Category Archives: New Actors Blog

The Best Acting Classes in Bangkok

The Best Acting Classes in Bangkok

November 20, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

You should consider taking acting classes, if you are serious about acting.

And you are lucky, because these days there are a lot more acting classes on offer than used to be. Especially, if you are considering English language classes.

So who is out there?

MasterClass Studio offers the Best Acting Classes for Adults and Children

MasterClass Studio offers acting classes for children and adults of all skill levels. Robin Schroeter has an MA in Directing and has been active in Film and Theatre for more than 10 years.

Contact MasterClass Studio for more information about acting classes here: http://masterclass-studio.com/

or Email them: info@masterclass-studio.com or call 0869488384

MasterClass Studioo is located on Ladprao 25 with is a five minute walk from the MRT Ladprao.

John Marengo

Really nice guy. One of my first acting classes. Good insights. Trained actor, lanugage / dialect coach.

Kaprice Kea

Film maker, agent and casting director. Teaches basic and medium acting classes.

Thierry Bleu

The one with training from NY. A lot of people swear by him and take his classes continually.

Arts on Location

Twice a year week-long acting workshops by international coaches. Teach you really weird shit that you usually can’t get your hands on. Definitely not the ‘classic method’ but so much more if you are serious about performing than ‘just another acting class’. Teaches you how to become a wholesome performer using all aspects of your body, voice, mind, and emotions. Weird shit before, best acting classes I have ever taken and eternally grateful.

Culture Collective

Loni Berry. Trained and has a studio by the river.

Spark Drama

If your Thai is reasonable, you may also consider Thai language acting classes. Try Spark Drama Academy. They offer ongoing acting workshops by industry professionals. Good for networking and to get in touch with the Thai side of the industry. With other words, if you want to be more than just another stupid farang taking acting workshops by other farang operating in a bubble of non-thai speakers, this is something for you.

You can get a certificate in Film from SAE, which will also involve some acting classes.

This certificate will be internationally recognized. A lot of people that are active in the Thai Film industry got their degree from SAE. It has definitely become a household name. However, the certificate will focus on film-making, not just on acting.

AND…if you are really serious about acting and still young and speak Thai fluently, you may consider a degree in drama from one of these Thai Universities:

Bangkok University

Most practical

Chulalongkorn University

The big name in Thailand, but a lot of theory

Srinakarin Wirot

Just a great uni in the center of Bangkok

Mahidol University

Beautiful campus out at Salaya. Some very good drama teachers are operating there.

Chiang Mai University

Mor Burapa

This one is in Cholburi. Some of my friends are teaching there. A very open environment a bit off the track.

Do you find out more about how to become an actor in Thailand? Check out this article: How to get into the film industry in Thailand.

The Standard Minimum Rate for Actors in Thailand

September 26, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog , , , ,

First off, there is currently no ‘Standard Minimum Rate for Actors’ in Thailand.

Because the system is the way it is, actors are given whatever is deemed right for them – and whatever they accept as their wage.

Actors in thailand
Actors in thailand need to fight for their money – and their rights

Supply and demand:

There is a never-ending influx of Russia, Eastern European, and Iranian models that come from an industry where rates are much lower than here. Some are trained, some are not, all have a dream and want to survive. This influx of talent pushes the rates down, because: They Just Don’t Know what people are being paid here.

So the question is:

What are you willing to work for?

This is the big question and the hardest to answer.

Standard Minimum Rates for Extras:

For extras the going rate right now is 2000,- baht for a day’s work 12hrs). If it is below that it is too low. Some agents post jobs for 1500 baht, and even lower. You don’t want to go there.

The going rate is 2000,- for one day of work.

This is for commercial, film, thai tv, everything.

I start off with extras because it is the easiest. The most straight forward. Everything else is more tricky and more complicated. It always depends on your negotiating skills, their budget, your skills and how bad they really want you.

There is room for argument about flexible rates, but I will write about that in another article.

Standard Minimum Rate for Actors in Commercial Work / Advertisement

The widest range we probably have in Commercial Work / Advertisement. Producing a commercial gets cheaper and cheaper, you need less equipment, less crew, less lighting, it takes less effort to upload something. So we have more commercials, but each gets less exposure. Hence the rates for actors are going down. Especially in a market-based system without regulations or Unions.

In commercials they differentiate between: Online / TV / Worldwide + Pictures

The following are rates that I have received and that I think are fair.

