The Actor’s Survival Handbook

How to find work in Independent Film

Using this eBook

Thisebookisintendedasaguideforactorsthatarecurrentlyworking, or trying to 7ind work, in the dynamic world ofindependent7ilm.

This is all about pointers in the right direction.We are surethatyou’realreadyimplementingsomeoftheadvicehere,andsomeof itwill benew.We’ll also showyouhow tomake themost of the opportunities that are availablewith the Lift-OffGlobalNetwork.

This ebook best used by professional actorswho know theircraftinsideoutandarereadytorockandroll,sotospeak,andfor those who wish to use the Lift-Off Global Network tofurthertheircareer.

Thisbookissplitintothesesections:1. Knowyourposition inthemarketplaceandhowtoclimbtheladder

2. Usingthetoolsatyourdisposalto=indwork3. Taking advantage of the Lift-Off Global NetworkCommunity

1.Knowyourplaceinthemarketandhowtoclimbtheladder

There is a professional ladder in the indie 7ilmworld that you need toclimb.Itstartswithstudent7ilmandendsinbigblockbustermovies.Itisasaturatedmarketplace–youdon’tneedustotellyouthat–butifyouknowthechallengesthatlieaheadthenyoucanturnthemintoweapons.

Whetheryou’re juststartingout,or looking tomakea fewstepsup theladder,thegoodnewsisyoucanalwaysmoveforward.

Sohowdoyoumoveforward?-Byworkingonqualityprojects,doing

yourbestwork,andnetworking.

You cannot start at the top. There are the fantasy stories, the actorsstraightfromactingschoolthatarethrustintothelimelight,andifthatisyoufullpowertoyou–butyouareverymuchtheexception.Fortherestofyouthere isa ladder,actuallymore likeamazeof ladders,branchingintodifferentgenresof7ilm-differentnichesanddifferentdirections.

Youareunlikelytogetcastinaleadingroleonamidrange£/$5Millionmovie,withouta strongpro7ileofwork in similarprojects.Youare justtoomuchofarisk-evenifthecastingdirectordidseeyouatthattheatrefestival,andyouwereincredible.

Ideally youwill be recommended by someone closely connected to theproduction, you will have some similar work under your belt, andperhapsevenabitofasocialmediapresencehypeaboutyou–pressandreviewsandthelike.Ifyou7itthepartandhavealloftheabove,youmaybeinvitedbythecastingdirectortoauditionforthe$5millionmovie.

Sohowdoyougettothisplace?Youhavetowork.

–Ben Pohlman, Co-founder, Lift-Off Global Network

“Only work on projects that you respect, and always

try to do work that you are proud of”

Findinggreatroles,ongreatprojects

You do not have to work in poor quality projects! I cannotstress this enough. I have seen careers falter and grind to astandstillbecauseof thepressure that theactor feels to takeanyoldjob,especiallyifitpays.

Ifyoursouldoesn’tsingwhenyouworkthenyouarenotgoingto give a great performance, and you will be contributingnothing to the world and to yourself. This way creativequicksandlies.Youwilllieinbedandwonderwhyyourdreamcareeristurningintoanightmare.

Itisveryhardtoprogressinacareerifyouareassociatedwithcrapprojects.

Thegoodnews is that in independent 7ilmthere is incredibleworkbeingmadeatalllevels.Youdonotneedtogettothe$5million featuremark, toworkwith creatively exciting peopleandbeinvolvedwithanoutstandingproduct.

‘The actor that takes her career in her own hands andpushesherselftowhereshewanttobe,istheactorthatwillbe the most satisDied andmost successful. Just rememberthat it is a map and the map is not the territory. Bepreparedtotakearightturnifneeded.’

-JAMESBRADLEY,Co-founder,Lift-OffGlobalNetwork

2.Usingthetoolsatyourdisposalto=indwork

Howto=indworkthatexcitesyou

Who are the directors that you want to work with? I’m nottalkingaboutthedreamA-Listdirectors;I’mtalkingaboutthenewvoices, thedynamic, the independentcreativesproducingtheworkof tomorrow. Canyou list the top5upandcomingproducersinyour ‘twodegreesofseparation’socialcirclethatyoureallywanttoworkwith?

Rightnow,andprobablysomewhereprettynearyou,thereisadirectormakingalowbudgetshort7ilm.This7ilmisgoingtobeexcellent.He’llwin someaward,play at a few festivals. In thefuturehe’ll 7indsomefundingtoproduceafeature7ilmandin10yearstimehe’llbemakingawardwinning7ilmsthatwillbeshown in theatres all over theworld.He is looking for actorsright now. And may end up working with the same peoplethroughouthiscareer.

Evenifyouragentisalreadygettingyousomeexitingauditionsdon't sitonyourbum. It’salwaysagood idea to 7indoutwhothepeoplearethatyouwanttoworkwith.

Educateyourself

Howmanyshort7ilmshaveyouseenfromyourpeers?Whysolow?Goto7ilmfestivals!Gotoshort7ilmnights!

– JAMES BRADLEY, Co-founder, Lift-Off Global Network

“Educate yourself in your local market place and you will empower yourself. Who is making the

kind of films that you want to be in? Go to film festivals, speak to the filmmakers and tell them that

you loved their work. Catch them before they become famous and stay in touch with them. When

they are casting for their next project perhaps you will fit one of the roles? Why not send them the

last project you were really proud of and ask for their feedback? Just remember that networking is

built on genuine connection. Nobody likes the weird, pushy actor that makes everyone feel

awkward.”

