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Why Should I Have A Spotlight Profile?
written by
Jordan Hain
This week actors booker, Hannah, is chatting about how important having a spotlight profile is, how to get one and how useful it is to getting actors as much work as possible.
The commercial actors guide to spotlight -
“Spotlight is the home of casting for the UK and Ireland, connecting performers and agents to casting directors for over 85 years. 60,000 performers currently use Spotlight to apply for professional acting roles. With profiles featuring your skills, experience and headshots, showreel services and free events to help you with your career, Spotlight is the support you need as an actor to showcase yourself to the industry.”
Basically, Spotlight is the industry’s largest and most frequently used casting platform, and as an agent it is invaluable for us to push you for as much work as possible.
So you might ask, why isn’t everyone on Spotlight? Unfortunately, you have to meet certain criteria in order to gain access, and there is a cost too.
You can become a Spotlight member if you have at least four professional credits. These must be in featured, named speaking roles, in full-length film, television, theatre productions or character-driven voice work. Alternatively, you must have graduated with at least a year’s professional training from a full-time accredited drama school or university course.
Qualifying credits do not include commercials, idents or corporate films, which is where a lot of our actors miss out. You can have been booking commercials for years but this will not give you any credits towards a Spotlight membership. In order to gain credits Spotlight recommends looking into full or part time training courses and getting experience in and around Fringe theatres.
There is good news however for anyone who is agency represented under the age of 25, as you are able to join Spotlight without the training/credits required for a full adult membership. I always encourage our young performers to take advantage of this, as it can often set you in good stead to gain the credits needed to transition over to the adult membership when the time comes.
A Spotlight membership will currently set you back £158 per year* (young performers membership is currently £103) which is taken as a one-off annual card payment. This may seem like quite an expense, however you are almost guaranteed to make this money back on the first job you book!
*Membership discounts are available for disable performers.
How to get the most out of your Spotlight profile.
So you have joined Spotlight, great news! Now here’s what to expect:
It's important to make the most of your Spotlight profile. Your profile will include your headshot, credits, showreels and/or voiceclips and your skills. All of these features are searchable so it’s vital that everything is kept up to date to give you the best chance of being noticed by casting directors. You can also use your profile as a CV to showcase your self to potential clients by using your view pin.
Your agent can now start putting you forward for all jobs you are suitable for. At Sandra Reynolds our main focuses are commercials, idents, online & corporate videos and still photography, however we do also submit for TV and feature film briefs. Spotlight is often where the juicy, well paid campaigns with leading brands will be and having a profile will give you the best chance to be seen for these.
All of our actors have full access on Spotlight, which means you can view project details and submit your own CV if particularly interested (we can see what you have submitted yourself for, and will still submit you on our end).
It is worth noting that the majority Spotlight briefs will require a casting, therefore you need to make sure you have good availability in order to attend. If you are selected for a casting, we will be in touch via email with all of the job details, as well the date of the casting, the location and your time slot. We will also pass on any information from the casting director such as what to wear or anything to prepare. Some jobs will also hold a recall, which is similar to the initial casting, but with a shortlist of the client’s favourite talent (there is usually a small fee for attending a recall).
You are able to add more than one agency to your Spotlight profile, however it’s advisable to have no more than 2 or 3. Some agencies will want to have you exclusively (we don’t work like this) but you should really only agree to this if they are getting you regular work.
In short, if you are able to join Spotlight, it really is a no-brainer. While it’s not a requirement for us to represent you as an actor, we will always be working towards getting on you on there in order to put you forward for as many briefs as we can!
What do I benefit from being a member of Spotlight?
Spotlight also offer member benefits, such as discounts (link: https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/news/spotlight-launches-exciting-new-discount-scheme/) on everyday items, and they also now offer a specially designed benefits scheme with IPSE (link: https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/news/new-benefits-for-spotlight-members/) which, for a heavily discounted fee will give you benefits you may miss out on when not in full-time employment.
You will also have access to news and advice to help you ensure your Spotlight profile and showreel is the best it can possibly be, as well as a database of contacts (link: https://www.spotlight.com/contacts) that covers everything in the industry from set designers to voice coaching. Spotlight also runs various events (link: https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/?tags=events) throughout the year which are free for members to attend.
For bookings and enquiries please email: [email protected] or call 0207 387 5858
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written by Jordan Hain
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