Online

The cheapest rates are nowadays ‘online’ or what they like to call ‘viral’ commercials. These are low-budget productions usually done by small advertisement firms. Sometimes the term is also misleading, used to push the budget down.

Featured Extra

Any advertisement the featured extra part should pay 10,000 baht. Minus commission that is around 6,500-7,000 baht into the hand of the talent. In my opinion for featured parts that should be the absolute minimum.

Not including the buyout. See more about the buyout below.

Main

Main parts should start from 20,000 baht. Yes, also for virals / online ads. Minus commission of your agent that is between 13,000-14,000 baht in your hands. And that is low.

Worldwide / All Media

All media means all media, tv, online, social media. You will get paid extra if they want to use it on billboards or printed media as well. That should multiply your budget by 2. Always check the region as well. If it is a big advertisement the budget goes up exponentially with each region added. For example: region 1: France; region 2: Germany; Region 3: US/UK. You will get paid extra for each region. The biggest buyout is worldwide since it covers all regions.

Featured Extra

Again, the feautured extras should get paid no less than 10,000 baht. If it is worldwide it should really be 20,000 baht per day or more.

Main

The budget for the main for worldwide exposure should be at least 20,000 baht, but really more like 50,000-100,000 baht up. Up means, for a big campaign it should be more than that.

Remember: For all commercials, there is usually a buyout.

That buyout should be anywhere from 200-2000% of the original budget. This buyout is limited for a certain area and for a certain period of time and is being determined in your contract. So if your budget is 10,000 baht, the buyout can be anywhere between 20,000-200,000 (or more) baht.

If you have a main part in a worldwide ad your budget may be 50,000 baht per day. The buyout should be 100,000-500,000 plus an extra buyout per region, and if they want to use stills for billboards or printed ads you should again be paid a certain amount.

In Thailand a lot of that money ‘disappears’. Talents never see it. You get to see the final budget which is being watered down.

The Standard Minimum Rate for Actors in TV Work

The rates are different for Thai or Foreign TV. Foreign TV usually pays better.

Thai Tv / Film

It really depends on your negotiating skills. I would not work in a speaking part for Thai TV for less than 3,500. That is my minimum. I usually try to aim for 5,000-6,000. If they really like you, you can get 10,000 or more, especially if you can do stunts.

Thai films usually pay a bit less than Thai Tv. The production value or Thai Gilms is higher, the acting better, but there is less money in it. Most of the Thai Films are independent movies. The exposure in the cinemas is low, since Thai people usually prefer to watch the latest Hollywood Blockbuster than a local production with possibly less quality entertainment for the same price. Between 5,000-6,000 Baht per day is common for a speaking part in aThai film.

Foreign TV / Film

Usually I aim for around 10,000 baht per day for a speaking part. But depending on the production and your name it can be 20-30k or even 50,000 baht per day or more

If you are looking for the standard minimum rate for models please click here

If you are looking for the standard minimum rate for dancers please click here

No Selfies, please!  – Using Selfies as a tool for Self promotion is a bad idea!

No Selfies, please!  – Using Selfies as a tool for Self promotion is a bad idea!

September 03, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

Recently I came across a number of people that posted selfies on public boards as a means to getting acting jobs. This is a big No No!

Why?

The main reason is simple: Using selfies makes you look unprofessional.

“You cannot afford someone to hold the camera and take a picture for you”

There are a lot of other reasons I can list here, but they all come back to one thing: a selfie, even a good one is not professional.

It should be an absolute no no to send selfies to casting directors / agent or post them on public boards, such as, but not only the Actors Association.

It sends a message to everyone: you are not willing to invest even the slightest bit in yourself – like having professional pictures taken, which in Bangkok you can do for free at Mikael Ranta’s Studio. Check out his webpage and get in touch with him here: http://rantaimages.com/   

Who wants to hire someone like that?

no selfies for self promotion
no selfies please

Compare this to that:

Portraits

A professional headshot shows that you are serious about what you are doing.

I takes time to have a good picture taken. You need to go to a studio, you need to hire a photographer, the pictures need to be edited, all of this takes work. Work that will show in the final product.

A selfie just shows that you are too lazy to do any of that.

But why?

Your face is your first step into the door of castings. If you want to be an actor, get training, if you want to be a stunt man, get training or stay in shape and if you want to enter a highly competitive industry you need to have something to show for. A good picture can open doors, whereas a selfie can close them just as fast.

Even better would be posting a comp card with all relevant information about yourself and maybe a short bio.

