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Breaking into Commercials
The Complete Guide to Marketing Yourself, Auditioning to Win, and Getting the Job
Terry Berland and Deborah Ouellette
Acknowledgements xiii
Foreword by Jason Alexander xv
Introduction xxi
SECTION 1: Putting Together a Winning Promotional Package 1
1. GETTING HEAD SHOTS 3
The Makings of a Good Commercial Head Shot. Differences
Between a Commercial Head Shot, a Theatrical Head Shot,
and a Commercial Composite. How to Get the Best Head
Shot. Find a Good Photographer. Questions to Ask. View the
Photographer s Work Before You Make a Choice. Prepare for
the Shoot. Wardrobe Checklist. What to Expect the Day of
the Shoot. Selecting the Right Shot. Retouching. Working
With Printers. Picture Postcards as a Marketing Tool. How
Much Will It Cost and How Long Will It Take? Summary.
2. RÉSUMÉS AND COVER LETTERS 26
What Is a Résumé and What Is Its Purpose? What
Goes on a Résumé and in What Order? Presenting the
Information on Your Résumé. Printing Your Résumé.
Updating Résumés. What Is a Cover Letter and What Is Its
Purpose? Targeting Your Head Shot/Résumé Mailings to
the Right People. Follow Up on Your Mailings. Summary.
3. OTHER TOOLS YOU LL WANT TO CONSIDER 38
Equipment for Keeping in Touch. Cell Phones. Answering
Machines. Answering Services. Record-Keeping Supplies.
4. TRAINING 41
How Classes in Commercial Technique, Improvisation, Scene
Study, and Cold-Reading Prepare You to Do Commercials.
Finding a Good Coach. Cost of Training. How Often
You Should Train. Interview with Sharon Chatten.
5. SCAMS 47
Why Scam Artists Are So Successful. How to See a Scam
Coming a Mile Away. Common Industry Scams. Reporting
and Investigating Scams. Interview with David Vando.
6. NETWORKING AND GOAL-SETTING 55
Networking. Fellow Performers. Industry Professionals.
Networking Websites. Mentors. Goal-Setting. Summary:
Super Success Strategies. Goal-Planning Sheet.
SECTION II. Taking Your Act on the Road 65
7. THE KEY PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY 67
Agents. Managers. Casting Directors. Producers. Directors.
8. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT AGENTS, MANAGERS, AND UNIONS 70
All About Agents. How to Find a Good Agent. Do You Want
a Manager? Conducting a Dynamite Interview. Questions
to Ask Before Taking on an Agent or Manager. Keeping in
Touch with Your Agent. Handling Contracts and Agreements.
Why Actors Might Want to Drop Their Agents. Why an
Agent Might Want to Drop an Actor. The Unions and Their
Jurisdictions. Interviews with an Agent and a Talent Manager.
9. THE AUDITIONING PROCESS 84
Getting Auditions. Finding Out About Calls. Internet
Submissions. How an Actor Is Selected to Audition. What
to Do When You Get the Call. The Day of the Audition.
What to Wear. What to Expect When You Get There.
What to Do After You Are Called into the Audition Room.
Direction Lingo. The Actual Audition. The Call Back.
When You Can Expect To Be Informed if You Got the Job.
Seven Elements That Give You the Competitive Edge.
10. THE TECHNIQUE 99
Getting Started. Entering the Audition Room. Commercial
Space. Exercises. Body Language. In the Audition Room.
Taking Your Mark. Working with Cue Cards. Memorizing
Copy. Relating to the Camera. How You Are Framed (How
You Look in the Camera). Rehearsing and Taking Direction.
Analyzing the Script. Leaving the Audition Room.
11. THE SELECTION PROCESS 116
The Creative Team. How the Talent Are Selected. Who
Sees the Auditions During the Selection Process. The
Callbacks. Presenting the Callbacks to the Client. Time
Between the Final Selection of Talent and the Shoot.
