A Casting Director's Advice

I had the good fortune recently to attend a presentation by Diane Heery of Heery Casting, one of the premier casting agencies in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Her session was entitled "Acting from a Casting Point of View," which was part of the 2009 Terror Film Festival presented in Philadelphia. Ms. Heery provided some great advice for filmmakers and for actors looking for work in movies and commercials, including voice actors.

She began by explaining that the casting director works for the production company, and that it is the casting director's job to help fulfill the vision of the filmmaker. Accordingly, the filmmaker has to have some idea of what he's looking for for each role. It is also important to be realistic: consider the budget; consider how famous an actor you can get for your budget; also consider carefully how many roles you will need filled. Your movie will be more attractive to distributors if they don't have to pay more people than necessary.

Ms. Heery explained that sometimes a director doesn't know what he wants and she discovers this because he doesn't hire anyone she sends for the audition. In cases like that, she will often send a completely different type. Often, a different type will stand out in the director's mind and get the role.

Actors should understand that even if they don't get a lead part, they are hired for a reason: to advance the lead's storyline. Accordingly, understand how you fit into the story. Even if you're hired for a stereotypical role—cashier, for example—and your only line is "Two-fifty, please," understand how that line fits into the story. Remember, anyone with a line gets paid that day, so make the most of what you get. Union actors are paid as employees; non-union actors as independent contractors.

A good picture goes to more auditions than you do, so although it doesn't have to be expensively done, it should be well done. For actors auditioning to be part of the background, snapshots are more important than headshots; and make sure you look like yourself. When showing up for a filming day, make sure you you wear the attire requested in the casting notice. Extras are part of the atmosphere and their look has to be right.

Regarding auditioning with a monologue, present-tense monologues are more gripping than reminiscences. Also, don't do summations, like those done in courtrooms, because they are often simply a recitation of facts and often lack the drama of other monologues. Lastly, don't do a monologue that is already well-known. A director will never get Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" line out of his head, no matter who else says it.

I asked Ms. Heery how the process for choosing voice over talent is different from choosing on-screen talent. She said that she casts voice over talent all the time for commercials. Voice overs are the toughest kind of work to break into: first, because you are competing with people who have their own in-home studios; second, because voice overs have the quickest casting turn-around time. She might get a call from a director who needs a voice over talent in a day, which gives her little time to find someone.

Don't fret if you don't have an agent, as about half the people she books don't have agents. If you sign onto an online casting service, you will receive a bar code, which you should bring with you to auditions.

If your status or experience changes, be sure to update the casting agent with a picture postcard. Postcards are more effective than email.

Ms. Heery also provided some good news/bad news for Philadelphia area actors: Although the filmmaking tax credits were originally cut, various filmmaking companies got together to hire a lobbyist to lobby to reinstate the credits. In the current fiscal budget $42 million was reinstated; that figure should rise to $60 million next year and $70 million the year after. The bad news is that acting competition is ramping up. There are many out-of-town actors willing to come to Philadelphia to audition and work, so local talent sometimes is not so local.
I found Ms. Heery to be not only informative, but very accessible and personable, just the type of person you would want to work with.

