How actors can break into the modeling business

Aaron Marcus
http://www.howtomodel.com/

Actors are people of many talents. Besides becoming characters, we are called on to sing, dance and yes, sometimes model.

I don't look like a model, you say? Doesn't matter. You don't have to look like Zoe Saldana or Brad Pitt to do well in the industry. Models are needed to sell just about anything made. If you want to learn how to break into this field, look no further than actor\model Aaron Marcus' Becoming a Successful Actor/Commercial Model Workshop which will be held May 1st in Baltimore, MD at the Sleep Inn and Suites Airport 10:00-4:00.

Marcus, who has been teaching how to model for the past 18 years, said there is a misconception that you have to live in New York or Chicago to make a living as a model, but pointed out "there is a lot of work in secondary markets" like DC. Much of the work is "commercial print" like the ads seen on buses and billboards.

The workshop, Marcus said, takes people who have "no idea how to get started and gives them an opportunity to learn from industry professionals." Marcus is bringing local agents in to speak at the workshop.

"People will be learning marketing, headshots, techniques with photographers, and how to take photos that jump off the page," Marcus said, adding that those who attend the workshop and learn from it "will have the best opportunity to get work. Nobody can get you work."

Auditions for models differ from auditions for actors. An audition for a model is called a "go-see". At a typical go-see, a model will arrive at a studio, sign a form, sometimes hand in a composite sheet (an amalgam of photos of different poses on one sheet), and typically pose for three pictures.

The key to building a good composite sheet is capturing varying reactions and emotions in each picture. A model must use acting skills to bring photos to life, evoking a mood or conveying a message. Marcus has good examples of his print work here.

"Photographers love models who can act," said Marcus. For a shoot, actors "have to do basic things in believable ways."

Marcus said there are different levels of pay for modeling and commercial work. Union performers who do commercials get a a session fee plus units (each city having different pay for each unit), plus residuals if the commercial is renewed. Non-union performers get no residuals. Commercial print ads pay $125 to $150 an hour, and bonuses are negotiable. Marcus said he knows people who have raked in $250,000 from national commercials.

Marcus said it is harder these days to get a national commercial because movie stars are likely to do them. He said he was nearly in a national Coca-Cola Super Bowl commercial, but his segment got cut and "all you could see was the back of my head."

He got a session and a "down-grade" fee for his would-be Super Bowl ad.

Money should not always be chased when considering jobs, Marcus cautioned. "Many jobs can lead to another. That [one] job might be invaluable." He said he'll often make the four-hour drive up to New York for a 10-minute go-see and drive right back because it shows agents he's available and ready to work.

Being successful comes down to how hard you are willing to work and doing things some actors shun, like extra work. "I have found extra work to be helpful," Marcus said. "You network with the other actors and watch phenomenal actors up close. I got a chance [on a "30 Rock" shoot] to sit behind Will Arnett and Alec Baldwin." (Listen to his anecdote about that here.)

Marcus added there is always the chance that a director may choose an extra to speak a line. "You could go from being an extra to a day player." He said he has worked as a stand-in for a principal film actor before, which was a learning experience, because sometimes he would get to read the principal actor's lines and then later compare interpretations of the script.

Having given workshops everywhere from Australia to Hawaii, Marcus said he got into acting and modeling to pay for his college courses to be a physical therapist. "I needed something that I loved, was flexible and paid a lot. I ran into an actor that told me what he did, and I said 'that sounds like fun'. I gave up the concept of physical therapy."

Marcus emphasized the importance of not giving up. "People who don't follow their dreams will have nightmares."

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Marcus has also published a book "How to Become a Successful Model". You may order it here.

Becoming a Successful Actor/Commercial Model Workshop

Date: May 1, 2010

Location:

Sleep Inn & Suites Airport
6055 Belle Grove Road
Baltimore, MD 21225

Time: 10:00-4:00

Investment: Save $50 with Early Registration Only $150 - After April 16th - $200. (* Payment plans available.)

Register online here: http://www.howtomodel.com/attend-a-workshop/details/7-becoming-a-successful-actor-and-commercial-model-workshop

Contact Mr. Marcus here: aaron@howtomodel.com or call 410-764-8270

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