Episode 9 / Tara, Dan, Alfie, Liam and Zak
/by Roj Whitelock
London-based photographer and HSM Associate Member
Tara, Dan, Alfie, Liam and Zak. Five new agents at North Artist Management talk about AI headshots, how performers can help their agent get them cast and how performers can develop their casting and brand.
Note: View on YouTube for captions.
"Be nice to everyone. You don't know who is in the room with you. Even if it's just an audition, you will audition with the same people. You will go to an audition in a year's time and someone will be sat on the panel that you auditioned with a year ago or someone that you worked with is now auditioning you for a job."
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Headshots. AI or Authentic?
I would personally say authentic. I think that you can get a lot more variety, a lot more looks and we should also be celebrating our photographers because it's their art. It's their work. um and doing it through AI doesn't celebrate that part of the industry which is so important for the performers and also for us as agents as well. Agreed. And AI isn't you, is it? AI isn't you? No, it's so true. Absolutely. It needs to be authentically you. And is there a bit of a trust issue there as well? Do you think between? So again, can you trust the image if it's been AI generated as opposed to...Well, I actually saw an AI generated picture of you the other day and it did look pretty similar to you, I must say. Yeah, but I I feel like with AI, sorry, I feel like with AI that they're in control of what your facial expressions are doing. Whereas, if you're going to an authentic um headshot shoot, you just need a select three to five shots that show different characters and AI is not going to do that. It needs to be your true facial expressions. I feel like I also feel like there's a lot of jobs as well which require stills. So if you're going to that job and having photos taken of you, having your headshot so that the casting director can see what you look like in action on a uh photography set is really really important cuz you could have a cheeky little weird smirk that you can't get rid of, but AI just slaps it away straight away. So, I also think you can tell, even though your picture of AI looked really good, I think you could tell that it was robot generated or Yeah, just a bit too airbrush. I mean, throw it on LinkedIn, but that's about it. I do think it's losing authenticity. And as I said before, a massive thing of us performers is celebrating our art that can't be replicated by AI. There's so many different people, other people within the industry that also need to be celebrated too like this is their work. Um and headshot sessions are fun as well. It's like a fun it's a fun thing to you know do. Yeah. I saw this post and I see it all the time about AI should be able to do my laundry, do my housework, do that stuff so that I have time to do the creative stuff and I love that. Yeah. Yeah. It is going that way. Yeah, it's scary. Hopefully.
What Can Performers Do To Help You Get Them Cast?
Thank you. Um, as a performer, I think it's so important that you continue working on your craft. I think so many people, especially after training, just think, I'm done training now. I don't need to do anymore. But you can never stop learning. You can never stop getting better. Um, so go and take those dance classes, you know, keep singing, keep networking, do everything you can to help you because obviously your agent will do what they can do, but you also need to help yourself a little bit along the way as well because every year there's thousands more people coming into the industry. So yeah, I'd say that keep busy.
I would say a lot of people ask us, "How are you going to get me the job?" And we will get you in the room, the rooms that you that you should be in, but it's yourself that's going to get you the job. So, going off of that, continue the training. Um, and I would say in terms of headshots, obviously that's the first thing that we see. So those updated headshots, those headshots that show you um and show different uh characteristics that you have is really important because it is the first thing that we see. It's also the first thing that the casting directors see. Yeah, I think it's very important to have a good set of promo, whether that is headshots, that's the first thing we see down to showreel, vocal reel. Um, if you can make sure that on your side you've got the things and the tools for me to market you, I think that's perfect really. Like it is a partnership, agent and client. It's it's a partnership. You do your side and I'll do mine. There's only so much we can do in terms of like submitting for work and stuff. So, yeah. What have you got to say? I also think you just you just have to be honest with Hello. Hi, I'm here. Lovely. I also think you have to stay positive, but you also just have to be honest with yourself. Like, if I was going into a client meeting, I would never go in and say, "I want to play Gaston in Beauty and the Beast." So, I actually think I'm kind of perfect for Gaston. I'm surprised I'm actually playing Gaston. But like, you just need to be honest with yourself and like know what you're right for and really hone in on that and lean into it. Like, yeah, I'm not gonna be playing the butch person, but I know I can play a fun little side character. So, like, lean into what you know you're good at. Yeah. Was that a yes from you? That was a yes from me. That's a yes from Liam. I feel like it's not about...Don't go in, how do I say this? You