Do Actors Need A Website Or Is Social Media Enough?

June 30, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

In this day and age everyone has social media and it’s no different for actors, but as such you may want to think twice before going without a website.

Social media is a great way to put yourself out there and connect with fans. Being free, it’s one of the most popular ways in which actors promote their name and work, not only with followers, but casting directors and agencies.

So if you have social media, do you need a website? The short answer is yes.

Social media is all the rave right now, but who knows when that high will die down. It probably won’t happen anytime soon and if Facebook and Twitter disappear for some reason, something else will surely take their place.

According to Philip Hernandez, a respected acting teacher and singing coach in New York City, as great as social media is, an actor should most definitely have a website that they can control and design as they wish.

“A website is a calling card that you can say ‘check me out at http://www.JoetheAwesomeActor.com’ and then on ‘www.JoetheAwesomeActor.com’ you have links to your Facebook, YouTube videos or twitter. Telling an agent or casting director to look you up on Facebook is not really professional. Sending them to your site is.”

You can stay on top — or hire someone such as AltoMedia to do so — of all your social media sites, but they are still influenced by others. A website, which doesn’t have to be too fancy, but you can add all the basics, such as your CV, headshots or photoshoots, biographical information, etc.

An actor can build or have a website built relatively inexpensively and may have to dish a monthly amount if they want a third party to take care of the administration of the site. After all, trying to become a household name will take a lot of work and dedication and who has time to create a webpage?

Of course you could do it yourself, but most actors simply do not have the time or knowledge to create a website on their own. In summary, don’t send your Facebook link to a potential agent or other studio executive, it’s just not professional to do so. You need a website.

Thinking about creating your own website to showcase your talent for all to see? Let us know if we can help.

[Image via Kevin Leslie/Twitter]

Charities On Social Media……And The Celebrities That Support Them

June 21, 2015June 21, 2015Altomedia 1 Comment

Charities have always relied on public support to reach their goals, and used direct mailing, magazines, advertising and their websites to reach their supporters and donors.
But more and more charities are looking at Social Media to reach a larger number of people. Not only does that give charities the opportunity to get in touch with more potential supporters, but also a chance to interact one-on-one with the public through tweets, posts or message boards.

An article in The Guardian described in 2013 how to look at different Social Media channels and choose the one that is right for you, and how to use it effectively.

“When planning your social media campaign, think carefully about what you want to achieve and who you want to engage with, then choose your channels based on who you want to reach. For example, LinkedIn is a professional tool, whereas Facebook tends to target a broader and younger audience. While it’s tempting to throw yourself in and sign up to as many free accounts as you can, be aware that you will need to interact if you want supporters to view your social media stream as a reliable way to communicate with you. Keep your social media moving – introduce news, provide usable content, stay active and regularly update your information. Nobody is going to interact with an account that’s been dormant for six months, so stay relevant and topical where possible.”

Charities always tried to connect with celebrities to support their cause through campaigns or as a spokes person. Now we see a lot of actors not only donate their time, but also use their Social Media accounts as a platform to get the message out to their followers.

Luke Evans on Cyber Abuse

Luke Evans is very active in supporting charities through Twitter, Face Book or on Instagram. We saw Luke tweet about Movember last November, he has been a Bvlgari ‘Save The Children’ Ambassador for a long time, our header image shows him at the RBC race for the kids at Battersea park, he tweets about “Save Mali the Elephant”, “Save the Arctic” and just recently ” Cash& Rocket”-Raising money for women and children in Africa.

Luke Evans for Cash & Rocket

His fans love him for supporting all these good causes and came up with the idea to collect money amongst themselves through a fundraiser in honor of his 36th birthday to War Child UK.

Sandra at Luke Evans Talk set up fundraiser with his Luketeers

Other actors who donate their time and throw the support of their fans and followers behind a good cause are Chris Pratt, Robert Downey Jr. or Richard Armitage to name just a few!
These are two of many tweets from June 18th for Cybersmile!

Richard Armitage for Cybersmile Foundation

Richard Armitage #SCD2015

If you love Social Media as much as we do you can see many examples of celebrities supporting a good cause. One more person we would like to mention is Ricky Gervais. He tirelessly supports animal rights on his Twitter account with 8.7 Million followers. Please check out #StopYuLin2015! It is a campaign against the torture and abduction of cats and dogs for the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. We all can make a difference by tweeting about it using hashtag #StopYuLin2015

Where Are They Now? – Or How To Get Over BOFA Withdrawal Symptoms?

