Self-Tape Setups, Agent Advice, and Why You Need to Keep Grinding Ep 77

MAX: 00:12
Welcome back to Two Unemployed Actors. I'm Max. I'm Sam. Huge show today. I am really busy actually, and I'm going to tell you how I did it because I spoke to a couple actors last week and they're like, why are you so busy? Why? How? How is it? Why is it so? What's the secret? Yes. Sam's going to give us an update on a chat with your agent. A few other bits and pieces. Brilliant. Indeed. That will happen. I got I was supposed to be doing just before you arrived, Sammy. I did leave him waiting by the door for a while, but at um I was in the office side.

SAM: 00:43
I've been here since last week. I didn't leave.

MAX: 00:46
I was trying to um get started on um some voiceover jobs, and uh next thing you know, I'm watching Neurburg Ring fails and car crashes. I'm like, I just got sucked into the time, the YouTube rabbit hole, and uh that's where I ended up. So uh not ideal. Uh my focus, you know, was kind kind of wavering today, but it was a busy day. I I had self-tape day today, but um I've got some work coming up. So I I um on Sunday playing a character in the short film Flood and Fire. It's finally happening. Producer email today were confirmed. Oh yeah, that one that you've got to do. War drive confirmation tomorrow, yes. The one that was postponed because of the real fire and a pandemic. Um and then Tuesday uh piece to camera for RSVP and Wednesday advertisement for a cleaning product, which is interesting. So very work and busy. Uh no, no, jobs, actual jobs, and voiceover jobs I've got to get done before then because I'll be busy uh learning scripts and stuff. And today was self-tape day where I read I took the opportunity while the camera's set up on the lights and everything to redo my introduction on Star Now, keep that refreshed and up to date. Yep. Uh audition for well, I read for two roles for this film in Newcastle that's TBC. Which role? Uh hopefully that will help him make up his mind. Yep. He'll say, No, you should have both. Uh no. And roles audition for a present uh for a training video, for a corporate training video, which will be fun. So, yeah, I mean, look, it's a bit busy, which is great. I love it when it's and it's sort of busy enough where it's not too busy that oh my god, I've got scripts coming out everywhere, and I'm just trying to get two grips on one and I've got to try and do another one. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, um, but I guess this is what I told uh a couple of people last week. Like, there's no shortcuts, there's no secret. It's it's it's what we've been saying all along. Like, just keep busy with um auditioning, keep busy with your monos or whatever. If you're not if you're not busy with auditions and work, then get into that headspace by working with your monos. Improv and stuff. It just takes to keep going. Keep um so be good at what you do, keep practicing it and tell people about it. So don't be afraid to go, oh I'm worried about my friends or think I'm still harping on about this project I've talked about too much. But just do it. Because like I found in keeping people up to date, whether it's every now and then on my own Facebook or it's regularly on Max Actor Facebook or even LinkedIn. I mean, LinkedIn generated the most amount of views for my show reels.

SAM: 03:34
Yeah, yeah, you came out last week.

MAX: 03:36
Which one led to directly to a job at a friend of mine who worked with the corporate go, love that reel. It was great when you did the MITA 10 stuff. That was fantastic. Can you come and do videos like that for us? Um, and that turned into not just doing, you know, a presenting to camera gig for them, um, but a couple more, and also voicing over their IVR system and phone system. So there's sort of like a un a uh a consistent, up-to-date, you know, uh touch point where it's you know, Mr. Maxi. Yeah, so is it so it LinkedIn, I mean, come on, like who'd have thought, right? Even when we started the podcast, like as if we'd be saying everyone, LinkedIn's a great spot, but it's just another spot. I think to get back on track, look, it's just keeping things up to date. Um so being good at what you do and practicing it, tell people about it and um keep everything up to date. Make it easy for people to contact you.

SAM: 04:32
Yeah, nice.

MAX: 04:33
I I mean, don't forget you've got these online platforms. There's nothing worse than having someone view and then you go in and oh my god, that's my old showreel, or my first showreel stuff. Well, you don't look like that anymore. Oh my god, you know, it's like, and you know, hear from them and it's like oh um I I did a I made a mistake once recently when I was in Vimeo and I uploaded of uh a short and they were waiting on it. Like I knew they were waiting on it, and I had to do the read to camera and everything. I edited it real quick, uploaded Vimeo, and I was so excited to get it done. I copied the link and sent it to them. Um and I'm waiting and I'm waiting. I got uh an email back going, um, the link doesn't work.

SAM: 05:14
Yeah, I always check the link now.

