The rapidly growing entertainment industry demands an artist to be everywhere at once. The key to a successful audition today is to establish techniques that aids in cutting through competition. Thanks to the convenience and advancements in casting technology, producers and directors hire resources through online platform today and artists have a larger ambit of work opportunities.
The concept of a steady base of talent at any point in time is a great idea but how often does this arrangement succeed in getting across the right pool of talent? Do photographers, producers and directors ever use the online marketplace to hire talent, props or film locations? Is there something called an online marketplace to showcase your artistic prowess?
Getting online is one of the greatest time-saving and cost effective proposition that offers the capacity to screen thousands of profiles in 1/10th of the time of live auditions. It also provides ample opportunities to the artist to perfect his craft and upload, before the world gets to see him. This mechanism sets the stage for the artists by potentially increasing their casting possibilities.
Websites like Greenroom, Match My Talent, Calltime are some of the portals that offer exclusive online space to showcase talent. Most of these websites provide a talent marketplace where artists and content producers connect and collaborate for their work. While there is no dearth of creative talent, artists often depend upon their networks and grapevine to get work. Being an eminent part of the entertainment industry, the founders of these websites have reiterated that there is a huge gap between performing artists or technical talent and the resources to hire them. Casting being a tiresome process on the other hand, crew producers often resort to the talent easily accessible to them.
While some of these portals concentrate on the search engine concept for producers and a portfolio space for artists only, others in the trade build a step further by allowing content producers to post their requirements on the website, inviting relevant applications. The screening process is easier and faster where the producers spend nearly 15-20 seconds on assessing each candidate profile before inviting them for personal auditions.
Since long, talent recruitment has moved away from offline mediums to online platforms. The media and entertainment industry still depended on traditional tools as talent coordinators or casting directors. The coordinators have a limited base of talent pool plus they are location dependent. Online platforms therefore truncate these blocks and provide a wide community of talent at any time.
But what seems to be the most lucrative means of hiring artistic talent today might still not hold true at all times. Ask content producers and directors if they would like to eliminate the usual process of face-to-face auditions and they are likely not to concede to the idea.
The production teams have been able to simplify the screening and auditioning process with the onset of online talent management portals. The direct benefits are substantial that primarily includes creating an extensive pool of resources across domains and equipping the producers with the ability to post casting notices and receive submissions digitally through the website. Therefore, the power of online talent management portals as primary casting platform creates measurable impact.
Having said that, do producers and directors depend on online platforms per se to hire talent? Well, the answer is No. While the first step of screening gets relaxed with online platforms to support their requests, the next stage of audition goes back to in-person meetings and discussions. The reasons are basic but vital:
- It is one thing to appreciate a work of art online and another to judge their skills in person. Technical talent when hired need to conform to the producers expectations. This ranges from the nuances of his craft to adjusting his skill set to suit various situations. Similar in case of actors, the ability to comprehend a scene and enact with the right mix of emotions can be tested only when auditioned live.
- Other elements of production such as scouting locations and prop selection must be done in-person. Online images cannot always be trusted and thus personal intervention is ideal.
Building talent community in the entertainment industry has also evolved similar to the corporate structure. Needless to say, online tools make it easier than ever for producers and directors at regional and national levels to scout for the right fitment. However, assessing their artistic acumen is best performed during personal discussions. Like any other function, online and offline mediums are two ends of the same coin. While emergence of technology fulfils only part of the hiring process; the remaining half rides high on conventional techniques of live auditions.
