Brisbane is fast becoming a mecca for overseas big budget movie production as well as producing TVC’s (television commercials) and television series in the beautiful river city and its surrounds. The push has come,  given our english speaking multicultural nature, amazing scenery and high level of expertise in producing great visual content for the local and world markets. The upside for actors or anyone thinking about starting out as an extra in the film industry is the large volume of work and jobs being created for actors and extras in movies and television commercials here in Brisbane.

We wrote this post after seeing a report on Nine local news. The piece was all positive for people looking at breaking into this field but unfortunately there was not a lot of information around getting started in this segment of the market.

Below we will lay out a plan and give you some great tips to get started in gaining access to all the new and exciting productions about to happen in Brisbane and the Sunshine State.

This first tip involves creating your CV. It’s how potential casting professionals will locate you and assess your suitability for roles, be it for an extra in a movie or a well paid spot in an advertising commercial for a product or service.

Within the industry it’s you and your face that’s your first selling point. A great headshot is your biggest asset in getting paid work. A professional photographer specialising in actors headshots is the magic bullet for gaining attention.

Because we work in the industry with close ties to Brisbane and interstate talent agencies. Professional actors headshot photographers in this field know what works and importantly what's going on locally and which agencies are kicking goals for their talent. A good photographer is able to make you feel relaxed, assess your face and features and guide and direct you through a range of expressions to create an image that is flattering and grabs viewers attention.

Part of our methology around photographing talent is to also create additional images that look cinematic in their approach if budgets permit. These images give the impression the shots are stills taken on set or extracted from the actual footage. Casting professionals quite often see these shots as the person having experience and/or are able to picture the actor far more easily in a role based on these story/place styled images.

Next is creating the written content to highlight you and any unique skillsets you may have. Say you can play a musical instrument or perhaps you're fluent in a second language. Perhaps you can ride a horse.or a skateboard. All these things count when writing your bio. The casting agents will use these specific keywords when looking for talent so make sure you list down all the things you think your good at.

Also something that can really be a boost and make you stand out from the crowd is the addition of a video of yourself talking a little about who you are.  These are called a number of things, A "Self tape" if your doing it yourself or a "Bio intro"  Start with who you are and any experience in theatre or hobbies you may have and the things we listed above like playing the guitar or riding a bike. Sometimes casting agents want to hear your voice to gain an insight to your suitability especially to a speaking role. But overall a video is just such a  viable medium and it’s important to understand that this has to be professional as well as something with bad sound quality will actually harm your chances instead of enhancing.

Showreels are video compilations of your best work from past projects. This applies for actors who already have experience and can access their past work in order to put together their "Reel".

This also leads me to another type of video production also called Showreels within the industry. Some video production companies specialise in producing new content for their clients who don't currently have content to post. These showreels can consist of monologues (1 person) or dialogues (2 or more people) shot with a script usually selected by you and have moderate production values. Costs for these can range from $750-$2000 depending on the quality and experience and size of the production crew.

Last but not least is finding a good agent who is in demand by casting professionals from advertising agencies and movie production companies. We suggest the age old practice of googling and calling to see who is accepting new talent as their books open and close week to week depending on demand. But in the meantime our big tip is to list your CV and headshot on starnow.com It’s a common go to for professionals looking for extras and talent for upcoming production. We have photographed actors and extras who gained roles in "Aquaman" “Thor Ragnarok” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” through Star Now and other online talent portals.

If you're after a great "Actors headshot" or a "Bio intro video" as a personal passport to some great roles visit our site here for more info

https://www.brisbaneheadshots.com.au/actors-talent

Good hunting and we look forward to seeing you on the big screen!