Hello all-
Has anyone had any experience with On Camera Acting Film and TV Academy located in Beverly Hills, CA? Their website is www.oncameraacting.org. Does it look legit? Just wondering. Thanks.

You are dealing with the same company as you mentioned in your other post (where multiple posters told you it didn't sound right). This is Tami Erin again.

I see quite a few red flags:

1. She lists locations in Las Vegas, LA and SF. But all the teachers appear to be in San Fran.

2. I have never known any regularly working actor in LA who studies with her.

3. Success stories look weak at best, untrue at worst. First kid does have an IMDb listing, but the some of the credits appear to be extra work. I could be wrong there, but the links provided go to an audition tape, not a clip from an actual show as it suggests.

Second kid lists only a bogus show produced by Be Productions in SF. Be is a well known scam, and was NOT a Warner Brothers production (that is completely a fraudulent statement), nor was it on CW NETWORK (the show could have been shown via paid programming at 2:00AM on CW, but it certainly wasn't on the NETWORK). Kids In BE were promised a part if they paid Be--simple as that. Same goes for another kid on the list--Brittini. Makes me wonder what Erin's connection to Be Productions was/is.

Several kids photos are not close to acceptable industry standards. How successful could they be with obviously unprofessional photos?

Teresa has two short films on IMDb and that's it--doesn't match her list on the site. Same deal for Ashton, so her films don't check out either.

I won't go through all of her success stories, but get the picture?? Not exactly "success" as I would define it, when considering whether to pay a bunch of money to an acting teacher.

4. Tami Erin apparently owns multiple talent service enterprises, which is a violation of the law in CA. She is not registered as an Advance Fee Talent Service as required. It's a big deal.

It looks like she is doing classes through this thing (Celebrity Bootcamps are part of it--anything called a "bootcamp" is a red flag, btw), but also works as a "manager" (http://temtm.com/children.html) and also has a database product called The Hollywood Talent System by Tami Erin. The management company websites CLAIMS that she works on commission only, but gee golly--she runs an acting school too. The management company website also implies that she is an agency. She isn't. She seems to have her fingers in a pot all over.

5. Tami Erin herself does not appear to have an agent, and her manager has only one client--her. She fancies herself as a celebrity though. She's very pretty and still young--makes me wonder why she isn't acting herself.

6. We've been told that they advertise on craigslist. Never a good thing.

7. Past complaints have mentioned Erin working as a "producer" on a "pilot" that seems to have been mysteriously in production for more than a year.

8. Previous experiences:
BizParentz had quite alot complaints about Ms. Erin last year. As a result, we wrote to her with a list of 7 questions about her businesses in November 2008. We wanted her to have an opportunity to correct any misconceptions we might have and tell us more about her business.

The response we got was from someone named Jennifer Lewis, who did not answer any questions but stated that "Ms. Erin doesn't own On Camera Acting. She gives them her image to use as many celebrities do endorsements and events for companies."
Hmmmm....funny, because now Ms. Erin is listed on the website as "Film and TV Academy Founder". She's the founder, but she doesn't own it? Sheesh--her name is all over these businesses.

Sooo...that's alot of red flags. Lots of questions. Enough that I would keep looking if it were me. I'm not sure if Ms. Erin is unscruplous or is just innocently ignorant of the law and the industry standards in relation to acting schools, management, talent agencies, etc. Either way, it isn't good for someone who would helping to guide your kids' professional career.

A

THANK YOU for all this info. You saved me big time.
That mysterious "pilot" is called "Just Don't Sit There, San Francisco" I nearly fell for it. It's sad to not be able to trust casting notices on sfcasting, which I understood to be a reputable one.