Marketing Plan

Timeline/ Preference in mediums

My first preference as to what mediums I would like to work in would be indie films, and studio films, because these are the types of jobs that could boost my status as an actor and are often well paid, therefore I would be able to make a living out of it. Preferably, I would like to pursue a career in comedy films, as comedy is one of my strengths when acting, as I like to portray abstract, vibrant and weird characters that the make the audience feel uncomfortable but also make them laugh. I am inspired by actors such as Catherine Tate, and Rebel Wilson, both different in how they portray characters as I would be too, but similar in what they do with the characters, which is to make them as abstract and loud as possible to get an understanding from the audience.

My second preference would be to have a job on a TV sitcom. This is to increase my status as a comedian and I would eventually like to write a sitcom as well as act in one. This is so that I can gain a following as a comedy actor and then pursue my next choice which is to get jobs and auditions for TV movies, which aren't always as big as studio films (my first choice) but still get you known within the industry which increase your chances of being picked up by a casting director for new projects.

Along side these two preferences, my third choice of a genre for acting would be on stage. This is because even though I enjoy being on stage, I prefer being more natural with my performances, and despite wanting to portray bold characters, I also wish to play them more naturalistic in terms of movement, for example comedy actors on film only have to use facial expressions and voice to create humour, whereas on stage you have to create a lot of movement as well to make the performance more clear towards the audience, and I feel that for me personally, this will draw me away from being natural and will not make me as successful in getting 'laughs' from the audience. I would however, like to play parts on stage as I do enjoy it, however I would prefer to be an actress and comedian for film. I think that working on stage would promote me well as an actor and boost my chances of getting more auditions for film and television work.

Timeline

For my first year of freelance I will work on acting in stage productions to create a status for myself as an actor, and hopefully gain attention from different directors and casting directors through inviting them to watch. I would like this to last a year, because I want to ensure that I move quickly past this part of my career and move on to more television work. 

I would then ask my agent to apply me for jobs in commercials and small roles in film and TV. This is because I think it would be good experience to watch other actors in films and TV to become inspired and gain an understanding on what is expected. It will also raise my status as an actor within the industry and more people will know who I am, such as casting directors, and will hopefully know to hire me again. I am not sure how long this would last for as it can vary depending on how often I am working, and how quickly I can gain this status. I feel that it would be sensible to forecast this as 2 years, because this gives me time to audition for a lot of different things.

I would then like to move on to do indie films, and student films that are low budget, so that I can experience bigger roles as an actor and understand the demands by experiencing it and not just researching it. I think that this would be useful because if I was to eventually land a good part in a studio film, I would know exactly what is expected of me and I would have the correct professional attitude towards work. Due to the fact that it is difficult to land roles on films like these, and acting jobs in general, I think that this would take 2-3 years, because I would have to audition and gain a status from it. I feel as though my CV that would have built up from my timeline would benefit me in allowing me to land roles more easily, and increases my chances of being recognised by casting directors.

Eventually, my biggest ambition is to land a role in a studio film, big or small. I think that this would benefit my career because it will be increasing the chances of being hired again, and by different people because a wider audience will see what I am capable of. I think that the experience leading up to this will help me achieve this goal because I would be more prepared and understand what I might expect. 

Platforms I would Like to use to market myself

The best platforms for marketing myself to pursue a career in these mediums would be to hire an agent in order to have contacts within the film industry and to gain a knowledge on different companies and statuses of production companies, and also to increase my likelihood of getting an audition out of my applications, due to my higher status as an actor who is being represented by an industry professional.

I would then have to complete a showreel which would showcase my talent as an actor towards casting directors. I would have to make my own showreel as an actor and I would put in previous experiences that I have so that it is showing my agent and casting directors what I am capable of through past experiences. However, this showreel could work for getting me an agent, and then usually agents like to create a showreel for each person they represent that also promotes their agency. I have a video of a showreel made by my agent below:

I think that this showreel represents my agent in a professional way and the fact that I filmed it in front of a white screen creates a plain background, so that the main focus is on me and what I am doing. This showreel has been successful because I have had a lot of auditions from it throughout the last year that I have had it, however I feel that it doesn't show everything that I am capable of. For example even though the script was a comedy, I felt that the small space didnt allow me to represent my character in a funny way, and therefore the jobs I am more likely to get are characters in a school, or just teenage characters in general. Whilst I think that any experience is good experience, I think that I should be pushing myself to apply for roles that suit me more such as comedy and therefore I am going to aim to create my own showreel displaying my experience from the last three years, and particularly the comedy characters I have played. 

