‘Democratised’: Australians turning to social media casting calls for extra cash

Australians are finding new ways to make a little extra money and are setting their sights on the big and small screen.

However, talent hunting is not what it used to be.

Gone are the days when professionally trained actors would send glossy one-page portfolios to agents and wait in line for hours for auditions.

No more standing by the phone, touching the phone cord and anxiously hearing if they got the part.

In every state, scores of budding artists are eagerly scrolling social media in hopes of landing the next big gig.

Sydney actor Diana Gyllén-Brissett, who has been working as a professional actor for two decades, told NewsWire that previous methods of finding work are almost extinct.

“In the past, you could only access posting calls through agents and industry bulletin boards (or) digital platforms that you needed an agent to access,” he said.

“Today, many deals are shared online through streaming sites, groups on Facebook and Instagram.

“A lot more doors are open.”

Social media is a hot spot for up-and-coming talent

On social media, groups dedicated to posting acting and extra jobs are sprouting up in every state.

Serving as a giant billboard for the entire city, the listings are a combination of paid and unpaid jobs.

Some are university students looking to star in their short films, while others are looking for young women to star in a play to be staged at this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival.

Others are looking for extras to embellish the background of other scenes.

“Social media has made casting information more accessible and allowed actors to market themselves directly to casting directors and producers,” Ms. Gyllén-Brissett told NewsWire.

As talent scouts turn to social media as their preferred destination for talent, this means aspiring actors must also increase their online presence.

“Some projects now identify talent in part based on their online presence or audience reach,” he said.

“Actors often have their social media checked before booking a role to make sure they are available.

“So, as actors, we also need to monitor our own social media and make a choice about our own brand and what we communicate online.”

Focus shifts to ‘ordinary Australians’

Agents aren’t looking for professional faces either, instead focusing on talent that closely resembles ordinary Australians.

It’s a view shared by Crowd Media Group founder and CEO Judy Sahay, who says the “commercial outlook” is fading thanks to social media and Australians are cashing in on it.

“More Australians are taking paid work on a daily basis; social media has democratized the pipeline,” he told NewsWire.

“People are being discovered on TikTok and Instagram and being booked for commercials, trailers and small acting gigs without going through a traditional agency (user-generated content).”

Opportunities have since emerged, Ms. Sahay said.

“(Social media) has expanded the range of faces and stories we feature and better reflects the real, diverse Australia,” he said.

While this has meant more fish in the sea for managers, it has increased competition for those who want to be on the big screen.

“The opportunities are there, but the competition is strong,” Ms. Gyllén-Brissett said.

“Australia has a healthy film, television, commercial and theater industry, with additional business also coming from international productions filming here.”

Actors are seeing a rise in demand but often not getting paid enough

Some roles offer between $100 and $500 for a few hours of work, or more than $1,000 for a few days in front of the camera.

Larger roles for commercials, TV series and independent films can offer roles that pay up to $10,000 for several weeks of grueling work.

But most of the time, most of the small roles are unpaid; the only compensation is a free broadcast or on-screen acting credit.

This of course depends on the type of work you do, Ms. Gyllén-Brissett said.

“Major television, film and commercial roles can pay very well, especially when covered by industry agreements,” he said.

“However, many independent films and small-scale productions such as digital campaigns pay very low rates.

“Overall, we saw a decrease in interest rates.”

Artificial intelligence threatens to destabilize players’ playing field

While unpaid work has long been a cloud over aspiring actors, there is another threat looming on the horizon: Artificial Intelligence.

Some casting-related listings call out websites such as StarNow, which launched in New Zealand and operates across the ditch in Australia and the UK, who will pay hundreds to use a person’s likeness in AI-generated content.

No traveling, no acting or modeling experience; You just stand in front of the camera for an hour and the company will do the rest.

It may seem like easy money for very little work, but there’s a problem.

“Actors will need to be more aware of issues such as digital likeness rights and how their images or voices may be used in productions,” Ms. Gyllén-Brissett told NewsWire.

He warned that talents hoping to make a quick buck could find themselves in a difficult situation if they are not careful about their contracts.

“We need to get better at reading contracts,” he said.

“I’ve seen clauses where the production basically wants to use ‘some version’ of you in any future production.”

But Melbourne-based agent Ms Sahay said digitally created faces would become more common as technology improved.

“As models develop virtual influencers, digital dupes, synthetic background artists and likeness licenses, we expect AI-generated and digital talent to enter more roles,” he told NewsWire.