As the years have clicked on, more and more production companies have asked us hosts to shoot our own audition videos. Urg. What am I? A production house? Or, am I simply talent?
You said a mouth-full, my dear.
You need to be much more than just a pretty face, these days or you’ll get left in the dust. Indeed, at times, you DO need to be a mini-production house. Sure, you COULD hire out producers, writers, editors, hair/make-up for each audition that needs to be taped OR you could suck it up and learn to do it all yourself.
I know what you’re saying, “I don’t WANT to be a producer/writer/editor because if I did… I would have become a producer/writer/editor. I’ll just hire out.”
Well, hang with me for a second and hear why I think it’s smart to become your own mini-studio. If you have an understanding beyond that of your role as talent, you can become invaluable to the production company (once hired, of course). See, if you understand what it takes to put together an audition tape then you’ll understand what it takes to put together an actual TV show… which means, that you’re an asset to the production not just a pretty face who’s saying your lines and waiting to be told what to do.
Non-fiction programming can be an extremely collaborative process if you have the ability to speak “their language.” So, if you’d like to make yourself an invaluable asset to a show, learn to speak producer/writer/editor. Besides, you’ll save yourself a bunch of dough and in the process you’ll obtain some skills that could actually make you money, in the long run. How’s that for a turn around?!
By the by, the industry term for what you’ll now be is: predator. Funny, huh? And, not necessarily funny ha ha.
In the infamous words of my husband, Marty Metro, “Good luck and be yourself!”