdown at this point. Why not just announce that the deadline has passed? I raised the above concerns on the CCC discord channel. I spoke to someone who seemed to be an admin for CCC. They were OK. But they didn't address my concerns. There's no sniping from me here about possibly missing out: I said to the admin of CCC if I was rejected then fine. But I wanted to know where I stood. Only then could I do a different audition in peace. But that seems to be beyond CCC to do something that basic for someone. I cannot recommend CCC. Its GUI is weird and doesn't give someone basic feedback as above. Anyone who has aspirations to seriously do voice over can do a lot better than CCC. Thank you.
Self Tape Set-Up Question: LEDs or Softboxes? by cloveand • last post Jun 16th
Hi all, I am looking to up my self-tape set-up. Previously I used: iPhone, Pop Mic, Pop up Green Screen and natural window light. I've moved into a space with less natural light and more space and want to upgrade my set-up. I have a Sony camera + Rode VideoMic Pro Shotgun and enjoy that combo for now and am considering grabbing old seamless roles from work. My question is mainly about lighting (or if you have any comments on self tape set ups in general, happy to take them!)... I have a friend who is selling Dracast Panel LED lights for extremely cheap. If I bought those I would need to grab some diffusers/light stands on the side BUT I'm thinking if I wanted to shoot short films or sketches with pals to stay busy then they're multi-purpose. They are also selling a 2 light soft box kit for similar price point. Which would you jump for? I'm hearing such conflicting things about self tapes -- either a) as long as they can see and hear you clearly that's all that matters or b) they hate seeing lights in the eyes or any harsh shadows so now... I don't know what to get! Either way, I want a set-up that highlights me as an actor best. Thank you!
Want more auditions? I know how by filmmakerfemale • last post Jun 16th
Actors, Need a Demo Reel? Not getting called in for auditions? Here to Help! Want to show off your work? Hi All! I am an award-winning filmmaker who is teaming up with a renowned acting coach in LA and we are offering a two scene reel comprehensive in Los Angeles July 9th and 10th. I keep hearing from newer actors that they can't seem to get work without any work to display, a total catch 22. We know the struggle and want to help actors out by filming two scenes tailored to your type and marketability all edited and mixed so you don't have to worry about a thing except acting! On set coaching to bring out your best performance possible. Demo reels are industry standard, and having cast multiple projects I know personally how much a professional demo reel gets you called in (**I have never called in an actor without a demo reel!**) Take a look at previous demo reels we have done and sign up now to secure your spot! Any questions? Happy to answer any and all! bit.ly/reelsignupnow
Voice actor needed by Cautious_Employee934 • last post Jun 16th
Small project, I’m in need of a female young, between the ages of 19-24 preferably a Canadian female or that accent. Of course this role is paid, total voice time around 6-12 minutes or less. Wage is the same. Pm me if you’re interested.
I was offered an extra spot as a photo double. Where do I put this on my resume and would this help me get into SAG-AFTRA? by SargaentMoose • last post Jun 16th
There’s a production going on in my town that I applied for almost three months ago and just today, I got a call about being a photo double for one of the actors. I’m thinking of taking the job. Where on my resume would I put this and would it help me get into SAG-AFTRA in the future?
I want to do classes, but which ones and where? by eldemusic • last post Jun 15th
Hello fellow voice actors! It's me, your very dumb and annoying colleague, who's not so bad but wants to be better. So here's the thing - I know how to act. At least at a basic, maybe intermidiate level. I got a good mic(not a yeti, but a samson) and a blanket (no booth sadly and not in the near future). I need to learn how to be natural(er), how to hold a voice(it's hard to talk in one for long periods of time), how to learn accents(german is so hard for me, english ones are easy) and I need you to help me. Reddit, tell me, which courses should I take? I don't feel like a total noob, so I don't need basic level courses. I'm not a mega pro, but I do know some things. What courses provide a good middle ground? P.s. preferably starting July 18th xoxo
Actors access- talent link by yo_its_dest • last post Jun 15th
Hello!!! Any success stories from using talent link? I've never had an agent or manager so I'm not expecting any A-list agencies lol
Referral protocol question by QuaggaSwagger • last post Jun 15th
If I've been fortunate enough to have a well established actor offer to refer me to their reps - how do I not fuck it up? They asked for my materials and said they'd send it over to their people. Should I reach out to said people? Or do nothing and wait for them to reach out to me? What sort of timeline should I give/expect for a response? I'd like to play it cool, like I've been here before, but I haven't. 2¢ appreciated
Questions to ask during acting class? by Saaaintniiiick • last post Jun 15th
Currently taking a scene study class led by an actor/casting director/crew member and it was quite pricey so I’m trying to make the most of it. What are some good questions to ask during class because during the moment I’ll just blank
Advice on Big Decision by countJupiter22 • last post Jun 15th
Hey All! I would appreciate some perspective on a big decision I've been unsure about. I'm an actor based in Los Angeles. Recently I was accepted into LAMDA's MFA in Professional Acting in London, a two-year program. It's a great school with a great reputation--but I'm having trouble deciding if I should go. I've only been in LA one year and recently signed with a small agency here (mostly commercial/VO auditions so far). The idea of being in London isn't super appealing to me at the moment--the weather, activities, etc.. However, I don't want to miss out on a great opportunity and training that could elevate my career prospects. Here's some more context/considerations: \-I'm a male in my early 30s; I've been acting for a while but don't have a lot of professional credits on my resume \-I don't have any previous conservatory training, mostly intensives/weekly classes in NYC and LA; my undergrad was not in drama/acting \-I've been auditioning for drama schools for a couple of years, but LAMDA wasn't my first choice; I was a walk-in audition \-LAMDA tuition is about 35k USD per year, 70k total, not including lodging/costs of living; I'd be taking out loans to pay for it \-the school recently had a big leadership/faculty shakeup and is sort of figuring out its identity \-I've spoken with a few current students/alumni who are doing well; one booked an Apple TV series his first year out of school ​ If there's any other info I can provide that would help offer some insight, let me know. Thanks!
Iman (actress for ms marvel) found the audition for whatsapp by floopydolphins • last post Jun 15th
Where would marvel or other big studios post public casting calls like that? She just was forwarded a link. She wasn’t even planning on being an actress so obviously she wasn’t on a paid app and it’s her only acting credit so I believe her story of being sent a public casting link. But WHERE would they post that lol