Understanding the History of a Commercial.
12. THE CALLBACK, THE BOOKING, THE SHOOT 123
The Callback. Information You Should Be Given When
You Get the Callback. Who Will Be at the Callback. How
You Should Conduct Yourself at the Callback. What the
Creatives Are Looking For. The Booking. How Much Time
Elapses Between the Callback and the Shoot. Information
You Should Be Given When You Are Booked. Wardrobe.
The Shoot. What Is Expected of Actors on the Set. What
Goes Into the Preparation for a Commercial Shoot. What
Is the Usual Location of the Shoot. What Happens the
Day of the Shoot. What Happens When the Actors First
Get on the Set. What Is Expected of Actors in Terms of
the Contract. At What Point the Product Is Introduced to
the Actors. Things Actors Should Avoid While on the Set.
How Long a Commercial Takes to Shoot. Is the Commercial
Shot in Segments? How Many Takes Can an Actor Expect?
Who Directs Actors? Do the Actors Have Any Input?
13. HOW MUCH CAN I MAKE? 133
Television: Session. Overtime. Travel Time. Consecutive
Employment. Fittings/Wardrobe. Holding Fees/Exclusivity.
Maximum Period of Use. Reinstatement. Residuals.
Radio: Exclusivity/Maximum Period of Use. Residuals.
14. WORKING IN REGIONAL AREAS 140
Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in
Regional Areas. Commuting. Moving to a Larger
Market. Interview With Tom Jourden.
15. VOICE-OVERS 148
What Are Voice-Overs and Who Does Them? Voice-Over
Markets. Types of Opportunities in Voice-Over: Television.
Radio. Film. Miscellaneous Uses. What It Takes to Succeed.
How to Get Started Doing Voice-Overs. Training. Demo
CDs. Demo CDs for Advanced Voice-Over Talent. How to
Package Your CD. Getting Someone to Listen to Your CD.
Whom to Send Your Demo CD to. Marketing and Packaging
Yourself as a Talent. How Long it Will Take to Book Your
First Job. Tapping the Regional Markets. What an Actor Can
Expect at the Actual Booking. Final Tips on Studio Recording
Sessions. Animation. How to Get Started in Animation.
How to Make a Character Come Alive With a Voice.
16. MODELS CROSSING OVER INTO COMMERCIALS 167
Why More and More Models Are Getting into Commercials.
How Commercial Experience Can Be a Stepping-Stone to
Television and Film. How Modeling and Talent Conventions
Offer Opportunities to Expand into Other Areas. How to
Know if a Convention Is Reputable. The Role of a Good
Manager in Making the Transition. How Fashion Print Work
Differs from Making Television Commercials. What It Takes
to Cross Over. Training. Opportunities in Foreign Markets.
Compensation: What a Model Can Make in Print and
Commercials in the United States. How a Typical Audition
in Europe Differs from One in the United States. How
Models Are Paid for Commercial Work. Interviews with Elle
Macpherson, Carmen, Tim Saunders, and Patrick Johnson.
17. KIDS IN THE BUSINESS 180
What Types of Kids Do Well in Commercials? Getting Pictures.
Tips for a Successful Shoot. Résumés for Kids. Finding an
Agent. Typical Scams. Managers. Training. Tips on Auditions.
Common-Sense Safeguards for Showbiz Kids. When to
Consider Commuting or Relocating to a Larger Market. What
Parents Can Expect. Compensation. Handling the Child s
Money. What It Takes for Kids to Make It in the Business. How
Your Child s Acting Career Coincides With Their Education.
Interview with Alan Simons (On Location Education).
Specific Issues and Experiences that Young People and Their
Families Go Through While Working in the Industry.
18. WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT IN COMMERCIALS 221
What Do Agents and Casting People Look For in an
Actor? What Are Common Misconceptions Newcomers
Have About the Industry. Pet Peeves. Words of Advice.
GLOSSARY 227
APPENDIX 235
INDEX 241
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