I am looking at IMBD and wondering if, as a Chicago actor, would it serve my needs to pay for a listing on the site? Anyone find work or get connected by that site? What about some of the others, CastingCallPro...and the list goes on from there. Many sites are loaded with brand new people. I am looking for websites for professionals who are working (even sporadically) not the community theater posting type of sites.
Acting : Joining paid websites by Jamie Newell
Joining paid websites
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FYI: You could list your advertisement on our site at no cost to you at all. Checkout: http://www.japanese-experts.com and contact me via Skype if you would like to chat about how it all works. And yes, its free and always will be.
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Jamie, all professional actors I know pay for IMDBPro. It allows you to maintain a professional image, gives you access to contacts for big productions, gives you more edge in mktg as you develop your career.
Some actors that gain a lot of notoriety don't ever pay for IMDB. Looks good on a resume. If you're working in recognizable titles your credits will automatically be added to IMDB, pictures will not be uploaded to your IMDB profile without paying. In order to control your profile and all of the media that's uploaded to it, you will need to pay. Actors starting out like to do this because they can use their Headshots with their profile. It's a professionally recognized online reference to what actors have done so far with their careers.
I have a few projects listed on IMDb and I have been contacted by actors that I've put on my "call list" for when it's time to do more casting. I also get inquiries from film professionals way out of my league, so I think it is common practice for established talent to use IMDb for making connections. You only get access to the contact and company information if you have IMDbPro. Also, I always look at actor resumes and profiles on IMDb when they respond to a casting call. I don't care that much about rank, but if someone's rank is 2 million and another's rank is 100,000, then I see that as a significant difference. A lot of really established talent have ranks in the 200,000-300,000 and in general, my experience is that I can't afford actors with a rank over 20,000. If I get an inquiry from the manager/agent with a client ranked 10,000 I know I should talk about compensation expectations immediately so we don't waste our time. In sum, to me, rank is about compensation expectations, not talent, experience, or quality of previous work.
Acting is a business. you are selling yourself. Why not market yourself on a website very highly trafficked? Could it hurt to be on there? no, it can only help. If you have very limited funds i'd say spend it on an acting class instead or even a gym membership but if you want to be successful you need to do everything you can to set yourself apart.
I agree that marketing myself is the way, my question was more about what is common in the market where I live...Chicago. Not sure how often it is referenced by local hiring producers. I have my own website and I am listed on other popular casting paid sites.
I am convinced now that it may pay off when looking for work beyond the Chicago borders. Thanks for the feedback
I think it will help even in chicago. Chicago is a big city. I live in Salt Lake, a very small market and a lot of actors pay for it here and i'd reccomend it anywhere.