You can easily make your own comp card here: http://compcard.actors-thailand.com/

comp card is better than selfie for self promotion
comp card for self promotion

Where is it acceptable to post selfies?

On your private profile / Instagram it may be ok to post some cool looking selfies. And it is a definite yes for self promotion if you get to work with a star or someone who has a big online / social media following.

If you post a reel of your work, or pictures in different characters / costumes to give people an idea of what you can do. That is perfectly acceptable.

 

Acting Workshops for Kids in BKK

July 24, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog , , , , , ,

Are you looking for private or group acting workshops for kids in BKK?

We would love to be at your service offering acting workshops for kids!

First stop for acting workshops for kids in Bangkok
Acting Workshops for kids in Bkk.

My wife, June, and I are both theatre and acting professionals with industry experience. We are working together as a coaching team. We dedicate ourselves fully to our task and adapt our approach to the needs of your child.

Does your child have an audition for Premiere coming up? Or do you want your kid to gain more confidence? Better public speaking skills?

We are the best option for professional acting workshops for children in Bangkok
Acting Workshops for Children in Bangkok

June has taught acting workshops for children ever since she graduated from Bangkok University 5 years ago. She is experienced in setting up her own curriculum and working with both experienced and inexperienced child actors. She has worked with children both in Bangkok and upcountry creating and devising plays, improving their communication skills and level of confidence.

 

My personal background is in theatre. Then, I moved to film while being in Thailand. I studied directing at Chulalongkorn University. During my studies we had several projects with children and it opened up my eyes and my heart to the younger generation.

Personally, I am an actor, director, language and acting coach. So far I specialized mainly on coaching German movies that are shooting here in Thailand. On our most recent project, MKI, my wife and I coached the two main Thai child actors for a period of 2 months. This was the first time we worked as a coaching team.

We loved the time on set and dedicated ourselves to coaching Faris and Guitar. To our surprise the director asked everyone to give us applause on our last day. This was a very moving moment and reassured us that this is the direction we should take.

June and I are both graduates in Performing Arts. She has a BA in Acting and I have an MA in Directing. We love theatre, we love acting, we love the arts, the creativity and we love children. We now offer group and private acting classes for children in Bangkok.

 

For more information you can send me an email: schroetermariusrobin@gmail.com

Or call me: +66869488384

The Standard Minimum Rate for Models in Thailand

The Standard Minimum Rate for Models in Thailand

February 18, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog , , ,

What is the standard minimum rate for models in Thailand? If you are modeling in Thailand you may ask yourself: How much should I get for a cat walk? Is this rate acceptable?

While there is no written law as to what the minimum rate for models in Thailand is, there are best practices.

People tend to get a certain budget for certain jobs and that is what I am going to propose in the following as the standard minimum rate for models in Thailand. I have consulted several models to gather together what they consider the standard minimum rate for models in Thailand.

Different kinds of Photoshoots and the minimum rate for models in Thailand:

Regular Photoshoot

8,000 THB in your hand for a photoshoot day (6-8 hours or so, which is roughly 1,000 then per hour) (10,500-11,000 including agency fee)

Lingerie / Swimwear Shoot

10,000-12,000 THB in your hand for a lingerie/swimwear shoot (or 1,500 – 2,000 thb per hour) (13,000-16,000 including agency fee)

Fashion / Lifestyle / Fitness Shoot

10,000-12,000 THB in your hand would be fair for fashion/lifestyle/fitness shoot, as well as for catalogue/look book with a same amount of clothes, say, not more than 20-25 pieces of clothing. (13,000-16,000 including agency fee)

Promo Photo Campaign

If it’s a promo photo campaign for a brand with prints etc then budgets are more or less comparable to the tvcs, but usually on the cheaper side. And of course that depends on how big the brand is and on which territories the campaign will be held.

Billboard

Also from what I heard if it’s a proper billboard it shouldn’t be less than 30,000 THB in your hand. (40,000 including agency fee)

Nude Shoots – Please Note that Nude Shoots are Illegal in Thailand!

Nude shoots should never be less than 10,000-15,000 THB. (13,000-20,000 including agency fee).

Photography Workshops

Then there are photography workshops, which are literally gang-bangs of a model by 5 to 100 photographers a day and therefore, in my opinion should be payed 10,000 THB up but in Bangkok realities are usually 4,000-5,000 THB. (13,000 including agency fee)

And finally the minimum rate for models in Thailand for Fashion Shows and Promo Jobs

Fashion Show

7,000 thb for a fashion show (1-3 outfits) (10,000 including agency fee)

Promo Jobs

There are also promo jobs. Promo jobs need you to do tasks such as smiling and taking pictures at the events. In my understanding they should be around 6,000-7,000 THB (8,000-9,000 including Agency Fee)

Those are the minimum rates for actors that I have found so far. If you have any other rates, or other jobs that I have forgotten to include, please let me know!