Just got cortisone shot & Rx for PT of left shoulder frozenshoulder

Career Search Tips

I know several unemployed librarians; I also know other people who have recently lost their jobs or expect to. I started sending them emails regarding everything I have learned so far about job searching. I realized while writing it that I have learned a great deal, and thought that putting it here might be helpful to others as well. So if you have recently been laid off, or expect to be laid off, here's what you do:
SOCIAL MEDIA: FIRST, register on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com). Put your resume on there and indicate that you're interested in career opportunities or whatever else you may be interested in. Then look up everyone you know--you never know: they might be on there--and ask them to join your network.
NOTE that anyone can search for people on LinkedIn, so if you're wary about your boss knowing you're looking for other employment, you might want to hold off on this until you get your pink slip. If anyone who links in with you knows you professionally, ask for a recommendation, which will appear on your page.
Make sure you link to any websites or blogs you write for regularly from your profile page. Those sites and blogs should be relevant to the industry in which you seek employment, unless you're a website designer and the design IS an example of your work, or you're a writer and any subject on which you write provides potential employers with writing samples. For that matter, your LinkedIn profile should also be relevant to your job search, unless you are considering turning a hobby into a career.
DO NOT bother with FaceBook, MySpace or any of those other social sites unless you intend to go into business for yourself. I usually see advice regarding FaceBook directed to small business owners, not to individuals looking to be employed by others.
NEXT, register on Twitter (http://twitter.com). Then, follow all these folks (Use http://twitter/com/TWITTERNAME; or http://search.twitter.com to find them):
hashjobs , CareerBuilder, tweetmyjobs, PinkSlipParty09 , Glassdoordotcom , GetEditingJobs , jobnet360 , stimulusjobs , RUbetweenjobs , jtodonnell , MonsterKAW , onlineresume , JobConcierge, JobSavants , GregBarrette , PublishingXing , JobsDirectUSA , thejobsguy , jobsearchnews , JobSearchAdvice , JobAngels , jobshouts , indeed , careertips , execSearches , CAREEREALISM , SimplyHired , Jewish_Jobs , microjobs.
Some of these can be customized to search specific geographic areas, specific industries, or both.
Note that a few of those entities have websites where you can post your resume and let recruiters find you, such as CareerBuilder, Indeed.com, Monster.com, SimplyHired. Upload your resume there. Employers have found me on job boards. Set up job alerts to be emailed to you--let the information come to you instead of you having to look for it.
These are a mix of resources: some provide job search advice, including resume writing and interviewing advice; others provide links to specific jobs available; still others announce job fairs. I haven't named all of the employment twitterers out there; only several that I follow. To find additional sources, including sources more tailored to your particular job search needs, do this:
Go to Twitter Search (http://search.twitter.com). Search for :
jobs
jobs MAJORCITYNEARYOU
jobs INDUSTRY
jobs JOBTITLE
And then substitute careers, hiring, or freelance for jobs and repeat the searches.
NETWORKING: NEXT, go to Google and search for "chamber of commerce" MAJORCITYNEARYOU or any local town near you. Go to the chambers' websites and find out when and where their next business card exchange or other networking event is. Then attend their networking events, and collect business cards. Oh, you'll need to print up business cards to hand out. VistaPrint constantly has sales (read: FREE BUSINESS CARDS), or you can just order some through your local Fedex/Kinko's store pretty cheaply. Usually you can attend one or two of these events without becoming a member and without paying anything, or much. If you're a woman, while you're at one of these networking events ask if there's a women's business organization whose events you can attend as well. At these events, you don't necessarily want to ask those people for a job, which would put them in an uncomfortable spot, but you do want to clearly state what you are capable of, what you are looking for, and ask if they know someone who might need your services.
Besides these networking events, make sure that EVERYONE YOU KNOW knows you're looking for work--your family, friends, the guy at the deli counter, your pharmacist. Because you never know who might know someone who needs someone like you.
ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE: Several months ago, I attending a woman's networking event, and collected several business cards. I Linked In with Person A from that event. A few weeks ago, Person B attended a networking event and subsequently also Linked In with Person A. Person B checked Person A's LinkedIn contacts and found me; I indicate in my profile that I'm looking for work. He provides a service for an organization that he knows needs someone like me. He contacted me to alert me about the job opening. A complete stranger. Sent me a job lead. Through the power of networking. The job hasn't even been posted yet. You bet I'm following up.
RESUMES: Now, here's resume advice I have received from various career professionals at career fairs, on Twitter and LinkedIn, and at networking events:

• Your resume should be no longer than one page.
• Your resume should be no longer than one page, unless you have several years of experience.
• Your resume should be no longer than two pages.
• Your resume should be no longer than three pages.
• Your objective should be clear.
• Don't bother putting your objective on your resume, as that's all about you, and employers would rather know what you can do for THEM.

As you can see, there's a lot of conflicting advice out there. I'd say, Go with your gut regarding what information an employer might need to know about your education, skills, abilities, achievements, attributes, and specific experience.
I have heard that the resume should be tailored for each job you're applying for. I would agree if the jobs are dissimilar, but if they're all alike, I don't see any reason to tweak. If you only want to apply for sales jobs at software companies, I can't see how the resume would be different for each company. However, if you're applying for sales jobs at different types of companies, or for different types of positions at similar companies, then I can understand that you would want to tailor your resume regarding your skills or experience to fit each position or industry.
Don't waste space saying "References are available upon request." It takes up too much real estate.
Keep the font as simple as possible, as computer systems will attempt to read your resume, both to fill in online application forms and to find the buzzwords the hiring manager is seeking.
CAREER/JOB FAIRS: Monster has a "Keep America Working" tour and they've been holding career fairs at major metropolitan venues every few weeks. There are also job fairs at universities. You may also want to check with any local facilities that host banquets to find out if there are any job fairs coming there anytime soon. You know what? Your local newspaper often has ads about job fairs. Yes, your local newspaper. Start reading it (again).
YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY: Search for companies in your chosen geographic area. Don't know how? ASK THE LIBRARIAN: your tax dollars pay the librarian to help you, so don't be shy. Get company addresses and phone numbers. Find out who's who. Go to the company websites. Upload your resume there. Set up job alerts to be emailed to you--let the information come to you instead of having to look for it.
Read the local business press. Find out who's who, who just got promoted, who's doing what where. If you'd like to work for that company, write to that person to congratulate him or her on their achievement. Enclose your resume. Of course, this all happens on paper; you wouldn't want to send an attachment to a stranger, or your message could land in the spam folder. Have your resume printed on decent resume paper. I usually use FedEx/Kinko's.
That's all the advice I know, which is all the advice I have decided I'm going to listen to, all the advice I have figured out for myself, and all the advice I have decided to utilize in my search.
Note: I have not been paid by anyone to say any of this or to make any recommendations. But if anyone would like to make a financial contribution to my fiscal health, I would not be averse to accepting it.
I'm a librarian. I have worked for non-profit educational and healthcare organizations. You can find out more about me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/RachelResnick.

