By: Jess Canty
This week many of you received your Q1 Audition Reports from Cinterra. These reports should hopefully reflect the full-picture of all of your auditions that you attended between January 1 and March 31. This should include any auditions from self-submits, Cinterra, and your theatrical and commercial agents.
It should hopefully match your own record-keeping of your auditions. And if you aren't keeping records, well then here is a template of the bare minimum of information you should be tracking for each audition, so please start now. As we have discussed in the past, I also recommend tracking what you wear, as well as your immediate impressions of how the audition went after you get out of the room. Remember - this is your business, we are just the consultants you have hired to help you run your business.
You should be more aware of this information than we are, and we should all be tracking this together so that you can begin to understand which offices are fans, how you can improve with each audition and ultimately identify patterns in what you call-back for, are pinned for, and book.
If you did not receive a report it means that we have less than three auditions for the quarter recorded in our database.
That could, perhaps mean that you in fact had less than three auditions. This could be because you are working, or fielding offers, or you were traveling. It could also mean that you are still in the development phase with us and your casting profiles a not yet complete (photos, slates, footage) and so our ability to get you seen is limited.
However, if you had more than three auditions - across everything from commercials, self-submits to auditions from us and your agents - and you did not receive a report it means that you are not sharing this information with us in order to add to our database so please email talent@cinterrapics.com so that we can better understand how to fix this communication gap.
So now the fun stuff!
As a team y'all attended 310 auditions in Q1!!! I think that number is pretty auspicious #The310 #AreaCode #LA #Westside. 41 of these (13%) resulted in a callback and/or avail and of the 41 we had 13 bookings, which works out to a 30% callback-to-booking ratio. Which is AWESOME! When Cinterra clients call-back, they book!
Of the 310 auditions attended:
44% were from Cinterra
46% were from Agencies
5% were from Self-Submissions
5% were CD-selected
9% of auditions were for commercials
91% were theatrical
27% were for "major offices" (i.e. offices that have an established name, multiple casting directors and associates and/or a permanent address on a lot).
73% were for "freelance" casting directors (CD's that work across multiple networks, shows etc... and/or associates that work for multiple offices).
Numbers don't tell the whole story so I have some thoughts...
For those of you who have an extensive audition report, you should take a moment to congratulate yourself - you are doing something right in order to be seen. You likely have found a sweet-spot for your shots, slates, and footage and/or have or are beginning to have a great reputation with casting and a number of offices around town. You should be proud of yourself - but after you celebrate it is time to buckle down again and take stock.
What does your callback ratio look like? Your booking ratio? If your agent is getting you out a ton, believe me they are now going to be looking at these numbers. You know the old saying - mo auditions, mo problems. If you have more than 15 auditions for the quarter, but few callbacks and even fewer bookings, you need to get busy and improve this toute-suite. Are you in the right class? Are you properly preparing for these auditions?
Why? Because maybe your agent is well known and respected and they can get you in any room - and now they are. But they are not going to continue to spend their hard-earned creative capital on you forever if you don't eventually book. Sorry not sorry - but having a lot of opportunities is NOT the goal.
I have seen it happen before, and I will see it happen again although I would love not to - someone who goes out all the time, but never books, is actually more "expensive" to an agency than someone who never goes out. The resources used to track, notify and coordinate your auditions that don't turn into dollars will eventually become a problem for them - and ultimately for you. Don't let this happen to you! Figure out why you aren't booking - what YOU can improve (#noexcuses), and fix it.
This is not meant to scare you - it just means you are in a new phase in your career - one where getting out is no longer the goal - now you have a new goal - to find some way to capitalize on those opportunities.
Which brings me to those of you who want/need to get out more or were disappointed by your audition report / lack of receiving a report. Please see above re: #moauditionsmoproblems. Yes, from where you sit it may feel like "if only I was out there more things would be easier" but like everything in life - you don't know until you know.
Trust me, it is not easier to be in rooms you aren't ready for and be put in their "never again" pile. It is not easier to be given three guest-star self-tapes in a week that you have to have memorized, taped, uploaded and submitted for offices you already have a reputation on the line with. It is not easier to have an agent testing if you can "handle" a lot of material and auditions, to see if you'll book and drop you when you don't.
So - for those of you who have less than 15 auditions in the quarter - look back at them. Could you have prepared better? Done more? Done less? I urge you to improve your booking ratio with what you have, rather than hope to have more auditions that you also don't book. Get better at what is really important before you make a jump to the next level.
Believe me, booking 3 jobs on 8 auditions is way better than booking 1 job on 30 auditions. And for some of you, this will always be the name of your game - i.e. less at bats, but they are more important.
I guarantee you Justin Hartley in his lifetime probably has auditioned 1000 times more than Chrissy Metz in hers - but guess what? They're both leads on one of the most popular networks shows on today. Going on a ton of auditions means nothing - booking the right job is what changes your game.
There is no one path in this business. Some people will have a ton of swings and some will only need a few. Some will work for years for their "overnight success" and some will break-out early. Focus on your path, your numbers, your report, the offices you go in for, your relationships, your connections.
I am so proud of - and I believe I can say this for Sarah and Bay as well - each and every one of those 310 times that a Cinterra client was out there in the world, strutting their stuff in an audition room or on tape. We don't exist without your artistry, dedication and hard-work and we can't wait to see what this quarter brings - maybe even a 424?
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