 

Do you want to know more about the standard minimum rate for dancers in Thailand please click here.

Do you want to know how to become an actor / model in Thailand? Check out this video:

Do you want to learn more about me? Check out my website: http://www.robinschroeter.de

 

Standard Minimum Rate for Dancers in Thailand

Standard Minimum Rate for Dancers in Thailand

February 12, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

First of all, I just want to clarify here that this is a standard minimum rate for dancers. Some productions may offer you way more than this. By accepting budgets that are below this you are hurting all other talents in the industry by undercutting already low budgets.

Second of all,  many clients see dancers as extras, while they should be treated similar to stunt men. Both dancers and stunt men require training and experience. Tori Lao-Lee, one of the most experienced Western dancers in the field, noted that the rate used to be 10,000 Baht in normal clothes and 12,000 Baht in bikini, similar to that of stunt men, and has dropped down ever since.

The standard minimum rate for dancers is quite straightforward as there are two main job categories: TVC / Movie jobs and Events.

The budgets below are what you, as dancer, should be getting into your hand. In brackets (…) behind that is the budget including agency fee.

Standard Minimum Rate for Dancers in Music Videos

5.000 baht in your hand for normal clothes/costumes. (6,500-7,000 Baht including agency fee)

6.000 baht in your hand for bikini/sexy samba costumes. (7,500 – 8,000 Including agency fee)

Standard Minimum Rate for Dancers in MOVIES

5.000 – 7,000 baht in your hand for normal clothes/costumes. (6,500-9,000 Baht including agency fee)

6.000 – 7,000 baht in your hand for bikini/sexy samba costumes. (7,500 – 9,000 Including agency fee)

 

Standard Minimum Rate for Dancers in TVCs

7,500 baht in your hand. (10,000 Baht including agency fee)

As mentioned above, this is the minimum rate. The budget you may be getting can be much higher.

The rates above are standard for most jobs and acceptable to most clients. (Source: Tori Lao-Lee)

For TVCs and Movies it is only one dance, 3-5 minutes

For Rehearsals:

In case rehearsals are required, you differentiate between half day and full day rehearsals:

  • A half day rehearsal should be 50% of the budget (2-4 hours rehearsal per day)
  • A full day rehearsal – the same budget as for one full shooting day

The Standard Minimum Rate for Dancers at Events Is Different.

The standard minimum rate for dancers at events depends on the following factors:

  • the number dances
  • the length of each dance is
  • the amount of dancers at each entry

In general you can say, that 1 dance or entry should be budgeted in your hands with 5.000 baht (6,500 – 7000 Baht including agency fee)

But sometimes you encounter 3 entries / performances with a budget of 8.000-9.000 baht in your hands. (11,000-12,000 Baht including agency fee)

*Please note that this rate is for trained dancers with experience.

I hope this can help newcomers to get an easy overview of what the budget situation is like for dance jobs.

 

Do you want to know how to become an actor / model in Thailand? Check out this video or this article How To Become an Actor in Thailand:

Do you want to learn more about me? Check out my website: http://www.robinschroeter.de

Talent Agents in Thailand – an Updated List 26.01.2018

Talent Agents in Thailand – an Updated List 26.01.2018

January 26, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

This is a list of most modeling agencies in Thailand

There are literally dozens of talent agents in Thailand. New agents are springing up almost every month, while others go out of business. This is a list of the most current contacts of talent agents in Thailand.

I have been working with modeling agents in Thailand for the last 10 years. I have been trying to collect their emails and other contact information for myself as well as for others.

MasterClass Studio
We get all kind of work from commercials to movies. We work all around. As agency, doing castings, casting directors and we also have our own productions. You can send us your profile to:

Line ID: @masterclassstudio

email: robin@masterclass-studio.com

Phone: 0869488384

I updated a list of the 8 Best Talent Agencies in Bangkok. If you are looking for people that don’t rip you off, this is a good place to start.

In recent years there has been some shifts. Initially, people were asked to send their details by email. Then things moved to Facebook. So you just had to send your profile by pm to them. Now the latest trend is sending everything by Line App. So If you want to know about jobs, it is not only important to follow the posts on Facebook, but you should also join a few line groups.