can go into the industry and you can be a performer that wants to be put forward for everything and that is absolutely fine. But I think if you exactly what you said, lean into what you're good at, sit down with yourself, get a paper and pen, write, figure out your branding, what jobs you suit, what you need to do to get there. Um, I'm really into commercials, so obviously that's going to reflect in your headshot and perhaps your showreel and your and your content. Um, marketing yourself and branding is very important because you can waste lots of your time and it's a short-lived career. It can be um hard going and trying to do something that just isn't you and isn't for you and that and you're just not going to work or you can really hone in on what you're meant to be doing, what suits you and you can work consistently so I think yeah you've got to lean into your strengths, know your lane know your lane exactly. And another thing I would also say is it can be a short-lived career but also be the smart performer that is looking at the long term. How can you remain creative in the industry because that's why we all started in the first place is because we love being creative and even though at the age of 60 I might not be able to fan kick anymore, I can still keep myself in in the industry through doing other things. Um, and I think that that is also the thing that's going to keep you going throughout the industry because there is a lot of times when you're not working on a contract and that is okay. I feel like you learn a lot about yourself when you're not uh fully employed. Um, but it's remembering that you love it and thinking of ways to continue your art even if you're not on a full-time contract for it.
How Should Performers Develop Their Casting and Brand?
Yes. I think it's just going back to what you said as well. It's like knowing your lane, knowing what you're good at and just kind of sticking to that, but also, you know, I'll take this, but say you're a really strong jazz dancer, you know, go to classes at that, but then also go to contemporary classes, maybe go and take a a ballet class, go and take a technique class, go and better yourselves in other areas just so in case a dance school does come in for a commercial, you know, you can go in. You might not be the best in the room, but you're still going to have some some knowledge of of that. Yeah. But yeah, I'd definitely say stick in your lane. Like if you know that you're a strong jazz dancer, stick to that, but also do other things as well. Yeah. And I feel like the internet is accessible to majority everyone. It's just a click away on the phone. If you graduate and you know that you're a strong strong dancer with with good enough vocals to get you through the ensemble and let's say you want to be a Moulin Rouge, you can just go on the Moulin Rouge website. You can see who's in the cast right now, what their headshot looks like, how they are portraying themselves. If that's a job you want, you find out who the choreographer is. You pop into their class, you get seen. If there is something you want to do, chances are someone's already done that. So you just need to find who's doing what you want to do and see how they have established themselves within that market. I think that's the best way really. Yeah. I also think that um your headshot is step one of the process. So I think it's really important to have that main headshot that can be used for near enough everything. But when it comes to submissions, whether you're submitting yourself through Spotlight or whether your agent is submitting you for the job, we get an option of which headshot we're going to do. So, one to choose, sorry. Um, so if you were down for a panto, we'd probably choose a smiley pick compared to a really serious straight acting role is going to be a completely different headshot. So, it is going into that um headshot session with bunch of different options, bunch of different looks. Knowing what work you want to go into and saying to your photographer, I need an MT headshot. I need an actor headshot. I need something to make me look a little bit younger because I feel like I would be playing smaller like childlike roles. They come up quite a lot. So, I would say just having that versatility between all of your photos. I also will say be nice to everyone. You don't know who is in the room with you. Even if it's just an audition, you will audition with the same people. You will go to an audition in a year's time and someone will be sat on the panel that you auditioned with a year ago or someone that you worked with is now auditioning you for a job. Be nice to everyone. Yeah. There's the industry is so small. Everyone knows everyone. You don't want to be the person that people are talking about going, "Oh, she was so rude to me when I said that I didn't have a selleadooka to give her." Like, be nice to everyone because word spreads very quickly. And that is that that should be part of a performer's brand. It isn't just your promo material. It isn't just the skills you've got. It is your vibe, your how you handle yourself in a room, how you talk to people. 9 times out of 10, you can be on a panel in an audition and the dance is great, but you know immediately it's not necessarily someone you want to work with. And that unfortunately that's just how it is. We all want to enjoy our jobs. We all want to put ourselves around people that are the same. Um, so yeah, it's it's a lot more than just how you put yourself out there on spotlight or whatever casting platform.