Another thing that would benefit me in getting job experiences in these mediums would be updated headshots. I think that for someone my age, headshots can be updated every 6-12 months, because I am still able to change in terms of growing and developing as an adult. When I was younger I would have to update my headshots every 6 months as children are always changing, however due to the fact that I am nearly an adult, I shouldn't have to worry as much about how I am changing in terms of facial features, but instead change them if I dye my hair, or change the way I look drastically. This way the casting directors are always aware with what I look like to avoid getting a bad reputation for 'lying' in my headshots, because the casting directors will be expecting me to look like my headshots and update them when I change. I also think that I should only change my look and/or headshots between jobs and when I am applying for new jobs because then this will avoid confusion between casting directors, and myself. 

I think that it would be useful to update my social network on a regular basis to gain a following on Instagram, Facebook, twitter and YouTube. I have already created an Instagram page in which I have nearly 700 followers and a Facebook page where I have 103 likes, and already this has given me the opportunity to audition for a short film, and I got the part from it. This was from promoting myself as an actor and comedian using hashtags, and uploading funny videos on YouTube. I link my email to these pages so that casting directors can contact me directly, and I also leave my agents details incase they wish to contact him as well. 

I would like to keep an updated CV also, so that when I turn up to open auditions I can present it to whoever is there. This is because open auditions are usually self promotion for yourself as an actor and you find out about them through social network. I usually get auditions through my agent which are closed auditions, and the casting directors already have my headshots and CV through sites such as spotlight, and casting call pro, but open auditions are where you just turn up, so you have to be aware of how you are promoting yourself. I keep my CV updated on paper to present to casting directors at open auditions, and constantly update my agent if anything changes, so that he can update it on spotlight. 

Schedule

Below is my weekly schedule in which I try and balance college work, extra curricular activities and working freelance as an actor:

I think that my schedule shows commitment to my career as a performer because everyday I am working on self promotion. The yellow boxes are the hours that I am in college, however I don't think that this slows me down in promoting and working on my acting skills, because I study musical theatre and drama which means that I am gaining new skills on a daily basis. The blue boxes show that I dance every day of the week (except sunday), which shows my commitment to learning new skills and adapting different performance skills that could benefit me and increase my chances of getting a professional job within the industry. The orange boxes show my commitment to my YouTube channel. Usually I film, edit, and upload the video in one day which takes me the majority of the day, however I would like to start committing to this more and uploading more videos onto YouTube to gain a bigger following from people as a comedian, as YouTube allows me to express myself in my own way. The majority of the table is green, which is the time I commit to updating my social network. Everyday I ensure that I take new pictures and videos at both college, dance and at home to put on instagram and Facebook to promote myself as an actor in training, and ready to work. I use hashtags to promote my updates to different people in the industry and spend a lot of time following industry professionals to gain their attention. Like I have previously mentioned, this has worked before as I gained the attention of a casting director, who emailed me to audition for a small company in Brighton for a short film, and I was able to land the main role in the short film after a successful audition. The crew in the film also complimented me on my comedy YouTube videos and a few had said that they recognised me from YouTube which shows how my videos have reached different people.

Professionals

Agent- In my first year of working freelance as an actor and comedian I think that I need to know an agent, which I have already achieved, so that they can apply me for jobs that I cannot apply myself for, and to give me a higher status as an actor because I am represented by a known agent within London. 

Actors- I would like to get to know other freelance actors who have already had professional experience so that they can give me advise, and I can also learn what they have achieved and how they achieved it. I know a few actors who have been in well known films and television programs who have inspired me to work harder as an actor, and I would like to continue to keep contact with them so that I can reference them to different industry professionals. 

Directors- I think that it is important for me to get to know directors around the industry so that it increases my chances of being called for an audition. This is because a lot of directors know who they want to cast before auditions even start, and knowing a director and having a good relationship with them will promote me as a motivated and committed performer.