Line does not allow direct access to the id’s or to Line groups…So…I am posting the Line Id’s of talent agencies here. If you want to join the Line groups…you need to have a friend that is already member of one or the other Line Group.

I have written two articles about whether to write to all talent agents or only just work with one. I am still torn up which one is the better approach. You can Read the articles here:

Hell Yeah or Hell No! 

This article argues to contact all talent agents in Thailand

Or…How to Fix a Broken System

Here I argue to go exclusive… Any thoughts? Message me @robin_schroeter@hotmail.com or leave your comment below.

If you like to learn how to correctly submit your profile to an agent click here.

Modeling Agents in Thailand with Line IDs

As I mentioned before, Line becomes more and more important as method of communication between artists and their talent agencies in Thailand. These are the current Line Id’s of agents that I have.

For Gug from By Us he uses his phone number for his Line account: 086777836

086777836
s.gubgamzii  next_film  Fmodeling
traboo  nadda007, popmee  asiamo
ModelsCafe  kkmodeling  cherryagency
Bemodelbk  cutemodel201 paulmodeling
jaevich plukpluem99 @kkgroup
sportgirl999  thanyasa1982  Touchiiez
marco-model  Goodluckjas  starmodels
Shalomclub  Starsearch  hopeorigin
@mgm6529y  @theyourmodel  thanyasa1982
farfarawayz  Marco-model  Aamirharri
amuayzeed  aebetterman
golfartistt  Kookai307  @gchicagency
boombank84  titus.model  artzcasting

 

Modeling Agents in Thailand that like to be contacted through Facebook

While there is already a huge number of agents that can be contacted through Line and should give you access to a wide market, there are also agents that like to be contacted through Facebook. Here is a list of those that I have:

https://www.facebook.com/30extra?fref=nf

https://www.facebook.com/tone.mongkontanakan?fref=nf

https://www.facebook.com/rob.j.vermeer?fref=nf 

https://www.facebook.com/Nenemodeling/?ref=stream 

https://www.facebook.com/nickolasmain 

https://www.facebook.com/kwan.photo

https://www.facebook.com/rohitg5?fref=nf  

https://www.facebook.com/josetanphotos

https://www.facebook.com/Bo.wongsearam?fref=nf

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010453420301

https://www.facebook.com/kariterr?fref=nf

https://www.facebook.com/basovosab?fref=nf

https://www.facebook.com/rock.viva.9

https://www.facebook.com/rsmellz?fref=nf

If you know any other agent that likes to be contacted through Facebook, drop me a line @ robin_schroeter@hotmail.com or Line ID robinschroeter

 

Last but not least: agents in Thailand with Email Accounts

If that was not enough…you still have agents in Thailand that like to be contacted through ‘traditional’ means such as good old email. Here is a list of those agents:

