One day you need a talent for your project. You don’t know how to get one, where to find one and most importantly, how to choose one. There’s a few steps in this process to guide you to finding, reviewing and selecting the appropriate talent for your needs.
- Find a trusted agency that hosts talent. Why not just go to a random database? Because agencies rep specific talent, know their talent and if a talent is on a roster it means they’re serious about their job, dependable, and are experienced in the business.
2. Start communication with the agency you chose and make sure you feel you and the talent host are compatible. You should get quick replies to your questions, informed details and most likely help with bidding the job if you don’t know how to price the job for your needs. None of this should cost you a cent.
3. An ideal agency should have the talent visible for review by any visitors. You should not have to ask to see talent or create a login to see talent on a website in today’s digital world. The talent profiles should provide additinal information about each talent and at times have audio and video files of the talent’s work or demos.
4. The best way to consider a talent for your role(s) is to request auditions. It is best to be prepared with a script, either an actual script or a sample one to get the feel of the talent auditioning. These talent should have either professional sound studios, or a professional video set up including a screen in the background for video presentations. A talent should never have a wall, or a mix of clutter in the background when presenting to jobs. The talent should be focused on presenting your words to you so you can decide who would work best for your situation.
5. There may be a talent you are interested in on a roster but they may not be available for your scheduled dates of your event. If the talent is willing to work your project but on a different date and your project is flexible, it may be worth it to re-schedule your date/time to accommodate this talent’s needs. Working talent in the entertainment industry lock in on booked work on a first come first service basis.
6. Lock in quickly when you find the right talent. As stated in #5, talent lock in for work on a first come, first serve basis. Every talent is a different level of their acting career and some are scheduled out 4-8 weeks in advance. The talent cannot cancel one project to work another project, commitments are required in all situations.
7. Keep all communication with the agency. If your production needs to communicate with the talent, always cc the agency in all email discussions. Remember, the agency will be the one sending the invoice for your production, not the talent.
Communication is key. May you find the talent of your dreams when seeking someone to represent your brand.