YourShowreel

Don'tjustcobbletogetheranyoldpieceofcrap.Thisisyournumberonesellingtool.I’llrepeatthat.Thisisyournumberonetool.

Doyouhaveagreatone,whichyouknowisanexampleofyourverygreatestwork? Ifnot thenyouneedtoworktowardsbuildingone.This is priority number one. And it comeswith working on greatprojects.

It’s always a good idea to get some objective feedback on yourshowreel,especiallyifyouloveit.Facebookfriendstellingyouhowgreat you are, with hundreds of likes, is not a good barometer ofhow good your showreel actually is. Are you really presentingyourselfinyourbestlight?Unlessyouareparticularlyblessed,itisvery hard to look past your own ego when reviewing your ownwork. Are you more used to acting in theatre and prone tooveractingonscreen?Areyoutryingtoreplicatea‘Hollywoodfeel’,when in reality you come across as cheesy and amateur? Do youmumble and generalise in scenes in attempt to come across asnatural?

Avoidshowreelmontagesliketheplague;youknowthetype-theyhaveprettyshotsandquickcutssettoinspirationalmusic.Thistellsacastingdirectorbuggerall,exceptthatyouloveyourself.

Instead, keep your showreel simple. Have two, three, four strongscenes.Andgetstraight to thepoint, it shouldmakesense,butwewanttolandinthejuicybits.Thinkofitfromacastingpointofview.Theshowreelwill likelybeusedtoascertainifyouaresuitableforthe role. The viewerwants to press play, see your name and youagent’s details, and then see you acting straight away. They don'twanttowait fora 7lashyintro.Theywillprobablyonlywatchforafew seconds before moving on anyway; the 7irst stages of theprocesswillonlybeusedtodrawupalonglistofpotentialactorstosendtothedirectorsandproducers,whowillthendrawupashortlistofwhotheywanttosee.

Starttheshowreelwithyourbestwork,andinaroleclosetoyourtype. If theviewer likeswhat theysee, theywill skip forwardandthenseelaterthatyoucanplayothertypesandcharacters.

Trytokeeptheworkonyourshowreelfresh.DitchthatoldfootagethatwasshotonapoorqualityDVcamatdramaschool.

Buildyourhype

If youhaven’t already;getyourself awebsite.Theyare cheapandeasy to build nowadays and serve as a great place to hold yourheadshot, CV, host your showreels and link to your social media.Have a news section about all the exciting projects that you areworking on, show news articles and blogs about you and theprojects that you are involved in. Blog about what you 7indinteresting. Make short videos on your phone with friends. Getcreative. You have to be careful and sensitivewith this; you don'twant a casting director to see something that will put them offcastingyou,butdon'tbeafraidtoshowpersonality.

Hopefully you will already have an agent/publicist working onpromotingyou,butit’salwaysagoodideatotakeabitofcontrolforyourself. Whenyouareinsomething,writetopressandbloggers,writeapressreleaseandsenditthem.Offerthemfreetickets.Keepfollowingupuntilyougetaresponse–theseguysaresuperbusy.Theaimis togetasmuchpress inches fortheprojectaspossible.Perhaps theywill review your performance?This kind of thing isgoldforanactingcareer.

Useonlinejobsites

Makesurethatyouareassociatedwithprofessionalinstitutions.Inthe UK for example, you need to be on Spotlight if you are to betakenseriously.Otherpro7ilesitesare7ine,butifyouarenotontheindustry professional standard, you will never be considered forjobsbyacertainleveloftheindustry.Avoidjobsiteswith‘star’orsimilarnomenclatureinthetitle.

3.TakingadvantageoftheLift-OffGlobalNetworkCommunity

We have built a global community around emerging7ilmmakingtalentofthehighestquality.From‘First-TimeFilmMakers’toOscarshortlistedshorts,andfreshvoicesinfeature7ilmproduction,thereisahugepooloftalentavailableatyour7ingertips.

The ‘Community’ section of our website allow directors,producers and scriptwriters to post new projects andopportunities and they are looking for actors to collaboratewithrightnow.Jobopportunitiesavailableforactorsinclude:

• Castingsforshortandfeature7ilm• Scriptreadthroughanddevelopmentworkshops• Devisingworkshopsattheconceptualstage

Tobecomeamemberclickhere

Membershipcosts$10/monthor$30/year

Other opportunities for actorswith the Lift-Off GlobalNetwork

Using the platform as a jobs board is just one of thefunctionsavailabletoyou.Otheropportunitiesinclude:

• FirstaccesstoLift-Offscreeningsacrosstheglobe

• FreeticketstoLift-Offnetworkingevents(7irstcome,7irstserved)

• Freeticketstoparticipateintheonline7ilmfestivalsthatrunalongsidethescreenings.Getexclusiveaccesstoupto100 short 7ilms from all over the globe, and receiveunparalleledaccesstothedirectorsandproducers

• ExclusiveaccesstoLift-Offdirectors

• Showreelbuildingopportunitiesfromourmembers.

Yousimplysignup,linktoyouronlinepro7ilesandwebsite,andyoucanstarttobrowsethejobsstraightaway.

Bestpractices

Why not use the free access to the online 7ilm festival toidentify the best up and coming 7ilmmakers in your area?There are ten of these a year, featuring short 7ilmmakersfromallovertheglobe.

Make sure that you attend the closest Lift-Off Festival.Wealwaysclosethefestivalwitha‘LocalFilmmaker’sScreeningandNetworkingParty’.ActorCommunitymemberswill beofferedfreetickets.

Whynot take advantageof the showreel building services,providedbyourmembers?

Got any ideas or tips that you think is missing from thisbook?Orjustfancyachat?Emailus.