Modeling Agent Name Contact Name Email Addresss
A Plus Modeling Victoria aplusmodel.victoria.d@gmail.com
Ah Bee Casting ahbeecasting@gmail.com
Airvory Agency aivoryagency@gmail.com
Akku Casting and Agency akkucha@gmail.com
Arnika arnikaende@yahoo.de
Asia Modeling Tony rong_anthony@hotmail.com
Aura Management Khun Sonie info@auramgmt.com
B Model Fashion bmodel_fashion@hotmail.com
B Model Fashion bmodel.fashion@gmail.com
Bangkok Video Productions Khun Jenny jenny.balee@bangkokvideoproductions.com
Candy Group Modeling Khun Jeab candy.modeling@gmail.com
Century Ware Khun Sesiri sesiri@centuryware.com
Citrus Talent citrus.talent@gmail.com
Cool Modeling Roy coolmodeling@gmail.com
Cool Modeling pooja.coolmodeling@gmail.com
Cute Modeling cutemodeling@ymail.com
Dan dan_hardy83@yahoo.co.uk
Dreamhouse Models castingthai@gmail.com
F Modeling Nano fmodeling.model@gmail.com
Famous Models famous.models.agency@gmail.com
Fluid Agency Mr Kaprice fluidactor@gmail.com
Fretwork Productions fretworkproductions@yahoo.com
Gamdang Khun Som som@gamdang.com
Gram Torino gramtorino@gmail.com
Greyington Productions greyington.productions@gmail.com
Hi Way Star hiwaystar.mo@gmail.com
House Modeling Gary gary.housemodeling@gmail.com
Interdome Khun Kathawut intertdome2005@hotmail.co.th
Iyara Film “Khun Joe” iyarafilm@hotmail.com
Jane Jane jane007bkk@yahoo.com
Jim Modeling jim@jimmodel.com
Jos Fine Art Jos josfineart@hotmail.com
Josiah josiahmizukami@gmail.com
Kidz Talent casting@jwegroup.com
Kenny Models Kenny modelskenny@gmail.com
Khun Aamir aamirharri@hotmail.com
Khun Aey hi_aey@hotmail.com
Khun Amy surachawadee2008@yahoo.com
Khun Amy suran.amy@gmail.com
Khun Ben casting@spielben.com
Khun Cat catmaew22@gmail.com
Khun Jack jack@deepwear.info
Khun Kupong kupong@gmail.com
Khun Kwan greatsin@windowslive.com
Khun Nattiyapa nattiyapa@gmail.com
Khun Pam m.pampamu@gmail.com
Khun Pemika pemika.ita@gmail.com
Kiss Models Khun Ae kissmodels.bkk@gmail.com
KK Group Modeling kkgroupmodeling@gmail.com
Legend Castings legendcastings@gmail.com
Massy Models Katha kat.massymodels@gmail.com
Maya Modeling Khun Ae aemayamodeling@gmail.com
Maya Modeling mayamodeling.thai@gmail.com
Maya Modeling mayamodeling.thai2@gmail.com
Mega Talent Agency megatalent.agency@gmail.com
Model Fashion model-fashion@hotmail.com
Model Story “Napat” johnmodelstory@hotmail.com
Modeling Soi 4 Nicky modelinksoi4@yahoo.com
Modeling Soi 4 modelinksoifour@gmail.com
Models In Asia contact@modelsinasia.com
Nok Models noksmodels@gmail.com
Pa Ying Pa Ying paying_model@hotmail.com
Pulse Modeling pulse.siam@gmail.com
Rina’s Modeling Rina rinacasting@gmail.com
Real Features info@realfeatures.com
Red Modeling submission@redmodelling.com
Siam Modeling siammodelagency@gmail.com
Star Modeling starmodeling.management@gmail.com
Starlight Modeling starlightmodel@yahoo.com
Talent Café Thai talentcafethai@gmail.com
Tantalize Casting tantalizecasting@gmail.com
Tay Models Alex alex@tay-models.com
Tiger Casting Emer talent.tigercastingbkk@gmail.com
Toabh Management toabhmanagementthailand@gmail.com
Top Models Management Khun Chakkapong commercial@topmodelsm
Uni Act Modeling uniactmodeling@gmail.com
Urban Faces urbanfaces@hotmail.com
Vivaldi PR exm@vivaldipr.com
Wind Up Films Khun Jae jae@windupfilms.com
Wind Up Films Mr Joshua joshua@windupfilms.com
Wow Productions wowproductions2288@gmail.com
Khun Alisa alisasanhoom@gmail.com
Mr Baso basovosab@gmail.com
Khun Candeeza candezahagedorn137@gmail.com
Khun Qiw coachkin.q@gmail.com
Mr Haqim crysalium@gmail.com
Khun Im imhain6@gmail.com
Khun Kittiwut kittiwut222@gmail.com
Mr Mahsid mahsid.faheem@gmail.com
Khun Marek marek.majcherek@gmail.com
Khun Natakorn natakorn_s1@hotmail.com
Maxim nemaxzi@gmail.com
Khun Nonie nonie937@gmail.com
Mr Paul paul@ewingentertainmentworldwide.com
Khun Ploy ployadipose@gmail.com
Khun Kook Kik suptars@gmail.com
Casting Directors that accept direct submission of profiles:
Khun Honey honeycastingteam@gmail.com

As you can see this list is quite extensive. Please excuse me if one or the other contact is not working anymore. Since there are so many agents the pool of agents is always in a flux. This list was last updated on 26.01.2018

If you find any contact that is not working anymore or would like to recommend a new agency, let me know @ robin_schroeter@hotmail.com or Line ID robinschroeter

 

Do you want to know how to become an actor / model in Thailand? Check out this video or this article How To Become an Actor in Thailand:

Do you want to learn more about me? Check out my website: http://www.robinschroeter.de

Cheers!

Modeling Agents for Children in Thailand

Modeling Agents for Children in Thailand

January 24, 2018 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

Now I have a little boy, I am interested to find out which agents for children there are out there.

I found that there are much less agents for children than agents for adults. And they have divided the market among them. Most of them are reachable either through Facebook or through line. Only few have a website or even email; yes, we are moving on to a new era!

