Think Like A Man, Too Casting by email

You can still submit your materials by email, read the bottom part of the casting notice.

You can still submit your materials by email, read the bottom part of the casting notice.

Stolen Photos and Photography Copyright Laws:

Photography Copyright Laws
If it does not belong to you, it is not yours. If you take it, you are stealing. A simple, moral idea that is often betrayed. Copyright laws protect an artist’s work. Writers need to protect their words; photographers need to protect their images. The laws may appear to be complex, but the rules are basic.

Copyright
The U.S. Constitution and the Federal Copyright Act protect the original works of “authors.” The “author” is the copyright owner, and has exclusive rights to make copies of his work, create other works based on the original, display or perform the work in public and make copies of the work for sale, lease, rent or lending.

Photo Copyright Ownership
The “author” is the person who took the photo; the owner is the person who snapped the shutter. If a photographer takes a photo of you, that photographer owns the copyright of the photo. A photographer who is employed by a studio–or even newspapers–is not usually considered the “author,” the employer is.

Copyright Registration
Registration is not required for copyright protection. There is a $20 fee as of 2009 and forms that need to be filled out in order to register a copyright, which makes it a pricey and time-consuming for a photographer to register thousands of photos. Instead, a photographer may chose to register just his portfolio photographs.

Web Photos
Copyright infringement, the unauthorized use of copyrighted work, includes photos on the Web, as well as in print. Even if you do not see a copyright symbol, you should suspect that it probably is protected and not available for public use. It is recommended that photographers use copyright watermarks or include a copyright symbol to protect their images that appear on the Web.

Idea Copyright
An artist’s work is their own. There are more than a half-million images of the Golden Gate Bridge on Flickr, but each is unique to a specific photographer. It is possible for someone to try to recreate a more stylized or studio shot that is truly an original concept, but the infringement can be challenged, and it would be up to a court to decide on the degree of similarity between the works.

Talent Agent or Talent Manager – Know the difference?

Acting can be a confusing profession to those just starting out. There are so many unwritten rules, not to mention the scams that ruin the dreams of many talented actors. However, going into an acting career armed with knowledge will help minimize the confusion and maximize the success.

Many beginning actors mistakenly think that “talent agent” and “talent manager” are two names for the same job. Actually, they are very different, but in a similar way. The best way to explain the differences is to tackle the job responsibilities separately, giving actors a good idea of those differences.
A talent agent works for a talent agency where they use their contacts to arrange auditions for the actors represented by the agency. An actor should never pay a talent agent up front for auditions or representation. A legitimate talent agent should receive a ten to fifteen percent commission only from the work they find the actor. A talent agent should never receive any percentage above fifteen percent. 

Actors need a talent agent to survive. A talent agent is able to provide an actor with auditions they would not otherwise know about. Without the appropriate industry auditions, an actor’s career will go nowhere.

When securing a talent agent, actors should seek talent agencies franchised with The Screen Actors Guild (SAG). This means the agency and its agents have signed a contract agreeing to follow the rules regulated by the actors union.

A talent manager’s focus is more on managing an actor’s career than with arranging auditions. Talent managers keep in close touch with talent agents to ensure a shared vision for the actor, but a manager stays mostly on the management end of the actor’s career. Sometimes a talent manager may set up an audition for an actor, but that is not their focus. A talent manager will not guarantee auditions for an actor. Securing auditions is a talent agent’s job.

A talent manager handles public relations, business matters, and helps to make a plan and keep the actor on a path toward success. Actors usually don’t have a talent manager unless they have already seen some success and want to make a big jump in their career. Most actors cannot juggle the acting demands, interviews, and appearances that come with a prominent career. That is where a talent manager comes in.

Just as with talent agents, an actor should never pay a talent manager up front or for representation. Talent managers take a higher percentage of an actor’s earnings than a talent agent does. Typically, a talent manager receives a fifteen to twenty percent commission.

