Hi Bonnie, and Happy New Year! 🙂
A friend and I were having a discussion about submissions on LA Casting and Actors Access, and I thought you would be a good person to confer with about this question.
If a young woman was submitting for a film (or even a music video, perhaps) that specifically wants body-conscious, full-length pictures, and she doesn’t have those exact types available, would it be considered sleazy to include her measurements in the submission?
This may fall into the “It Depends” category, but I’d love to get your feedback. Thanks!
Well, Reese, you nailed it, of course. It definitely depends. For me, when I’ve asked for body-conscious or full-body photos for specific casting needs, measurements would not do the trick for me. We’re in a visual industry and — just like a headshot is better than JUST a resumé (and a reel is better than JUST a headshot and resumé) in terms of helping us get very clear on what we’ll be getting, when we invite you into the room — a full-body photo is going to be more helpful than JUST the measurements or the measurements with a tight headshot.
That said, if it’s all an actor has to offer and he or she wants to submit on the project, I suppose that’s better than nothing, right? But it might not lead to an audition, since there are many other people who ARE providing exactly what was asked for, and the numbers are overwhelming. Remember, we’re trying to thin out the numbers, and you help us do that, every time you don’t give us exactly what we ask for, or every time you give us homework (like, “Visit my site for more photos”) while others have provided us with NO additional work.
So, the best thing an actor who regularly submits on projects that may ask for body-conscious, full-body shots as a part of that submission process can do is — you guessed it — have those shots available as a part of his or her profile, so they’re handy and ready when needed. Sure, second choice is providing measurements and/or a link to additional photos, but it’s a distant second choice, with a far better first choice option available.
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001290.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.