Work on TV Part 1

After a busy career as a zoo keeper and then as a prison officer, I took the decision to change the pace of my life.

Injuries had begun to take their toll and my caring duties at home now comprised 2 teenagers, my elderly mum, and 3 rescue dogs.

I had been heavily involved in acting and theatre while at school, and had appeared on 2 quiz shows on TV as a personal challenge to myself, so I knew that I was perfectly comfortable on camera.

While I was running my own dog walking business, I had a few clients in TV and film production. I was having major problems with one of my shoulders and knew that my days of driving around and managing my varied pack of charges were numbered.

As I explained to one of my clients what issues I was having, she suggested to me that maybe working as a supporting artist in film and TV might be a good idea. She said that my patient and calm character and ability to deal with whatever I encountered day to day would be perfect for that world.

The internet is a fantastic resource so the next day I took the first steps to putting my new fledgling plan into action. I typed "supporting artist" into the search engine and found a wealth of sites offering information, genuine opportunities and also some offering what I found to be false promises.

There are so many sites offering the chance to "be on TV," so many agencies to join, so initial steps into it can result in a few pitfalls and wasted money. The best advice at this stage is to take it steady and often overlook the sites offering instant opportunities after any initial payment to "join us."

My first dip into the waters was to create a profile on one site that operates like a jobs board for the whole range of roles within the media industry. There are adverts on there for actors, models, dancers, supporting artists, photographers, and film crew. There are paid and unpaid work opportunities, adverts on there state the roles, the dates and location, then it is down to you to apply via the site and wait for a response.

The reason for choosing that first site was the fact that it is free to create your very first profile. While finding your feet it is so important to a) not part with any money up front until you understand what you are paying for and b) take your time to learn how to create that all important profile to make yourself stand out as someone productions would want to employ.

Most sites have a "create your profile" template to follow. Just take the time to work through each section, some bits may seem a bit random so it helps to read through profiles others have created to give you an idea of what is expected.

Photographs are important to show yourself as you are, and give the chance to show how versatile you can be in terms of a variety of "looks." It is NOT necessary to fork out money for professional shots when starting out. Some good quality digital photos of you face on and full length, mobile phone shots are such good quality that they would be absolutely fine.

Look out for adverts on the jobs boards from photographers offering TFP. This means "time for prints." It is a good opportunity to gain modeling experience as the photographer directs you. It’s an arrangement by which the photographer benefits from adding specific shots to his/her portfolio, and you benefit by being given some professional shots for your personal use.

To be continued.....