What are you looking for in an agent for children?

Especially when trusting an agent with your kid, you want them to be caring, supportive and nurturing. Your little one is your one and only, so I think it is very important to work with an agency that you can trust and not just ‘anyone’. Most parents have a similar

While there are 3 dozens of agencies for grown ups in Bangkok, there are only 5 main agents for children (and a few smaller ones that were suggested to me, but which I didn’tknow, but put here in the list). Here are the ones that I found:

Candy Modeling

I like Candy Modeling. I have worked with them before, since they also represent grown-ups; alas to a much lesser extent. They are professional in their approach and attitude. They ask you to come in and have your pictures taken at their studio, so they have original pictures of you, not some that you edited yourself. They are very problem-solving oriented. Any time I had a problem Khun Jiab would always make it go away without ever getting personal – or feeling personally offended.

Contact:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candygroupmodeling/

Email: fon.candy@gmail.com

Phone: 02 001 2673

 

Gamdang Modeling

I have been with Gamdang for a long time, but have never worked with them. They have always been friendly to me and they look professional. They have a website, too, which I appreciate. They also reply in a timely manner.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gamdangmodeling/

Website: www.gamdang.com

Email: dang@gamdang.com

Banrukdek Modeling

Similar to Gamdang, I have never worked with Banrukdek, simply because they only specialize on children. I have seen them on Facebook for some time, so I have been aware of them. Thus, I know they are among the biggest 3 agencies for children (Candy and Gamdang being the other two in the top 3)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Banrakdek-300024113524903/

Email: Aey.banrakdek@gmail.com

Mobile: 090 974 8164

Cute Modeling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cutemodelingbkk/

Famous Modeling

Fay is a known and fair entity in the Thai modeling / agent world. She is good and reliable…aaaand…I just found out she also represents children.

Mobile / Line: 0941642953 0909626252

Website: www.famousmodels.tk

SMS Top Model

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smstopmodel/

Email: smstopmodel@gmail.com

Mobile: 0865331443 (Miew)

 

Agents for Children that were suggested to me by others but which I don’t know personally:

สถาบันปั้นดารา-นักแสดงเด็ก-คาแร็กเตอร์คลับ

Phone: 029199028

Facebook Click Here

 

Kin Chawin

Mobile / LineID: 0941936514

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013823284278

Qeww Athiwit

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taohuay13

 

ชุติมันต์ บุรานนท์ (Ae Buranon)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002576230811

 

If you have any experience, good or bad, with any agencies. Let me know! Or also…if you know that I forgot one or the other good agency!

 

Do you want to know how to become an actor / model in Thailand? Check out this video or this article How To Become an Actor in Thailand:

Do you want to learn more about me? Check out my website: http://www.robinschroeter.de

How to Fix a Broken System – Go Exclusive with One Agent!

How to Fix a Broken System – Go Exclusive with One Agent!

April 30, 2017 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

An Idiot’s Guide to the Fix the broken system of the Thai Film Industry

Budgets are going down. Talents don’t have any loyalty to any agent, and production has trouble finding the talent they need and that are best for the job as some agents just sent anybody to the job.

On top of that new agencies are appearing out of thin air on an almost daily basis. That means, the competition for the agencies is high. If you don’t do it for that budget, another agent will and you’re losing out of money. And since talents just go with anybody the incentive to keep the budget up becomes one of ethics and not one of strength. (‘I won’t do it for that low budget’, instead of ‘if the budget is that low you won’t get my talents’)

How to fix it?

I am talking about the view of the talent here. There is only one way of fixing it:

Go exclusive!

Yes, going exclusive with one agent of your choice is the only way to give that agent leverage to negotiate for you.

Don’t respond just to any post of ‘agencies’ that you don’t know on Facebook.

To be perfectly honest, sending your profile just to anybody who doesn’t have a transparent profile is madness. Who is Rocko Vivaldi Modeling? Who was Ant Modeling? Who is Mountain Models? Who is Brendan Gallagher? Who are all those Pakistani and Iranian ‘agents’ that are springing up?

Who are these people?

They don’t even have a profile picture. They don’t publish their names. There is no phone number. No address. NOTHING!

Why do you expect that they will pay you?

2 years ago the situation was similar. Agents sprung up out of nowhere. There was Ant Modelling. Ant Modelling got a big job of more than 200+ extras with one production company. If the budget in hand is 2500, what the agent is getting is 4000 of which they give you 2500. So for this job Ant made roughly 1,000,000 Baht. And that is just regular extras. There were featured and mains as well.