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Funny, insightful book

I recently read Carol Leifer's book, When you lie about your age, the terrorists win: Reflections on looking in the mirror (ISBN 9780345502964). Ms. Leifer is an Emmy-nominated writer for her work on shows like Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, and Saturday Night Live. She is also a stand-up comedian and actress. I found this book to be more insightful than funny—which is not a criticism. She related some funny stories and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud lines, but I think the greater value of this book is that it is an excellent reflection on life from a woman-of-a-certain age—50, in Ms. Leifer's case. Hence, the subtitle. Ms. Leifer has a chapter that should be read by everyone contemplating plastic surgery. There are also chapters about parenthood, animal adoption, feminism, religion, death, sexual orientation, the house she grew up in, growing older, health, her relationship with her father, and more mundane topics. Anyone middle-aged or older will likely agree with her opinions on these subjects. They will also thank her for expressing those opinions in such a funny and accessible way. It only took me a few hours to read this book, but it is a deep read.

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The Stories of Success

I recently finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, Outliers: The Story of Success (ISBN 9780316036696). I guess I misread the title when I bought it, and continued in my misconception until I was part-way through the book; I kept thinking the book was about the secrets of success. No, Mr. Gladwell only explains how other people became successful. His is not intended to be a how-to book to enable others to become successful also. Because, while there are several things each of us can do improve our chances of success, sometimes factors that affect our success are simply happenstance. Here is a list of things that Mr. Gladwell indicates have affected the success of others:

1. Being born at the right time of year.
   
2. Being born during the right era.
   
3. Having parents capable of nurturing your interpersonal skills and your interests, and having parents capable of furthering your education.
   
4. Being smart enough. Being too smart isn’t necessary—smart enough is enough.
   
5. Similarly, going to a good enough school—it doesn’t have to be the best and it doesn’t have to be Ivy League. It just has to be good enough.
   
6. Being raised in the right culture, or acquiring the values of the right culture for the occupation that you have chosen.
   
7. Choosing work that is meaningful to you.
   
8. Practicing until you have acquired the skills or level of skills that you are satisfied with, or that are in demand. About 10,000 hours ought to do it.
   
9. Taking advantage of opportunities afforded you.
   
10. Working hard.

I’m sure you’re scratching your head at a few of those items, wondering how they can be relevant. But Mr. Gladwell provides interesting stories that explain their relevance, and I encourage you to read the book. And, obviously, some of these things are out of our control, so for those of us who maybe don’t feel we are as successful as we might be, perhaps there is some consolation that some things that might have made us successful at what we want (or wanted) to do were simply out of our control. But for those of us who are close, maybe it’s just a question of getting up earlier in the morning, working harder, worker smarter, getting better at our craft. That culture one is a tough one. Many of us don’t realize that maybe the culture we were raised in is not the right one for the profession we’re in, and sometimes we don’t discover this at all, or discover it too late to make a difference, or cannot for whatever reason acculturate ourselves properly to become successful in our chosen field. Mr. Gladwell, discusses national culture with regard to success, and only discusses corporate culture as it is affected by national culture; I wish he had expounded on corporate culture more directly and thoroughly. Because if you realize that perhaps the culture you were raised in is undermining your success in your work, I’m not sure how you would go about getting acculturated properly. Find a mentor within your corporate structure? Find a sociologist who can identify the cultural values you need, and teach them to you? And how much time would it take to integrate those values into your mindset?

I enjoyed this book, and I encourage you to read it. It is an easy read, interesting, and insightful.