MAX: 05:16
You know that moment where you're in Vimeo and you're managing it, and you copy that link. Well, that link is from the manage, so you've got to be logged in as you into your manage, yeah, and then you can see the video. Yeah, whereas if you go there's a public link which is outside of that. So anyway, just a little FY on Vimeo, but uh it happens to the best of us. But uh, you know, all online platforms are to date, keep auditioning, keep your agent up to date.

SAM: 05:41
So speaking, speaking of keeping things up to date.

MAX: 05:44
Yes, yeah.

SAM: 05:45
So I I spoke to my agent the other day, we had a call which was really good. Um pretty much spoke about uh so so Eton management at least does a lot of their stuff through Showcast. Right bits and pieces through casting networks, but mostly through Showcast. Okay. Uh so he he uh contacted Showcast for me, upgraded my Showcast so then I could put up media. I was like, why can't I put up anything? And I'm like, oh, here's the upgrade button. So that was really cool. So he did that. Um I've shoved my show I asked him about my showreel because I did send it to him, and he said, Yep, great, amazing, whatever. That's great. So I shot put that up on Showcast. Yeah, I I even kept saying, like, any any tips, any anything missing. Yeah, he's like, Well, it's four minutes, so but it's it's a good showreel, but you we want now shorter snippets of separate things as well. I was like, Yes, that was my plan anyway. So I put up my show reel, put some more photos up as well, um, and now I'll go and do some more self-tapes, uh, send him heaps, just constantly new new footage, and then put up that's a great resource for them to send you for stuff. Yeah, and then put up three or four self-tapes that contrast up on showcast as well. Yeah, great. So he was saying now, you know, uh, before COVID or during COVID, most casting directors or whatever were happy with yeah, that was a good self-tape. Yeah, yeah, that was fine. Now you have to be it's good quality, good lighting, good this, and and and spot on perfect acting.

MAX: 07:19
Yep, yep, yep.

SAM: 07:21
Um, obviously, no such thing as perfect acting, everything's kind of real and raw. There's gonna be different, yeah. Just something that's good.

MAX: 07:30
Um less of just getting something down on tape and more about you living and breathing that script, that character for a while. Exactly.

SAM: 07:36
And that's your hundredth take that you're and he said, you know, if you if you don't have good material up on showcast, that they're not gonna they're not gonna spend time what uh uh considering you even. And he said there's a lot of stuff coming through at the moment. Um just need more material. So that was a it was actually a very productive phone call. That's good. I was happy with it.

MAX: 07:54
Are you finding from that that you probably go and maybe ask, you know, what sort of stuff's coming that you'd think you'd submitted me for and then working through scripts that would work for that and maybe go back to Grant?

SAM: 08:06
Y Yes, yes. So he so he's so he sent me through some scripts to just do.

Speaker: 08:11
Oh, brilliant.

SAM: 08:12
Yeah, yeah, and and he also got uh one of his one of the agents that he's he's hired as well, who I've spoken to before, his name's Luke, and sent me through some uh like a link to get short ones, like short quick ones, right, which is really really good for that stuff. Okay, um, and you know, I'll do a lot of it at home, and I think I'll I'll head back to Grant eventually as well uh with Jess, hopefully. Um yeah, it's just it I did I don't want to rely too much on Grant because he does live quite far for us, and and now So it's a more considered approach if you're getting comfortable or you need a bit of a kick, a bit of a shakeup, then you'll do it. Rely on it because um then we have to kind of make time for it, which is fine, but just because of our busy schedules and just life in general, I don't want to put aside self-taping for that. Yeah, yeah. Um keep practicing. You know, I just do it when I can get it in there and do some more stuff and grant. But but that's so but that's cool and all that stuff. Um and money as well. And m what yeah, there's all that stuff. But you know, you gotta stay stay with it, stick with it, and you know, sometimes you get broke, sometimes it's feast and famine. I mean, that's just the nature of the creative world. But yeah, no, so that was great, and uh it's yeah, talking to Mark about all that. That's good. Um feel a lot more confident about it.

MAX: 09:35
Um he's happy where you're at and stuff with what you just planned.

SAM: 09:38
He just wants more of my self-tapes, you know. So I've just got to do more and more. Gotta I I was thinking about even even putting aside a day per week. This is my self-tape day. Okay. Um, that would probably be Monday or Tuesday.

MAX: 09:51
Yeah.

SAM: 09:51
Uh and then I'm but also, you know, if there's one day I'm like, oh, if you like doing a self-tape today, I'm not gonna be like, nah, leave it for self-tape day. You know, you just do it.

MAX: 09:58
It's a good way to get into that habit because then when an audition comes and you've got, you know, a short amount of time to get used to the script, yeah. You're used to setting it up, used to editing the tape, used like all that stuff that can slow you down. The technical stuff is all automatic somewhat so that you can just focus on getting the right tape down. 100%. Practice makes perfect. Who'd have thought?

