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| Bollywood Award winning child film 'Taare Zameen Par' |
3 Steps Guide On How To Start Your Child To Be A Great Kid Actor
1. Train The Child To Be A Professional Actor
This is the absolute best way to start.
Why?
A. The child is entering into a new world-acting. Once trained on 'one on one' basis by a coach find a good child acting class and it will help you and your child to enter a community of parents of children actors who will give you advice on auditions, good managers, and agents or artist coordinators (casting directors) in your town/area or in Mumbai (India), photographers, resumes, and much more. This will save you a lot of time and money and help you avoid acting scams.
B. Another reason to start with a training is that it will help your child see if acting is for him or her. If your child is not having fun in class or doesn't really look committed to learning the craft, he can just move on to some other interesting activity and you won't have spent money on headshots, resumes, and mailings.
C. Finally, another advantage of starting with a good training is that your child can build the confidence to succeed at kids auditions. This can make all the difference. A child who knows what to expect won't feel as shy or nervous during auditions.
2) Get a Kid Portfolio (Headshot) and Resume
Don't worry about getting a professional kid portfolio right away. You don't want to spend money on some celebrity portfolio photographer only to find out that the children acting agent/coordinator you get doesn't like them, plus if your child is starting out, he/she may not be as relaxed posing for a stranger.
Just 'do it yourself' to begin with. Digital cameras make it easy. You can take an unlimited number of shots until you find the one you like. It should be a head and shoulders shot and look exactly like your child. Avoid tight close-ups that conceal your child's hair and body type but stay close enough to focus on your kid's eyes.
Go for a natural and spontaneous look. This is important for all actors but even more for children because if your child is deliberately taking a pose, he just won't look like a kid. Taking the pictures outdoors with natural light will help. If your kid is having a hard time smiling naturally, try to take your camera along when you go out and take a few candid pictures when your child is having fun at the park or elsewhere. Of course, you need him to look at the camera, but if you're fast, you could have just enough time to get that great natural shot.
Resume
Once you got a child portfolio/headshot you're happy to start with, put together a kid resume. Don't worry, nobody expects child actors to have tons of experience. Just write simple details like name, weight, height, age (screen age look which usually is a range like 3 to 7), experience (community, schools social functions), additional skills like singing, dancing, sports etc, website, contact details etc.
You can get the best examples of a child actor resume on internet (Google images)
3) Get a Children Acting/Artist Co-ordinators Or Agents
In the US and other countries, there are 'agents' and you can find, evaluate and select them online or through acting classes or through your acting coach. In India for Bollywood and for TV serials, they are artist coordinators (nowadays some call themselves 'casting directors' though they may not be decision makers). Though they may offer useful advice on children headshots, resumes, and classes, the best is to have a private professional acting coach who may guide you better.
Their main job is to refer our child to auditions. There is a joining fee (registration fee) apart from a fixed percentage of the earnings of an actor. In India though not a guarantee, your chances of getting audition calls could be better with your kid's registration with the larger number of artist coordinators/casting directors.
(In US: Preparation to Work: Before you take your child out on kids auditions, you'll want to make sure they have all their paperwork ready should they book the job. They will need a social security number and a work permit from the Department of Labor, which both their school and pediatrician may have to sign off on. Your child's acting agent should be able to provide you with all the details and requirements, as well as information on how to open a trust account for your child's earnings. Also, make sure you and your child have a passport should they book an movie or TV role shooting overseas.)
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Congratulations! Now your child is ready for auditions.
Watch Their Films And Learn From Observation and Practice
Hollywood Top Child Actors
1. Tatum O’Neal — Paper Moon
2. Jodi Foster — Taxi Driver
3. Henry Thomas — E.T.
4. Macaulay Culkin — Home Alone
5. Elijah Wood — The Good Son
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Bollywood Top Child Actors
1. Harshaali Malhotra
2. Harsh Mayar
3. Diya Chalwad
4. Sara Arjun
5. Naisha Khanna
6. Darsheel Safary
7. Parzan Dastur
8. Ayesha Kapoor
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