Videos We Liked (transcribed by Web For Actors)
What You Should Be Doing With Your IMDb Profile | Workshop Guru
Recorded by Acting Resource Guru
Watch the full blog here: http://theworkshopguru.com/blog/entry/how-to-imdb We got such an amazing response last week where we cleared the air on a lot of questions regarding actor websites. Today we're continuing the online presence training and explaining one of the BEST resources an actor can use: IMDbPro! This is one of my favorite sites. Not only is IMDb one of the most often searched databases in the entertainment industry, with IMDbPro, you get access to a complete index of information, including representation, contact information, photos, and more regarding other actors and industry decision-makers. It can be great when you need to find out the cast and rep of the lead actors on set... but what if I told you that YOU can use this amazing resource to help others find you! You definitely will want the full scoop on this one.
Full Transcription:
00:00:
Happy Tuesday. Today, I'm going to share what you should be doing with your IMDb profile. As an actor, it's essential to have an IMDbPro account and to have your IMDb profile on point as part of your online presence. Any industry professional goes to IMDb first to look for you, and so you are not a legitimate actor unless you have a profile on IMDb. I can't tell you how many of my actor friends have a profile there, sort of, but they don't even have a picture. It's like, what are you doing? This is so easy to do. So, jump on the bandwagon and get an IMDbPro account so that you can manage your profile. If you're a SAG-AFTRA member, log on to the SAG-AFTRA website and get a code for a discount. It's a pretty sweet one.
00:46:
All right. What do you need to have on your profile? One, you need to have a way for people to reach you. You have an agent. Make sure that your agency is attached to your profile, and if you don't, make sure that you have personal contact information there. If you're not comfortable putting a phone number on your profile, make sure that you have a website or an email or some way for someone to reach out to you if they want to find you and give you some work.
01:10:
Now, of course, you need a picture. I kind of alluded to this. You need to have a great profile picture. You on a red carpet is great, right? A nice, fun photo of yourself. A great headshot is great. You can have on-set stills of yourself. I believe you can upload up to 100 photos on your account, so go ahead and load that up. This is the place to really show what you've done as an actor and to really share photos from some of your projects.
01:36:
Now, even if you don't have what would be considered legitimate IMDb credits where a network or a producer added you to a project, you can upload your own credits on your own resume if you have an IMDbPro account. I absolutely recommend you do that. And for those of you who have a lot of theater credits, right? Theater doesn't automatically get uploaded onto IMDb, so you can share those in your own resume. IMDb will kind of have a little section that says, "The owner of this profile submitted these credits," but it's great for people to know what you're doing, even if you submit them yourself.
02:12:
Now, if you are on a show or in a film and you think that credit needs to be on IMDb, make sure that you submit that to IMDb to be updated. One of my friends was recently on this TV show, Grim, and she noticed that the episode was up but her credit wasn't on there yet. And so, she submitted it via the submission feature on IMDb, and now it's up there. We want to make sure to keep our credits updated.
02:36:
The final piece is that in addition to photos, you can add performance video on your IMDbPro profile. That's a great way for someone to kind of check out your work when they look you up on IMDb. So, I hope that helps. I want you to make it your task this week to make sure that your IMDb profile is completely up to date and complete. Leave a note in the comments and tell us what you needed to add, and share your IMDb profile with us. I would love to check you out on IMDb. Now, if you love this content, share it with your friends and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking the link right there. I'll see you next week on Guru Tips for Actors.