SAM: 10:21
Who'd have thought practice makes perfect? Yeah, no, it definitely applies in uh this industry.

MAX: 10:25
It does, it does, because you don't want the wrong link or a deleted file or something you know technical going wrong and just undoing all of your work or even.

SAM: 10:35
You want to be able to focus on the acting and not worry about am I doing this right? Is the camera set up okay? You want it all to be pretty second nature with that stuff.

MAX: 10:43
And like we've we film for those watching on a YouTube channel, we film I've got a Panasonic HD camera, it's perfect for camera, perfect for film, perfect for camera. Um but perfect, but uh but um when I do my self-tapes, I've got a little rig, uh a little plastic rig off eBay where I can slide the phone into, and I've got my $90 road uh mic go which plugs into my my phone. So I use my phone and it's not a fancy new thousand dollar one, it's like a $500 um Oppo, but it does record HD well and I can click the mic in. Yep. So I can travel with it if I need to travel. Yeah, obviously I've got my phone. And most phone cameras are are good now. Yeah, yeah, they're great. And so with that and the and the go, I'm finding that the audio quality I do less in post, like it's it's it's great. Yep. Um picking up more, especially with the two-hander of me and less of the reader with that little directional road. Yep. Um, so with that little rig, like it's much easier than me, you know, getting the tripod out and trying to organize the HD cam and then marrying up this recording the sounds separately and then getting them both organized. You know, you want it to be as easy as possible. Yes. And even today, uh funnily enough, being self-tape day, um, I already had a response back from one going, oh clearly you can do the role, I'll put you forward to the client and we'll see. So fingers crossed. Um, so like I've never had anyone go back and go, Well, I can't get I can't quite understand you. What's wrong with the audio, or you know, can't quite see you properly, or the framing's off, or I haven't had that yet, touch wood. So the rig is working, um, it's doing its bit, so it's just all on me, basically. And the client's decision, of course. Yes. I had a job this week that I missed um so funny because I applied for this, it was like a tourism shoot for north northern New South Wales, a couple of hours away. Yeah, I applied, they got back to me and said, Oh, we're happy to use you for South New South Wales. Here's a whole lot of dates. Can you do that? And my eyes just lit up going, oh, it's like a week's worth of work. I'm available for all that except one, but if you tell me today, if you confirm me today, I can get rid of that one or whatever, and then they're like, No, no, no. We want you for one. Each shoot is separate for a separate people. So we I'm like, oh, okay, but we'll put you forward for this one, which happened to be a two-day shoot, so yay. And they cover expenses, and it was down on the south coast. Um, oh, and do you know a female that we can put you forward with? Um, oh, okay, so I asked Emma, my my ex, and um who happened to be available, she said, sure, fine, no worries. So I put her forward. And uh and um they decided to go with an older demographic, so for both of you. For yeah, so okay, so they're gonna go with an older, older couple, so I'll take that as a as a compliment. But uh so so close but so far away. Um it's funny, like also because Emma and I we're gonna really well, which is great, because otherwise it would have been a bit awkward asking your ex to yeah. Especially to probably especially to play a couple, you know. She's like, what's involved? Oh, you know, it's like walking on the beach and eating dinner out and stuff like that. Just like to each that waiting for something exciting, like you know, it's it's it's it's a scene from a movie or something. No, just you know, we're just doing that. Yeah, welcome to my world. Have you heard back yet? Was a common common question from Emma. I'm like, no, welcome to my world. You walk back to it. They're like, we've put you forward to the client, waiting on a response, and you're waiting, you're waiting. You wait, you wait, yeah, waiting. And then last minute, actually, no, uh, all yes. You guys are too young. So I took that rather than a bit. Something Max has never heard. No, not used to, which is why I make a big deal of it now. But uh yeah, so funny. That would have added to a really busy, busy week. So in a way, it's kind of I've got other voiceover stuff coming in, so I'm kind of like, okay, I can calm down now and and and and and take a moment to watch Nurberg Ring crashes.

SAM: 14:36
Yeah, yeah.

MAX: 14:37
Instead of doing a voiceover job that I promised today that I will do after this, I promise.

SAM: 14:42
Yeah, for those of you who have never watched us on YouTube, um, I clearly am is I have a younger voice. Yeah.

MAX: 14:51
I I'm it sounds older, but I'm very mature, so I make up for it in other ways.

SAM: 14:54
Yeah. Um we're about 20 years apart.

MAX: 14:60
Give or take a decade or 10.

SAM: 15:01
Give or take five years.

