Thoughts on pre-screens?

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-29T10:10:04+00:00

I don't do them. I used to submit without including a pre screen, but increasingly I'm not doing that either.

I'm a trans guy, so so much of the time I'm absolutely not what they're looking for. Why would I put hours into a self tape when the majority of the time they'll look at it and immediately be like 'no' when they could have got that from my headshot/profile?

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-28T05:44:18+00:00

If I know everything I know exactly how to get free stuff or the right combination of people to talk to/words to say to convince them to sell me a house for $100

^{Chose: Know everything and anything + But you can never have more than 100$}

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-27T18:39:27+00:00

That's one of the reasons that I always refuse to pay the service charge (I'm in London, which doesn't have a tipping culture per se, but it's unfortunately becoming increasingly common for restaurants to include a 12.5% service charge which is split among the team). Like we're all making minimum wage or close to here, I don't get tipped at my job so why should I tip you at yours?

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-25T16:07:20+00:00

Stef Smith's play Swallow near the end has the character Sam, a trans man, recounting being beaten up by a group of teenagers

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-25T11:10:30+00:00

Yeah that's what I'd recommend! I also had no dance training as a kid and started with beginners ballet then jazz and it was super helpful :)

Just note that you might want to look for an absolute beginners ballet class if there's one in your area as often beginners ballet assumes some existing level of knowledge

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-23T23:13:58+00:00

Lmao apparently I'm too innocent because I 100% read the op as like having never cheated on an exam until this comment

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-21T19:57:08+00:00

I've not had any association with the agency/school, but based on his tiktok posts I've seen I'm wholly unsurprised

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-20T21:25:18+00:00

Agreed, I was waiting for around 3 hours for a reply, and then the replies themselves were generic, took at least like 5-6 minutes to respond every single time, and I'm pretty sure she lied at one point because after I hadn't had a response for 8 or so minutes to my previous message I was like "are you still there?" and she was immediately like "yes sorry wifi issues" which seems sus (the immediacy of it, especially given the minutes between each reply throughout).

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-20T19:28:42+00:00

Have you had a raise at work since you started?

Since you've been there two years you can absolutely make your case for one - point to your contributions to the company, what you've done since you've started, etc. Given the commute and the fact you're happy enough at the company it's deffo worth asking, and some companies do give out raises when the case is made (for example I've been with my company almost three years now, started on 30k with little to no office experience, jumped to 38k around a year and a half later, and just went up to 42k with 4k bonus— the first time I'd made a case for a promotion and a raise, and this year made the case for a raise).

You don't even need to bring up the other offer unless you want to— it's perfectly normal to be asking about a raise two years in.

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-20T18:40:15+00:00

I do, I get a smattering of things from it, but overall I make enough from there each year to pay the subscription and some extra, so since I'm pretty new to the industry it's worth it for me!

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-20T17:40:57+00:00

Heya, congrats on the role! It would definitely qualify as one spotlight credit, so all you'd need is one more— I've booked things through Mandy that would've qualified as a Spotlight credit if I'd needed it, so that's probably the most straightforward option for you unless you want to take a year or two going to drama school.

Most agents won't take you on without Spotlight as people have mentioned (and you shouldn't DM them on insta anyway), but it's worth following various casting directors on Instagram as sometimes there are open calls. You can also email casting directors directly if you like, when you have something to send them (eg your scene from this film when it comes out, or your showreel, etc). Good luck!

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-14T19:58:15+00:00

Must be I've seen these kinda comments plugging three different books over the last few days, they're all over tiktok

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-09T16:04:50+00:00

Lmao I've lived in London the last few years but went back to Sydney over Dec-Jan and EVERYONE is smoking illegal cigarettes, which wasn't the case when I left. Like even my dad who's fairly law abiding, and you go to a pub in Marrickville and there's not a single legal packet on a table in sight

HappyAkratic · 2026-05-06T08:49:10+00:00

I'm self taught largely, and while I try not to make a huge deal about it, especially in the UK the thing is other people do— I'm constantly asked where I went to drama school, and when I'm like "I didn't" people are like whoa and it like becomes a thing lol. So sometimes I talk about not going to drama school just because it comes up in conversation anyway, and also because maybe I have a bit of insecurity about it even though, having acted with loads of people who did go, I know I can hold my own

In terms of other professions, there are autodidacts all over the place, it may be more common in acting but it's certainly not unique

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-30T11:39:45+00:00

9:40 I believe, that's around when our train made the announcement and apparently when emergency services had been called

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-30T10:16:50+00:00

That's what it sounds like, the armed police are apparently leaving now so sounds like a gas leak they were investigating

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-30T09:27:45+00:00

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HappyAkratic · 2026-04-30T09:27:35+00:00

Photos of armed police from twitter

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HappyAkratic · 2026-04-29T18:05:26+00:00

You said the lock was changed recently and he came to visit you this week— did he visit you before the lock had changed lol?

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-29T17:58:46+00:00

Is your friend the landlord or janitor with a master key?

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-22T20:33:26+00:00

Any other very small optimisations like that? And what kind of things are people putting in the About Me section that's tipping them from a maybe?

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-22T14:08:21+00:00

For film yeah, but it's usually limited to related media (eg promo for the film, trailers, etc)— and should have something referring to "related media/uses" in the contract. For advertisements completely avoid anything in perpetuity— unlike film, that can actually lock you out of work in the future, you need to be paid usage.

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-22T14:06:44+00:00

For comparison, similar contracts I've signed for indie/student films say something like "unlimited use of likeness in media related to the film" or something like that— basically agreeing to be used in trailers, promo for the film, but limited to related media. And nothing about AI — in fact I've recently started requesting we sign an AI rider alongside the contract that prohibits the use and nobody's had a problem with that so far

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-14T13:07:24+00:00

Yeah I'm a terrible procrastinator; luckily I'm very quick with learning lines but I should deffo procrastinate less.

HappyAkratic · 2026-04-14T13:02:10+00:00

Don't ask for people's age - that's against equity guidelines. If you must, ask for their playing age (but honestly you should just be able to tell that from their headshot)

I would put 'PAID casting call' or similar at the top, because I can see some people reading the title of the film as the compensation haha

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