The differences between a talent agent and a talent manager vary, but their responsibilities are geared toward the same goal… advancing an actor’s career and getting the actor more acting jobs so the actors makes more money. The bottom line is that when an actor succeeds and gets paid, everybody gets paid. Both talent agents and talent managers will work hard to make that happen.

Management’s Responsibilities and Commission

A personal manager is not an agent (whose role is to obtain employment). A personal manager is not a publicist (whose role is to generate publicity). Nor is a personal manager an attorney (whose role is to provide legal counsel). And, a personal manager is not a business manager (whose role is to provide accounting, investment, and other financial services).
So what is the personal manager? All of it!!!!!

A personal manager is responsible for everything and anything that enhances the development of a performing artist’s career. From simple staging suggestions, to complex negotiations, to long term career plans, a personal manager lives the artist’s career every day behind the scenes. The manager’s commitment to and involvement in the artist’s career is one hundred per cent. The personal manager is the driving force breaking through the barriers of frustration and difficulty so often encountered in the entertainment industry. A personal manager is the person who believes in and keeps fighting for a client when all others have given up.

A personal manager advises and counsels talent and personalities in the entertainment and modeling industries. Personal managers have the expertise to find and develop new talent and create opportunities for those artists which they represent. Personal managers act as liaison between their clients and both the public and the theatrical agents, publicists, attorneys, business managers, and other entertainment industry professionals which provide services to the personal manager’s clients.

Picture a wagon wheel. At the very center is the axle. The axle is the performing artist around which everything revolves. The hub protects and supports the axle. That is the personal manager. The rim of the wheel is the artist’s career which travels on what can often be a bumpy, long, winding road. Connecting the hub with the rim are many spokes which give the wheel support in different directions. These are the agents, publicists, attorneys, business managers, and other industry professionals which support an artist on the road to success. When the wheel is well constructed, the artist’s journey can be smooth, speedy and successful.

With responsibilities like that, it is a prerequisite that a personal manager must have the broadest of experience in the entertainment industry. Professional personal managers are also well informed on industry practices, standards, and regulations. Plus, managers are alert to the constant changes affecting the entertainment industry. Only with experience and up to date knowledge can a personal manager benefit clients.

Commission

Personal Talent Managers shall generally be compensated on a commission basis.
• With the exception of reimbursements for monies advanced, no fee may be charged or collected for profit at the expense of a signed client by any Personal Talent Manager from any Model for:
a) Registering or listing the Artist in Entertainment Industry or other publications or registries
b) Letter writing
c) Photographs, film clips, graphics, video tapes or other reproductions of the Model’s likeness or performances
d) Any other charge or fee of a similar nature.
• Commission shall not exceed 15% of Models’s gross income from the areas of film, television, live theatre, publishing, licensing, merchandising, commercials, industrials, live performances, personal appearances and/or any other related fields of the Entertainment Industry, except for the areas covered by the Music and Modeling Industry, in which commission may not exceed 20% of the Model’s gross income.
• The term of a Personal Talent Management contract shall not exceed three years, except in the music field, where the term shall not exceed five years.

This helps the manager maintain resources that is used for the Model’s benefit; mobile devices, computer, electricity, and other basic needs to provide effecient services for the model.

Not paying commission will hender the manager from accomplishing their duties and can keep the model from working.

Ask yourself, would you consistently work for free?

About Agencies

Contractual Agreements

Most agencies sign their top talent to exclusive contracts in each market, which vary in length based on the model’s industry status and experience. However, because a good agency finds their models work and negotiates top price for their talent, they earn a management commission (between 10% to 20%) from every job they book on a model’s behalf. In addition, an agency usually bills a client an additional 20% service charge for booking the model, so a typical agency will make between 10-40% on each booking of which no more than 20% comes out of the model’s pocket. This varies outside the US due to each country’s law and taxes. Other contracts offered by modeling agencies are the mother agency contract and a non-exclusive contract. A mother agency tries to sign you with larger agencies, while non-exclusive agencies allow you to sign with other agencies (usually outside a certain city radius). Contracts typically last from a year to three years. A mother agency agreement can range from five to ten years.

