Message Board Homepage Parents and Children Child and Teen Actors, Singers, and Dancers Children in Film website- is it effective web?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Children in Film website- is it effective web? | Login/Join |
| Newbie |
Hi, I just registered my child (free) for this web. to promote him. Looks like if I upgrade this (it's $16/ month)I will get more options. My question is do you know this web? Have you registered before and got any call from directors? I can try for one month but want to make sure it is not scam. thanks | ||
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| Robert DeNiro |
Don't waste your money. Directors are NOT browsing websites looking for talent. Bizparentz.org has a lot of great information about avoiding scams. | |||
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| Newbie |
Thanks TMR. I appreciate your answer. I will not pay it. | |||
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| Newbie |
I couldn't disagree more. It is not calls from directors that you want which is exactly why it sounds like you need the site. You need to learn the casting process, get your resume and head shots up to speed, etc and then you'll be ready to submit to agents and managers - those are the pros who will get you in contact with casting directors, producers and directors and they are ABSOLUTELY using the website. Stefanie Scott (ANT Farm), Rio Mangini (Little Rascals), Jimmy Deshler (General Hospital) all got their start on Childreninfilm.com. Not convinced? What's the harm in trying the site for the free month of enhanced membership that they offer? | |||
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| Johnny Depp |
Sorry, but I smell S-H-I-L-L. You can get everything you need to know from Bizparentz.org and the PARF forum. Of course Backstage is a wealth of information too. Childreninfilm.com is a waste of time, IMHO. | |||
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| Newbie |
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and yes you can find info on other sites, but you can't connect/message directly with the pros you need to know to get work. Check out the success stories - www.childreninfilm.com/Member-...working.aspx#Success. Again there's no harm (and no obligation) in trying out a free Enhanced membership. | |||
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| Kevin Bacon |
I have to say in defense of Children in Film, that my son was contacted by several agents and managers through the website. We have been working with one of them for several years, a small boutique agency and they've been great! I never paid for membership, but we won one through their photo contest. I'm not saying that we never would have gotten an agent otherwise, but this is what happened for us and it was thanks to Children in Film that my son got his start. | |||
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| Newbie |
I used CIF to cast a music video a few years ago. Got a bunch of great kiddos, all showed up on time and behaved professionally. So at least from a producing perspective I think it's an effective site. | |||
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| Newbie |
Let me start by saying, anyone that would knock the Children In Film website or call it a scam, obviously hasn't used the site. Children In Film does not claim to be a site that will get you recognized by directors, however, they are an educational site that will tell you the ins and outs of the business, steer you in a positive direction, and you can build a profile that can be seen/submitted directly to industry pros. They do have casting directors searching for kids for roles and also post about agents and managers that are looking to add to their rosters. I can tell you firsthand that it is definitely NOT a scam. My son has booked two jobs through Children In Film, has acquired two managers through Children In Film--one of which he is still represented by and she is the President of the Talent Managers Assoc (so there are quality industry pros looking at your child's profile), and he has attended/participated in some great programs that he would not have gotten otherwise (Toastmasters Intl & Odyssey of the Mind). My son is now a series regular on a long-time running daytime drama and I attribute some of the skills he's learned over the past 4 years to Children In Film. It, of course, is anyone's choice on where they market their budding actor/actress, but Children In Film was a GREAT choice for us for both marketing and learning. Lesson: Don't knock it, til you try it!! | |||
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| Denzel Washington |
Can we get a non-newbie to comment? I'm always a tad suspicious when 3 people register that same day... | |||
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| Hilary Swank |
ita Ship - and on the model site as well. | |||
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| Nicholas Cage |
