Re my acting profiles:
Have been feeling a bit hypocritical of late and I think prepping for my Uni thesis has been a big part of this.
I have been bitching about CCP (CastingCallPro) for a while now and am against most of the things they do - their 360 degree headshots as an example - and my pisstake of them is on the headshot page of my website (and copied below) ;-)
It's just another unnecessary gimmick to try and squeeze more money out of actors. I don't like that they take money from actors to access paid work. I dislike how they are very often unhelpful and unsupportive of us actors when we have an issue or flag a concern to them about their site content. They are not helpful to us producers either, just so you know!
It's just another unnecessary gimmick to try and squeeze more money out of actors. I don't like that they take money from actors to access paid work. I dislike how they are very often unhelpful and unsupportive of us actors when we have an issue or flag a concern to them about their site content. They are not helpful to us producers either, just so you know!
Actors pay in excess of £20 a month for their services and yet, when unpaid castings are reported, we are mostly met with derision and told 'people want to be able to work for free, don't want to do it, then don't apply'. In order to access the paid work you MUST pay their monthly fee. If Monster.com started charging you to host your admin or manager CV would you be happy? No, I thought not.
As a producer, I'm sick of them emailing me to 'verify an actor credit' when I know I've verified it 3 times already and even though said actors have complained about a producer being harassed on email still the emails come. 'Sake.
So, why do I feel hypocritical? Well, despite all the above, I've always had a free actor, singer, promo and producer profile on their servers to help with my Google rankings. But surely, if I want to add weight to what I really think and believe, I shouldn't be linked to them at all?
Correct and for that reason I've just deleted them all. All of the profiles: Actor, Singer, Promo Girl and Producer. I have just deleted my entire presence from their servers.
I am now no longer a member of either of the 'standard' casting sites in the UK (CCP & Spotlight*). Some will call me foolhardy BUT the double standards and shite in this industry has really pissed me off in the last few years and I don't want to be a 'double standard person': with me and the companies I run and am involved with, what you see is what you get. Warts and all. I can't be that person if I hedge my bets by continuing to be a freebie member of a site I think is doing it all wrong or a paying member of a site whose double standards are atrocious to the point of ridiculous.
Career suicide? Let's see.
I feel that if I want to take a stand and make a point I MUST chuck myself in front of all the tanks 100% before even considering trying to convince others to follow suit.
I've nailed my colours to the mast.
*haven't been a member of Spotlight for about 5 years now.
3 comments:
I hear you Helen. I wasn't on Spotlight for a year at one point, and saw no difference to my status as an Actor at that point - I still didn't work - the only difference was I didn't spend the best part of £150 to be reminded of that fact.
Can't really say much against CCP as I have a lifetime membership with them. It has been a while since I contacted them about anything, as my focus has been elsewhere. I however do take your point, as I have heard your concerns from other quarters of the acting profession.
We are in a strange position as actors. No one takes us seriously, everyone thinks they can do what we do without ever trying it, and to make matters worse we get the same attitude from some of the Gatekeepers of the Industry. Then, we have to deal with a race to the bottom in terms of pay rates and work conditions.
I am often surprised that the agents' associations and unions don't get together to stop the rot. We now have to deal with 'Self-taping' issue also.
Strange times for the whole business as a whole but your article was bang on. It will be interesting to read the comments of other contributors on this issue.
There are many actors who are not on Spotlight nor union members who represent themselves. The latter is not a smart move in my book but people are doing it and in some cases getting regular work.
That damned 360 degree nonsense on CCP very irritating. I got a year free full membership for promoting their 1 day film festival around 2008. Didn't get any castings, most of the paid castings were musical theatre.
I hardly use casting sites, contacts & tech work like DoP have taken over a bit
Thanks for your comments guys x
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