Lyndsey

Well, I actually do check Craigslist and mandy.com every single day and I have gotten plenty of good work (some paying, some not) off of those sites. I just finished an amazing (non-paying) short student film today I got off of Craigslist that I know will be an amazing addition to my reel. But I also did 2 paying jobs earlier this week which I got from sites that charge money.

All of the great work and great pay I've gotten has been off of NYCastings, Backstage.com, and ActorsAccess.com. The castings ARE different...I promise you. Try NYCastings for a month and you can see for yourself (it's gotten me the best work). I do all of my acting in New York City, so I know there are more jobs available to me than there are for many people in other parts of the country (sorry, I have no idea what the Detroit market's like); but, NYCastings.com, Backstage.com, and ActorsAccess.com are very professional, easy to use, and reasonably affordable. They verify the casting notices on these sites so it's not as sketchy. And because they're not as sketchy, they attract more major casting directors than the non-paying sites do.

Like I said earlier, I've gotten commercials, roles in major studio film and television, and plenty of great modeling jobs, so I definitely recommend these sites. Most paying sites probably are a scam...but not NYCastings.com, not Backstage.com, and not ActorsAccess.com. They're hands down the best.

Lyndsey

P.S. G Douglas, since you seem to view paid SAG actors as being more knowledgeable about the business, I just want to point out again that I am a paid SAG actor because of these sites.

gypsylittledove

Thank you. But the problem with those sites is that there is nothing posted for us here in Michigan. It would have to be a good paying job to pay for travel and motel, which can run high. The kid did a movie in Chicago and it cost us around 400.00 and she got paid twenty dollars. See? but again thanks.

Well you have to think about the state of the industry. It's just about impossible to break out into the industry in the midwest becuase they're based in 4 major metro markets.

Don't get me wrong there are castings in the midwest. And agencies do exist there but there is a lot less work.


Thought about moving? Atlanta, Florida, NYC, or LA?

ChrisPgh

I think the truth of the matter is that a lot of this depends upon what level you are at in modeling or acting, and what your local market is like. I'm signed with one of the major agencies in Pittsburgh. I didn't have to pay to be with them, but I had to pay to get my comp cards done, and if I wanted to be on their website, I'd have to pay a fee for that too. Pittsburgh is just not a very big market and because there is not a lot of work, agencies have to charge foir some of these services.

Now, I don't suggest you go to an agency that also does your photos... that is a conflict. Most legit agencies will offer a list of photographers that you can choose from, or you can choose your own. So these things you have to watch for.

Also, sicne I'm just beginning, I'm doing some acting jobs for free. Student projects are a good place to get a little experience, or some of the little independent projects that the little guys may be doing. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I don't know that doing commercials or other projects which are clearly money making projects should be done for free, but these other projects are great opportunities for relatively new people to get some experience and hone our skills. So I've done a little paid work and some free work.

Finally, I do think perhaps Todd and Gary were both on the caustic side, so surely we can tone things down a little. And deborah, I think you did mean to preach, quite frankly. It's annoying to me, but I could see your points through it and I guess that's just the way you are. So it goes.

I think this whole conversation points up th difficulty in knowing whether one is being sucked into a scam or not. There are plenty of them, but it also seems like people can sometimes be little quick to ring that bell. But conversationsly like this do help up to work through these issues and hopefully go through the various listings a little better informed.

At anyrate, best of luck to everybody!

--Chris.