Ok non-newbie chiming in here. First of all, based on what she says here and looking on the CIF success story page linked above, this is Shelly's child: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3435598/ Please note, there is no such contractual term as "series regular" on a daytime drama (soap opera). You are a contract player or a day player or under five. You can be a recurring day player which it looks like her child is. Shelly please correct me if I am wrong and your child is a contract player. Either way, the fact tht she uses the term "series regular" is a red flag on both her claim and the educational value of the site since it is an incorrect use of the term. Second, I am not impressed by the success stories. Kids like Stephanie Scott and the Sprayberry kids have been around a while and each used multiple venues to learn the business. They are claimed as success stories by multiple sources and coaches and workshop companies. So that doesn't impress me, it says they were proactive and learned and connected through many sources. The other successes are just average levels of success and there are many paths to that level of success, many of which are free. Ok, that said, let me suprise you. I would NOT call CIF a scam. Not by a long shot. To me a scam is deceitful. It either tricks you by promising something it doesn't deliver or deceives you into believing you can achieve something unrealistic or is deceitful in anothe way. CIF is none of these things. Now, do I like their business model? Well, not much. I am not a big fan of paying for information you can get for free and I don't think that their methods of connecting you with professionals works any better than the others out there (workshops, email, mailings, showcases, classes with showcases, la casting & actors access breakdowns). Perhaps if you are very unique you might pick up a rep faster, but otherwise, meh. Now, that's just for me. I realize there are people out there with more money than time or Internet savvy. For that specific group, for those who don't have the time or ability to research at length or who want the info laid out for them to easily consume...then CIF does offer that option, and I don't have a problem with it! I did the free trial (do you still offer that?) a couple of years ago when the whole family went to NY for one of my kids to work. I thought it might be a shortcut to get my other two reps for the months we were there. I didn't get a single bite. I thought the site was fine, but didn't contain anything I didn't already know from free sources like BizParentz. And as I said, no bites from industry pros or casting in the NY market. Well that's my 2 cents. And I totally agree with all those who are wary of a slew of posts supporting CIF from newly registered posters. Smells bad and I would warn CIF not to encourage that kind of behavior. | |||
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| Newbie |
Correction - my son is a multi-year "contracted actor" if you want to get technical in the soap opera sense. He has appeared in 30 of the last 34 episodes. The use of the words "series regular" is not a sign of ignorance to the business, it was simply a term used in the broad sense that some might understand better. I don't need to paint a pretty picture for him, his experience speaks for itself. But, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it's my son's credentials that are in question here. CIF offers much more to kids/families in the business than you might see from just using the services for one month. There are opportunities for members to read in front of casting directors (which you pay for at any venue in town), programs that build both the confidence and public speaking skills, movie screenings, webinars with industry pros, and many more services including direct contact with agents, managers, casting directors, coaches and other industry pros--it is up to these individuals if they have an interest to contact you and is no reflection on CIF. Anyway, I could go on and on but the bottom line is someone asked whether this was a "scam" and we are all entitled to our own opinions and I was merely giving mine, which is from first hand experience with being a memeber of CIF since 2008, and I'm not some parent that has money to just throw to anything that I think will get my child somewhere. What works for some, may not work for others, but they are a good organization with a good reputation.
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| Nicholas Cage |
Thanks for clarifying Shelly. I would recommend using the correct terms. Makes you more credible to those who know them and educated those who don't. You should correct his IMDB, it only shows 10 episodes. Yes, CIF offers the "speed dating" industry meet ups. I don't see as much value in that as the paid for workshops. And they aren't exactly free...you are paying for them by paying your monthly fee. Yes there are movie screenings, but often the same ones you can sign up for on Hollywood Mom Blog for free. They also give out tickets thru other venues. The Virtual Channel Network on the Showfax website does videos similar to the webinars and i find their industry pros more on the level I am interested in. As for building the kids' confidence and speaking skills... your son has done Toastmasters and Odessy of the Mind! What did CIF do to build his speaking skills and confidence that those free programs did not do MUCH better? But as I said, CIF is a one stop shop for a lot of things you have to spend time tracking down otherwise. So if you are willing to pay for that convenience good on you! I saw enough in a month to know it wasn't worth it to ME and I still get the emails and haven't seen a compelling reason to rejoin. But as I said, I wouldn't call it a scam. BTW, Of course it's up to the pros whether they contact you or not. But that's true of any method, even the free ones. And I had more success contacting the same pros through the free methods while we were in NY than through CIF. | |||
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| Newbie |
That is great to hear two side of stories. I also discovered PARF, BISPARENTZ, and BACKSTAGE those are great resources and I already learnt to avoid the places that want to you to pay for informations. I prefer slow and safe, and that's why I am not going to use CIF for all above reasons. | |||
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Message Board Homepage Parents and Children Child and Teen Actors, Singers, and Dancers Children in Film website- is it effective web?