June 4, 2015June 4, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

I am sure we all felt sad walking out of the movie theatre after having watched The Hobbit Battle Of The Five Armies, knowing this was the last chapter. Many went to watch it multiple times, but it was hard having to say “good bye” to characters we came to care about so much.
“Will you follow me one last time?” was bitter sweet, not only for us, but also for the cast.

Now we have to deal with post BOFA withdrawal symptoms. Buying to own the movie certainly helped! We are happy though to notice that all cast members moved on to new projects, and we are taking this moment to research where we can see them again in the near future.

Andrew Lesnie with Lee Pace on set of BOFA

Let’s look at the director Peter Jackson first. The website IMDb
shows him as the producer of The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun to be completed in 2016.

Lee Pace looks very busy having completed the TV series The Mindy Project in 2015, as well as Halt and Catch Fire. Two movies Revolt and The Program are listed to be in post-production, and Reds and Grays is in pre-production.

Luke Evans Bard the Bowman

One of our favorites, Luke Evans, has so many projects even the most dedicated fans can’t keep up with his full schedule! Almost immediately after doing some promo work, he filmed Message from the King in Los Angeles, did a quick appearance for Fast and Furious 7, he is currently filming Beauty and the Beast, where he plays the villain Gaston. He played Richard Wilder in High Rise, which is listed to be in post-production and three other films Free Fire, Three Seconds and SAS: Red Notice are already in pre-production.

Additionally he made an appearance at HobbitCon 3 in Bonn and one just recently at the Shanghai Comic Convention, and our heads are spinning.

Another busy actor is Richard Armitage. He went on stage in Crucible last year, is on TV in Hannibal right now, and lists three movies in post production on IMDb Pilgrimage
, Urban & the Shed Crew and Sleepwalker
.

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield

Martin Freeman is working on Fun House and Captain America: Civil War. He continues to play Watson in Sherlock and also stars in Funny Cow, which is in pre-production.

Ian McKellen, Gandalf in The Hobbit movies, is Sherlock Holmes in Mr. Holmes. His TV movie The Dresser is post production while he is playing aongside Luke Evans in Beauty and the Beast and filming Animal Crackers as well. There is also the rumored Untitled Noel Coward Biopic and delayed The Curse of the Buxom Strumpet.

Orlando Bloom is filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales after having finished Unlocked and Digging for Fire.

Aidan Turner is lending his voice to Loving Vincent while his The Secret Scripture is finishing up in post-production. He has also become a television sensation with his series Poldark.

We are looking forward to a new Marvel movie Ant-Man premiering July 17th in the US with Evangeline Lily, and the preview looks very promising!

Evangeline Lily

Rounding out the field are Graham McTavish who lists Creed and The Finest Hours in post-production while getting ready for The Stolen, and Jed Brophy, our Nori, is preparing for his role in a Western movie Trail’s End, and has The Dead Room finishing up.

There are too many to list, Adam Brown and Stephen Frye amongst others, all are working on new films and projects. We are waiting to see the cast of The Hobbit in many new successful roles and are wishing everybody the best.

How Social Media Has Changed The Way In Which Actors Interact With Fans

May 1, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

Social media has revolutionized the way in which actors and other members of the entertainment business interact with fans and each other.

We have never been more connected, but that doesn’t only apply to regular folks, it also extends to actors, directors, producers, and movie studios as everyone tries to make the most out of this free marketing tool. Fans naturally love it, because they have never had more access to their favorite stars.

It’s a double edge sword though. As with anything that has to do with Hollywood (and we use that term loosely, to encompass all of entertainment), once the public gets a hold of a celebrity on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram they want more and they’re seldom happy.

Any actor who uses social media will tell you there is a great side to it (interacting with fans who enjoy social media) and a bad side (getting harassed and propositioned on a regular basis). This is similar to what happens in the real world with paparazzi following the rich and famous’ every move and constantly breaking boundaries.

Not everyone who joins social media knows how to use it properly and that’s why many are reluctant to join. For actors, putting themselves out there leaves them exposed to trolls (which is never fun) and rude or inappropriate comments. So what can you do if you’re in this position?

Ignoring and not taking it seriously is the best advice. In many cases other fans call out the trolls and they back away. The block or report keys are a good thing to use if you just can’t take it and don’t be shy. Nobody should be harassing you because they’re famous, but you have to have a thick skin and understand it comes with the territory. It can get personal.

In a perfect world, everyone is polite and respectful and social media is a fun experience for all, but unfortunately that’s now how things happen. You will see the best, in the people who want to see you succeed, but you will also run into some unsavory characters.

The best advise is to remember that it’s only social media and while it can further your career as never before and let you engage with you fans, social media has a dark side.