Entertainment Industry Website Review
Posted: Saturday, April 22, 2006
by Holly Clark
Locist.com
"Yes, you can submit your self to casting notices & have a legitimate shot at being in a movie. If you’re a real actor, & you’re looking for real work, there are only 4 sites to check out." - Tim Doselly, Production Manager
We started out a little skeptical of these sites because, well, artists are usually so easy to take advantage of. And, as we found out, there are NO shortage of sites out there that are promising ‘Stardom’. After further research, we excluded ALL sites that used ‘star now!’ as an incentive to purchase. They all seemed to promise ‘starring roles’ as ‘Guy #34 at Racetrack’, and that’s probably not what most actors are looking for.
What we were pleasantly surprised to find was that there are FOUR viable sites that have substantially proven to place actors, beginning and experienced, in film and television roles of varying levels of professional degree.
We have chosen these based on four criteria. First was the actual product that will be submitted to casting directors and producers, i.e. the resume/portfolio. Does the site have an area for the Industry professionals? Third, the quality of the casting notices provided, and last, price.
If you’re currently using, or planning on using a service for your acting career, we highly recommend three of the four below. The fourth we only recommend because of the huge amount of information it offers.
Unbiased reviews courtesy,
The Honest Engineers
1. Locist.com (Reviewer’s First Choice)
Information 5/5 | Application 5/5
Locist outscored all sites by leaps and bounds on 3 of the 4 criteria. Locist has the best 'product' in their 'Multi Media Portfolio', with everyone else coming in a very distant second. Locist appears to be a casting site in the vein of a MySpace with great functionality. The site does have a separate industry professional area, that we are, unfortunately, unable to access. Casting notices are of superior quality, ranging between student films and television, but there seem to be fewer than are available at other reviewed sites. The price is outstanding, as Locist is the only site that does not charge for members to create a Multi Media Portfolio, and has submission packages ranging from $4/$8 a month.
2. ActorsAccess.com
Information 5/5 | Application 4/5
Actorsaccess is the originator of online castings. And it, unfortunately, feels like it. The reason that it comes in at #2 is solely due to the number of casting notices that it carries, and the fact that they do have a breakdown service for sides. Although, Locist also carries audition sides, and doesn’t charge extra for access. They have a professional area that we, once again, do not have access to. Casting notices are of superior quality ranging from television to feature films. Actorsaccess charges $68/year for unlimited submissions to casting notices and will email notices to actors when a notice has been posted that fits their profile. The product submitted to casting director’s leaves a lot to be desired and this is where they seem to be lagging.
3. CastingNetworks.com
Information 4/5 | Application 3/5
The Casting Networks have sites that are based in LA, NY, and SF, an each of them is very simple in design and functionality. In fact, they are the same site, with only the notices differentiating the three. Casting Networks Multi Media Resume is quite substantial, but also costs a hefty price, with a $50 set-up fee, with add-ons costing extra. Casting Networks DOES offer mailing lists and labels for their members at no additional cost and has a ‘Talent Scout’ program that claims that 30% of their members will find an agent with it.
4. Backstage.com
Information 4/5 | Application 1/5
Backstage.com is very obviously run by a media company as they sell every square inch of cyber real estate they can. It’s jumbled and hideous to look at, but does offer an extraordinary amount of information for free, and has several interviews with industry folks that are definitely worth reading. The Casting Notice section is probably their worst feature, which is saying SOMETHING, because there’s a lot wrong with this site. BUT, they do have a
Top 3
Locist.com
Information 5/5
Application 5/5
ActorsAccess.com
Information 5/5
Application 4/5
CastingNetworks.com
Information 4/5
Application 3/5
Good Resources
Backstage.com
Information 4/5
Application 1/5
This Article has been viewed 905 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.