 Hi, my name is Beljika and I'm an actress based out of California. And today I'm going to give you a bunch of different resources on how to research different talent agencies because if you're an actor, you are either considering having an agent or you might in the future. So I wanted to give you a bunch of different ways that you can do research and see if it's going to be worth it for you to take a meeting with them or, you know, approach them for representation. So the main resource where I go, it is paid. If you are an actor and you have some credits, you definitely want to have an IMDbPRO account. But that's mainly where I am doing my research. Of course, I'm going to give you some other ways that are free. But that one is the industry standard. It's where casting directors go. Basically anybody will go to you look you up, see what you've done, maybe see some clips of you, some headshots. Definitely suggest IMDbPRO. It's not sponsored. This isn't, you know, obviously it's not a commercial for them. Most importantly, it gives you a lot of information to be able to contact them and further research them. So what I like to do is go to a show that I really like, and then I can click on the different actors that were in that show. And then when you go to their page, again on the paid IMDbPRO, you will be able to see the representation. You can now click on the representation and see all of the contact info and see who else they also represent. You can also look on social media and see who other actors are represented by. So if you have friends that are actors or if you follow different agencies, they usually tag their actors. So you can very easily contact those actors if they're your friends or if they're if they're not your friends and see what their experience is like with that specific agency or that representative. And it's really easy to be able to get, you know, information from the source. So for me, for example, I'm represented by MDT in San Francisco right now. You could DM me and ask me about my experience with them. But I also have a channel and I can tell you right now because you're watching this. I have liked my time with MDT. San Francisco is a smaller market, so I don't get as many additions as I would like to. But that's why I'm seeking representation in other places as well so I can get more auditions. There are a lot of agencies that are SAG franchised. So SAG-AFTRA is an actors union in the U.S. And if there's different unions around the world for actors, you should definitely research those in case those are, you know, it's the case for you if you're in a different country and see if there's any kind of agency that's franchised by an actors union. So that's another way SAG-AFTRA does have a list of SAG franchised agencies as well if you want to go and see if there's, you know, a union that's like, yes, this is a good agency to go to. Depending on your state or your country, you can also look up if this particular agency is registered through the state. So in California, you do have to be a registered talent agent in order to be a talent agent. So you can look them up on the government website. And the last way is a few different ways. These are workshops, casting director workshops or acting classes, showcases, that sort of thing. You can meet other actors in those events and they're doing them online, of course, right now. But you can meet other actors and see who they're represented by the location and then do more research on that agency, see how they would like to be submitted to if it's online or, you know, if they want you to send an email or submit through their website or send them a postcard or whatever it is. So you can do further research, but at least you met an actor who is with them and I would suggest to ask somebody who has been with an agency for at least six months because, you know, it can vary. At the beginning, you might not get any auditions, but then maybe in six months or later, you start, it starts picking up momentum because the agents start to get to know you and know how to market you better. Or at the beginning, maybe they're really excited about your look or your type, your abilities, whatever, and they submit you a bunch and you get a bunch of auditions. But then it dwindles down. You really want to know how the agency works. The general experience of every person, but the experience of every person does vary. So try and get as many different perspectives as you can. Always follow your instincts. Of course, if you don't like the way somebody's treating you or the way the meeting is going, whatever, if you're not comfortable with something, then don't do it. Don't sign with them. And of course, if you already have a friend who's represented by somebody, talk to them about it, see what their experience is like. So those are a few ways on how you can research different talent agencies and see if they are going to be right for you because you don't want to submit, you know, blindly submit to a bunch of agencies because it's going to waste your time. It's going to waste their time. And you should definitely do a lot of research before you sign with anybody. My experience in California is that you should not pay agents. I know there are some agents that will pay you a fee or take advantage of younger people by putting Disney text on one of their casting calls or their showcases or something. Remember that Disney is not affiliated with any other type of casting people. Sometimes people are like, hey, we're affiliated with Disney. No, they're not Disney. No, Disney usually has one big open casting call at the end of the year. Other than that, they go through agents, but it's a little complicated. Essentially, if you sign with an agent, they shouldn't force you to get new headshots through the people specifically that they want or get training specifically through the people that they want. Sure, they can advise you on this is a really good acting teacher or these are really good headshots, but they shouldn't force you to do anything, spend money. They should work off of commission, you know, the auditions they get you and then you book, they can get some commission 10% or whatever it is normal for in your area. But I don't think you should pay some kind of subscription fee for an agent. Don't pay for it. Do your research. Don't sign with, you know, the very first, especially if you're a kid, don't sign with just the first one that accepts you. Make sure you're doing research. I did actually end up signing in San Francisco with the first agency that accepted me, but that was because I already knew a lot of people that were also signed by them that had worked that I had worked with in the San Francisco Bay area, but just make sure you do tons and tons of research. I have a lot of videos on agents. So if you would like to watch those, I'll put a playlist right here and at the end of every video, I feature another channel. This is today's feature. If you would like to be featured on my next video, make sure you're subscribed, like this video and leave me a comment.