Thursday, September 23, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 568: Should my headshots be black and white or color?

I have not heard this question in years! This is really a question I would poll casting directors with. That said, in my opinion, the majority of actors have color photos. Black and white could make you appear dated or "not in the know." There is standing out because you "stand out" and there is standing out because you don't know what you're doing.

Color photos used to be cost prohibitive, that is no longer the case.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 567:What do you do when you get so many conflicting opinions for advice?

You choose the advice that resonates most with you and base it on the people you're asking. Ask yourself:
1. Who's career path do you respect the most?
2. Who's character do you respect the most?
3. What are you willing and not willing to do?

It's always easy when you're getting the same advice from everyone. Then it is clear what you must do. But when the advice is conflicting, you have to use your decision making skills to determine what's best for you.


For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 566: A CD told me not to put any links on my emails because they are distracting, is this true?

If you asked 10 casting directors, you'd get 10 different answers. You are a business. You have to promote yourself. If you are sending in a headshot and resume for a project with a note, any additional links to social media, a website, a movie trailer, a reel, a blog, etc., would go under your signature. If they don't want to be distracted, they don't have to read down that far.

That said, make a note of the CD who doesn't like it and when you write to her/him, remove your signature.


For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Monday, September 20, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 565: How many hats can I wear at one time?

If you mean on one project, you can wear as many as you can handle. The challenge is to do every job well, and when you wear too many hats, the one hat that you want to "excel" at, may backfire on you.

When I've produced shows that I've acted in, I've never been able to do 100% of the work on my acting that I do when I'm just acting. It's no fun to produce a show in order to be seen as an actor and then have the end result be something that falls short of your true talent.

Now, if you mean in general, you can wear as many hats as you want in the industry, BUT and this is a big but, do not mix your "hats" on your marketing materials. It's one thing to be a writer/director, but an actor who writes should have separate business cards for each, as should a DP/Producer. When people start seeing a list of what you can do on your cards and resumes, they figure you're not a specialist in one area.


For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Sunday, September 19, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 564: Every time I take my daughter to a commercial audition we both book it. Should I get her an agent?

If you want to. Do you want your daughter to go on auditions for herself? Does she enjoy it or does she enjoy it because she's doing it with you? If you're asking if it will be easy to get her an agent, with her working track record, she definitely has an advantage.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Saturday, September 18, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 563:I find some of the things you say to do tedious.

That's not a question, but I'll address it anyway. If you find things tedious, don't do them. You have choices; you can get someone else to do the tedious actions for you, or you can find the actions that work most effectively for you and avoid the tedious ones.

I give you enough ideas that you don't have to do everything. Choose the things you enjoy or don't find as tedious. It is business after all, not everything is going to be creative and fun, but you can still make the most of the actions that are necessary to advance your career.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Friday, September 17, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 562:How long should it take to sell a screenplay?

There is no way to say. All I know is if no one reads it, you'll never sell it. Some scripts get bought up lickity-split and others float around the industry for years. I'm sorry I don't have a more definitive answer for you, but making a living as a screenwriter is taking a risk, a wonderful risk, but a risk nonetheless.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

entertainment industry coach question 561: Why are so many movies the same as old movies?

Because there are only so many stories out there and people want to put their own twist on it. If you mean why are they remaking the exact same movies, again, new times, new technology, new actors, new director, new vision.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visitwww.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

To stay current on The Greenlight Coach's speaking engagements, recommendations, and work success articles, sign up for her free newsletter at the top of the page and get a great bonus 1-hour MP3 on creating powerful business partnerships when you do!

Getting Jobs in Entertainment question 1280: I grew up in India and as a result English is my second language (cont'd)

"I grew up in India and as a result English is my second language. I  am looking to improve my comprehension when I read my text book...