Mandatory height requirements

High fashion modeling agencies contract with a diverse group of models, however nearly without exception (unless a model is young enough to still be growing), agencies stipulate women to be between 5’8 (minimum) and taller and men must be between 6’0″ and 6’3″ as well as be at a weight that is proportionate with their height. Models should be fit or in reasonable physical condition that is appropriate for their height.

Auditions and open calls

Modeling agencies will require new faces on a regular basis. The number of models in an agency depends on the demand brought in by its agents and changes throughout the year. To this end, modeling agencies advertise in local phone directories in order to remain visible.
Each new model-screening process is different from one agency to the next:
A casting call is where models show up by appointment to be considered for a specific job.

An open call is a time specified for any prospective models (or those interested in becoming models) to show up and be considered for future work.

An go-see is an appointment for a model to meet with a client for consideration for future work; like an open call, it is not for a specific job, but unlike an open call, the model is being specifically requested or sent.

A dry call is where models mail unsolicited comp cards to an agency. While this may work with smaller agencies, larger agencies host open calls where men and women can come into the agency and get seen by agents who may or may not be interested.

Fashion shows and fashion weeks

Agents and talent managers work together to prepare and develop models. One of the most important assignment for models is to work or attend fashion shows or fashion weeks.

A fashion show is a runway event put on by fashion designer(s) to showcase their upcoming line of clothing. Each show requires anywhere between 15 and 60 models, depending on the size of the collection and the importance of the designer(s). Fashion models walk the runway (or catwalk) dressed in the clothing created by the designer(s). Participation in these events is essential for any model.

A fashion week is a series of shows by different fashion designers. Each show books their own talent, though many models are able to land jobs with multiple designers. This is a model’s chance to really get noticed, which can lead to big contracts and very lucrative jobs. Fashion weeks occur twice a year; one for spring collections and one for fall collections.

The fashion weeks in major fashion capitals such as New York, Paris, and Milan can have over 100 designers showcasing their work. These weeks are also sponsored by big names, such as Mercedes Benz or Olympus.

Fashion campaigns

Models vie for the prestigious fashion campaigns, where they get to model for a particular designer. One of the most sought-after campaigns is the fragrance campaign, where a model can earn a substantial amount of money. Some of the most competitive fragrance campaigns include Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Valentino, and Gucci.

Scams

Because of the necessity for an agency in a constantly changing industry like factories, where old agencies close or merge and new ones pop up in their place, scam artists have many opportunities to prey on new, unsuspecting models. A legitimate modeling agency should have knowledge of the market place and honestly evaluate models for their market. It will have contacts with photographers, graphic designers, and printers to prepare a model’s marketing materials. Texas, Florida, and California have online resources listing licensed agencies.

In the United States, the Better Business Bureau registers complaints against agencies that conduct dishonest business practices and scams. Scam artists and untrustworthy agencies generally demand long-term contracts up front and use high-pressure tactics to con models into committing to high-commission percentages or signing over unnecessary rights.

Examples

An example of a modeling scam is when an agency claims to have work but really what they are doing is trying to sell photoshoots and modeling courses to aspiring models. A legitimate agency should only make profit from agency commissions.

A highly-publicized scam was exposed in 2009, when a Louisville-based male modeling agency called “Models-Today, LLC,” owned by a convicted felon named Russell Claxon was exposed as having never obtained any jobs for the models despite fees in the hundreds of dollars. Due to the unusually large number of consumer complaints filed against the business, including solicitation for gay male prostitution, this story was disseminated across the Better Business Bureau national networks and provides information on how to avoid such scams.

It should be noted that due to a lack of regulatory oversight, particularly in the United States, scams can be easily carried out and sustained. As an example, Models-Today’s owner has recently begun operating a similar company called Active Male Models, LLC.