Friday 21 February 2014

Tom Morgan goes to Hollywood!

Do you remember Tom Morgan's explosive dream-come-true last year? 

Just a few weeks ago, at the tender age of 16, Tom set off to Hollywood to take part in a week long intensive course under the guidance of industry professionals in Los Angeles. 

We spoke with Tom in September last year (you can read the interview here), after finding out that he had won an all expenses paid trip to take part in the Hollywood Immersive course courtesy of Bettina Management, Kids in Showbiz and Hollywood Immersive. 

In the interview, Tom shared his indescribable excitement at being offered the chance of a lifetime, and now with the trip complete, we asked him to share stories on his recent adventure and path for the future. 


Tom with Cindy Brady from the Brady Bunch (Susan Olsen)
First up, welcome home! Can you describe your experience in 3 words?
Humbling, Life-changing, Career-defining.

What was your highlight of the course?
There were tonnes of highlights, but my favourite part would probably have to be meeting Cindy Brady from The Brady Bunch (pictured on the right) and learning what she had to say about acting and the acting industry. I also enjoyed filming my showreel on set at a park in Beverly Hills and also the ‘showcase’ on the last day where we performed in front of a few industry professionals.

What were the major things you took away from the course? That I needed to speak louder and clearer and stand still when I am performing. At the end of the course I found that I am now a much more confident person and speak louder in general conversations with people. This course does not just improve your acting skills it also improves your speaking skills and public speaking skills, which is also an important part of acting, especially if you want to win an Oscar.

What did you think of Hollywood? I loved Hollywood, it would have to be the best place I have been to hands down. I am absolutely in love with Hollywood, it is surprisingly a lot more different than Melbourne and Australia and I would love to go to Hollywood again just for a holiday, so that I could see the landmarks like the Hollywood sign, Walk of Fame, Paramount Studios, Sunset Boulevard, etc.

Can you give us a brief idea of what a typical day was like? A typical day would consist of waking up at about seven o’clock to do exercise then having a quick shower, getting dressed and going to an acting studio to do acting classes from about ten till five. We were taught by Andrew Schaifer who has appeared in movies such as The Wedding Singer and Deuce Bigalow and is also a very, very funny bloke.

Looking to the future, what do you see ahead? In the future I am looking to keep on going with my acting classes and audition for jobs and acting roles frequently in the hope that I will land a role in a movie or T.V. series.

What was your biggest inspiration on the journey? The SAG’s (Screen Actors Guild Awards) were on at the same time that I was in Hollywood and watching them and their acceptance speeches inspired me a lot. An acceptance speech that really inspired me was the acceptance speech of Bryan Cranston. It reminded me never to give up and made me realise that the good times will come

‘I’ve had so many crappy jobs in my life, I gotta tell ya, I loaded trucks downtown, the only thing that got me through was imagining, dreaming that one day I could actually make a living as an actor that’s what got me through’. 

It really does sound like the journey of a lifetime. We are so proud of Tom and know that with his determination and talent, he will succeed in fulfilling his dreams. Watch this space! 


Monday 10 February 2014

Industry Lingo

Booked - This means talent have been confirmed for a job with one of our clients. Congratulations!

Brief - A brief is a notice the casting department receives from a client. The brief is an outline of roles the client are looking to cast. This is how we know who to put forward, e.g. 4 year old girls or 10 year old boys of Asian descent. 

Call-sheet - A call-sheet will be sent to talent the day before a job, usually for film and TV. It is generally sent late in the afternoon and it will have all the details about where talent need to be, what time and what scenes need to be shot on the day. 

Call-time - A call-time is what is found on the call-sheet. It will have talent name, role, agent and what time talent will be required. 

Cancellation - Unfortunately the client, for a variety of reasons, is no longer is able or willing to proceed with the scheduled booking or shoot. 

Casting call - This means talent have been confirmed to attend a casting (meet and greet) with one of our clients to check suitability for a role they have in mind. 

Chat to camera - Usually popular in an audition for TV or film work, the client will ask talent to speak directly to the camera either saying a few lines or an introduction. This gives the client a good idea about confidence and speaking ability on film. 

Checking availability - Checking availability means that a client is interested in a child, but has not confirmed them for a job. In order to start organising the schedule, they often check to see if potential talent are available on the shoot dates.

Client -  A person or organisation using the services of Bettina Management to book talent, e.g. Target.

Fitting - A fitting is a paid job where a client requests a model to try on various outfits who meets specific sizing requirements. 

Show reel - Advanced artists usually have a show reel to 'showcase' their previous TV commercials and work they have featured in. They collate all the work together to put into one short video so a client can quickly see them acting in different scenarios. 

Member - A member is a person who is signed with Bettina Management for representation. 

On hold - On hold for a shoot or booking means that a child has been shortlisted for the role, and must be available - if required - for the shoot dates. 

Self-test - A self-test is an audition filmed from home. This must be sent to us so we can pass onto the client. All relevant details would be supplied. 

Wardrobe call - A wardrobe call is generally for film and TV. This is when you are called in to try on outfits and costumes before shooting or filming. You are paid for a wardrobe call. 

Weather check - If you are booked for a job, a client may let us know that the shoot is booked *weather permitting*. This means that the shoot will be outdoors, and they will need to check closer to the date to ensure the weather is suitable. If it isn't - the shoot will be rescheduled. 

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Different Types of Castings

In an effort to make the casting department and types of castings more transparent, here are some examples and definitions of different types of castings that your child could be asked to attend by a client. 

General Casting: 
A general casting is often the most common. This is a casting where the client selects the children they would like to meet specifically by name. The scheduled times are booked prior and talent usually have about 5 minutes with the client. During this time, the client will take a quick snapshot of the child, follow by polite greetings (age depending). 

Open Casting:  
1. Many of you may have seen our Facebook open casting calls. These call outs to our audience search for children in our online networks who are outside of our age brackets. For instance, from time to time, we receive requests for newborns or unique requests such as grandmothers who can juggle. When we can't fill the brief ourselves, we put it out to our Bettina community to try and assist our client as best as possible, while giving others an exciting opportunity. You can learn more about Facebook open casting calls here

2. There is also another type of open casting calls which are sometimes open to the public. There is usually an 'open window' of time in which talent can attend and meet with the client, however there is often long waiting time because the clients likely have not selected children by name so they can get very busy. On these occasions, we do try to weigh up the realistic benefit of you attending, although we ultimately leave the final decision up to you. 

Audition: 
An audition is more of a complex casting that requires preparation before you attend. This means that the castings generally last longer, because talent will either have to learn a few lines or chat to camera so the director or client can gauge how the talent interacts and appears on camera, and possibly with other members of the cast. Although sometimes, we don't receive anything - and this is most likely because the client will want your child to improvise when they arrive. In the case of us receiving audition prep, we will ensure you have all of the relevant scripts prior to your audition so you have ample time to practice!

Self-test audition: 
A self-test audition is when talent film their audition from home and send it to us. This form of auditioning is growing with popularity as it saves time and resources. You can get some tips from this post here