MAX: 15:02
Yeah. Five decades. A few minutes. Um one hot minute, yeah. So yeah, so I think I think it's really interesting that we're we're on the same track in terms of just keeping work fit and keeping telling people about what we're doing and keeping everyone up to date. And I think that's work fit indeed. That's it. You you the more you're doing that, the more often you find yourself with these busy weeks or so where you've got a few pro projects that you're juggling. Should be good. It just all sort of adds up, you know, and people you work in the past, etc.

SAM: 15:33
Have you watched any new shows recently? Well because I have, I'll interrupt you right there. Well, I think of one.

MAX: 15:42
What have you been watching, Sam?

SAM: 15:43
So have you heard of Sweet Tooth? Yes. Have you started it? No. Okay, it's really good. It looked a bit strange. It is strange, but it's okay, so it's on Netflix, isn't it? Mm-hmm. So my brother told me about to watch it. So Jess and I just started what well not just we started watching it and we're we finished the first season, which is only eight episodes. Okay. Um, and you know, that there's shows that have come out this year and late last year, and it's kind of implicitly suggesting a bit about COVID or they sort of reference it strangely, yeah. This is a smack in the face. Is it? This is uh holy wow. This is they're they're they're not calling it COVID, but it's definitely meant to be like that. And Jess finds it very like she was like, wow, at first she was it was very kind of like in her face. For me, I was like, that's awesome. No other show's doing that, and it's I think it's so powerful. Okay. Um pretty much it's about a virus that uh they they pr they address a lot of topics that are prevalent in 2021, which is really, really cool. Like um around the virus and a bit also like away from the virus. Okay, but um, yeah, so it's about a virus that occurs, uh, kills you if you get it, um, and at the same time hybrid babies are born. So they're half animal, half human. Okay, and I think that's a s that's a nice uh suggestion of like you know, uh animals can carry COVID, but they can't um get it. They can't actually have it, they can carry it. So I think it's a nice touch of that. You've got hybrid babies who are. So in the this show, the hybrids are immune and they also can't carry it, and they're half human, half animal. So I think and and the whole big question is what came first.

MAX: 17:35
Exactly.

SAM: 17:35
What came first, the hybrids or the virus is the big question. Uh and it's really well written. It's Warner Brothers. Okay. Um, so it's really, really good, and it's just yeah, it's produced amazingly.

MAX: 17:46
It sounds interesting. I'll give it a go because it was in the top ten uh when I last checked in on Netflix.

SAM: 17:51
I think my brother was saying so on Rotten Tomatoes, it's 97 critic review and 92 audience, which is very, very high. I'll put it on my list. Yeah, I was a bit hesitant as well. I was like, this is weird, but it's it's it's really well done. Okay. And and they've they've you know sometimes when they when you cast a like the lead role is a child. Yeah. And you cast them uh sorry, and they're cast, and you and you're watching them and it's kind of like they annoy you because maybe they have an annoying. Because it or maybe it reminds you of someone you don't like or they uh I mean any actor can do that, but with children it's especially I think easier to happen with children actors.

MAX: 18:26
Right.

SAM: 18:27
Either whether they have children annoy you in general, it's probably more Yeah, but or the acting style or the face or whatever it is. They've they've cast this so well. He's an incredible actor, young actor. He's he plays a ten-year-old, so he's probably around that age. Um and he's so he's great at acting, and he's got a very adorable face. So you empathize with him, which you're meant to really well. And they're they've just done it. I I just think it's a great show. Okay. Um I'll put it on my list. You should put it on your list.

MAX: 18:57
I think I what I've been revisiting a few. I went through a sci-fi phase. I I watched um the Cloverfield uh Paradox while we're talking about sci-fi Netflix.

SAM: 19:08
Is that a show or film?

MAX: 19:09
Uh film, Cloverfield Paradox. So I've been revisiting a bit. Is it good? Uh yeah, yeah, it's a good second time too. And uh Jack Irish is back. I like uh Guy Pierce in Jack Irish, um, set in Melbourne, which is great, hometown Melbourne. And uh it's back on I think the first episode was Sunday. It's set in Melbourne. It's set in Melbourne.

SAM: 19:30
So they've got Aussie accents. Yeah, it's all Australian. Jack Irish.

MAX: 19:33
Uh worth a look. There's a few seasons, I think there's some seasons on um, if not Netflix. Yeah, Netflix. Yeah, I think they're on Netflix. Certainly on ABC iView, and uh the latest series is is up, so first episode was fun. So it's great to see familiar characters back, and Australian ones are that too, which is good. All right, so there's some uh tips and tricks. Make look happy for you guys to be part of the conversation too if there's stuff that you're finding is working more often. Call in. Yeah. Um not live, no, you can't call in. On uh on social media, um absolutely come engaged and let us know what's working for you guys. 100% and uh make sure you like and subscribe because we'll be back again next week. You're listening to unemployed actors. I'm Max. I'm Sam.