Guess what happened?

She disappeared. She closed her Facebook profile and was never to be heard of again.

There were others as well. Some have resurfaced, but not working as agents anymore.

Sending your profile to somebody you don’t know entails just this risk. You don’t know that person. You don’t know who it is and you don’t know if they will ever pay you. Especially with payment terms of 1-2 months for some jobs, there is a good chance that you will be left waiting forever for the money that you earned.

What are my benefits of going exclusive?

Your benefits are: Going exclusive forces the production to redesign their practices. Right now, each production has 1 or 2 agents that they are friends with and that are being contacted for each job. Since most talents go with all agents there is no need for production to contact other agencies for the job.

In turn this means that the agent will and has to do anything to please the production. In fact the agents become and extension of the production, but are being paid out of the talent’s budget.

Many agents have rightly asked me: “But what can I do?” or “How can I stand up to the production?” This makes it clear who their real client is – the production.

They have more incentive to ditch you as a unruly or disruptive talent than to stand up to the one who is paying them in the end.

So my recommendation to fix this broken system is:

  1. Go exclusive – choose one, or maximum two agencies and work exclusively with them
  2. Don’t send your profile just to anybody

Yes, it will take some balls to do that and yes, you will miss out on some jobs, but this is the only way that I see that can bring change – and that we as talents can influence. All other ways you have to put your trust to somebody that does not have your best interest in mind – but their own.

If you don’t go exclusive you leave your agent weak and without leverage to negotiate, because if he or she is seen as unruly (standing up for their talent) they will not be contacted by any production anymore. You can ask Kaprice Kea from Fluid about this.

In my next article I will publish a list of agencies that have been working in Thailand a long time and that are reputable and that I can recommend working with.

 

Do you want to know how to become an actor / model in Thailand? Check out this video or this article How To Become an Actor in Thailand:

Do you want to learn more about me? Check out my website: http://www.robinschroeter.de

Working Time On Set – 18 hours ‘Normal’ Working time?

Working Time On Set – 18 hours ‘Normal’ Working time?

April 04, 2017 by Robin Schroeter Acting Tips, General, New Actors Blog, New Actors Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog, Robin's Actor's Blog

Initially I wanted to write about the budget and compensation for actors in their different position. Now I find another trend that is even more worrisome – the issue about working time.

What regular working time used to be:

When I first started working here in Thailand, regular working time was 12 hours including lunch and anything else. Working time would start from the call time – the time that production wants you to be on set – and ended when you could go home. You were always looking at the clock and hoping that 12 hours would be over and the 13th hour would start. The 13th hour meant overtime.

What is happening to regular working time now:

In recent years that has begun to change. Somehow the productions decided that the 1 hour for lunch should not be on their time. So they said 12 hours plus 1 hour lunch. Making it in fact 13 hours of working time. And many times you would not have ‘1 hour’ for lunch, but would be rushed to continue to shoot.

Guess what, it didn’t stop there. The latest posts on this and other pages have asked talent to work for the same budget as before but now for 18-20 hours. This means the production is getting half a day of work from you for free. And because the conditions are known prior to the shoot, you have no means to complain, ‘You agreed to the conditions before’.

Another trick is what they call เหมา (Mau) which means paying a lump sum including everything. This lump sum leaves it up to the production to decide how many hours you may have to work – be it 24 hours, or maybe more in future – since you ‘agreed’ to that condition.

All of this is for one reason only: to save costs for the production so that the production can make more money.

What regular working time is elsewhere:

Like Damian Mavis described so elaborately in his article in Canada, regular working time is 8 hours. Everything after that is overtime, which is paid 1.5 times the regular pay per hour.

In Thailand regular working time is 12 hours; already 4 hours more than elsewhere. We have allowed this to become 13 hours in some cases.  Production can now argue ‘this is standard’ for their production.

What happens if we do nothing:

If you accept to work under these conditions, it will only get worse. In future we will have more and more posts of 18 hours regular working time until 18 hours of regular working time has become ‘the standard’.

What we are doing:

As such, we at the AAT have concluded to only accept posts in which the working day is 12 hours including a one-hour lunch break. We hope talent and productions will help uphold this standard. And hope that other groups will help us in this cause for the betterment of industry standards for the talents.

 

Do you want to know how to become an actor / model in Thailand? Check out this video or this article How To Become an Actor in Thailand:

Do you want to learn more about me? Check out my website: http://www.robinschroeter.de