If you're serious about getting into the professional acting scene in Los Angeles, there are a few steps you must take in order to get your career going. Here are the real nuts and bolts of what you'll need to do to start.
Instructions
Headshots
1. Decide how much you want to spend. The quality of the photos doesn't always correlate to the price you pay, so make sure you feel comfortable with your photographer. Go in for a consultation the day before to discuss what you're looking for.
2. Have one main headshot taken and a few other more specific shots, including business and casual looks. Bring the right wardrobe for each type of shot.
Know which Hollywood stereotypes you may be and how you are unique. Do you fit into the "central casting stereotypes" of beach babe, geek, young dad, business professional, Silverlake hipster, college co-ed, academic type? Or are you a combination of a few of these? Make sure your headshots represent this.
Finally, have one or two choices printed and keep a computer file of jpegs of those shots plus two to three more of your favorites.
3. Have a commercial headshot done as well. This tends to be a 3/4-length shot with a big smile on your face. Solid, bold colors for wardrobe work well to give this look a polished commercial style. Commercials are a great way to get started and gain a reputation in L.A., and most pay a lot more than ultra-low budget films.
4. Get your main shot printed into business cards too. These little gems are useful for networking, and you will use them more often than you think!
Resume
5. Find examples of the accepted resume format and make sure to conform to industry standards. Here are the essentials:
Your name should be written prominently at the top of the page. Underneath this, indicate any union affiliation, contact details for yourself or your agent, and your height, weight, eye and hair color.
6. Make separate sections to list your experience such as Film, TV, Theater, Commercial and Industrial, and include a section on Training.
7. For each credit, include the name of the project, either the name of the role or simply whether it was a principal role or supporting, and the name of the director/producer.
Submissions Websites
8. Become a member of at least two submission websites. These are websites that display the available breakdowns of everything from feature films and TV shows to spec commercials and student films. The three most important websites are Actor's Access, LA Casting, and Now Casting.
9. Build your profile first on Actor's Access, which is the most professional one you will be expected to have a profile on by any agent in L.A. You will probably not get the most auditions from this site initially, but the ones you do get tend to be much higher quality.
10. Join LA Casting and check in with their frequently updated breakdowns at least once a day. LA Casting contains more accessible breakdowns for student films as well as ultra-low budget films and the occasional non-union commercial. It also lists background roles, which can be a way to get into the Screen Actors Guild.
11. Join Now Casting if you are interested in doing student films or need to get experience before getting paid gigs. Now Casting is the most amateur of the three, but if you are trying to build a reel, it's a great resource for all the student films and shorts that people are trying to do on a low- or no-budget basis. It randomly also contains breakdowns for the TV show "Life" as well as a couple of other great auditions.
12. Create a reel of your work with the best material you have of your acting. This is a series of clips of your acting edited together to form a short video of your talent.
Post this on the three websites above because many projects will accept reel submissions so the casting directors can see your work before they bring you in. Prospective agents occasionally ask for a reel too.
Acting Classes
13. Enroll in at least one kind of acting class at a time. Focus on learning the nuts and bolts of film acting and auditioning in LA.
14. Find a reputable commercial class. These classes are essential to learn the nuts and bolts of auditioning for and acting in commercials. Even if you're the most talented actor in the world, you will never guess what some of the conventions are, and being able to practice them in a safe environment will greatly reduce your nerves when you audition for the real thing.
15. Find Casting Director workshops that last longer than one session so you can cultivate a real relationship with the CD. The longer you spend with a casting director, the more he will remember you when a project comes up in the future.
16. Network with all the people you meet in these classes and workshops. It is so important in this industry, but don't just schmooze--work on connections with people you get along with and people whose work--or even work ethos--you admire.
