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A Year Like No Other; 2020 In Review

2020 was a year like no other, especially for our industry. We all know how crazy this year has been, and this naturally led to some new industry trends and challenges.

However, even with the ups and downs that this year brought our talent still managed to take part in a range of incredible jobs. As the Melbourne entertainment scene felt the impact of long shutdowns, other states stood up and took on what they could to keep production going.

We are so proud of all of the amazing work that happened this year, and how amazing all of our talent have been throughout. Our Instagram (@bettinamanagement) and Facebook page  will give you a nice wrap up of the year and show off most of the work our kids have done this year; full of heaps of adorable snaps of our little ones.

We have also continued to work with some of most loyal clients, including Cotton On Kids, Big W, Best & Less, Country Road, Bonds, Rock Your Baby, Target and Seed. And we worked with a large amount of  impressive clients for the first time including Bardot Junior, Gro-To Skincare, David Jones Junior and many more!

Here are some of our highlights from 2020!

A New Baby Girl On The Scene

We were extremely lucky this year to have our babies selected to share the part as the newest addition to Ramsey St. – One of Australia’s longest running soaps welcomed beautiful baby Aster onto the show early this year. As Neighbours introduced their new character, our wonderful babies Isla & Scout were able to make their big screen debuts as baby Aster. We are so proud of them and love watching our little babes shine on screen!

Rock Star In The Making

In early 2020 one of our boys ,Charlton, was fortunate enough to be selected to feature in a music video for well-known Australian band, 5SOS. The bands new song ‘Old Me’ included a music video that showcased younger lookalike versions of themselves, and Charlton played band member Calum. It was a job unlike any other we have had before, which made it all the more exciting.  The end result looked amazing, so go and check it out to see Charlton in action.

Podcasts Are Taking Over!

As podcast are becoming increasingly popular, it was only a matter of time before we were a part of it! This year the lovely Erin was selected to play the role of Tang in the new ABC podcast for kids mystery adventure series ‘Mackeroy Uncovered’. Despite everything that happened this year the podcast released in June, and was a huge hit. Congratulations Erin!

Hardball Season 2

During 2020 it was announced that ABC Kids series ‘Hardball’ would be renewed for a second season. While the season is still filming, we are so happy that our kids will once again get to be included in this production. We had many kids take part in the first season, and they will once again be included in the second season. We can’t wait to see it!

Families Become The New Industry Must Have!

We thought last year was a big year for families, but boy were we wrong! Due to the household restrictions on set, families became the new industry must have. With clients figuring out it was much easier to fit families around the new restrictions  the demand for families increased hugely, beating any expectations we had for this category earlier in the year. Throughout the year we had Bettina families work for some incredible brand and clients including Google, Telstra, Koala, Woolworths, Rebel Sport, Best & Less and more!

The Unusual Suspects

The wonderful Santos Twins, landed a great role as Twins Rory and Joshua, on new SBS drama ‘The Unusual Suspects’. The show will be a landmark in Australian television as it marks the first major representation of Filipino-Australians on Australian TV. The series will be released in the New Year and we can’t wait to watch.

New Kid On The Block

Our talent have been busy this year, with another appearance on a long running Australian soap. After a tough audition process, River was selected to play the new reoccurring role of Jai on Home and Away. An incredible achievement for the mere age of 7, River is extremely talented and this isn’t even his first role on a TV Series. He is as asset on set, and we are so proud of his achievements, taking it all in his stride this year.

Money, Money, Money!

Everything costs money, so don’t be surprised when talent management also comes at a cost. At Bettina Management we have a full time castings team who spend all of their time putting children forward for briefs every single day. We do a really large amount of work behind the scenes in order to put our kids forward for as many different jobs as possible. However, all of this work does take a large amount of time and energy from our team, and involves an immense investment in digital infrastructure and expert knowledge in order to be compliant. This can’t all be done for free, hence why we have costs for our talent management packages.

After your child is accepted onto the books, the first stage is to be are pitched for a job. If we receive a brief that is suitable for your child (e.g. Boys 10-12, NSW, Brown Hair), they will be pitched to the client by our casting team. The client will then select multiple children who they believe will be a good fit for the job. From here there is the possibility of having to do a video casting or audition before a client will want to move ahead, however this isn’t always the case.

After this your child might be lucky enough to be chosen by the client to attend an in-person casting or get selected for a job without one.

If this does occur here is break down on what you can expect money wise from this part of the process. When your child is selected for a casting and they choose to attend, this portion of the process is unpaid. A casting will usually only take 5-15 minutes and doesn’t require a payment. Though castings are unpaid, they are a really good opportunity for your child to be exposed to some of the procedures and processes within the industry.

It also allows for casting agents and producers to be exposed to your child and maybe even keep them in mind when another opportunity comes up in the future.

If they aren’t selected to continue on further after their casting, it is still a great opportunity for the child and will help to build their confidence and help with nerves during other castings, if they are requested for a casting again.

If a child makes it through to the next stage, they will either attend a call-back or they will be requested for the job. A call-back is basically a second casting. This happens when a client would like to see some of their options again, in order to make a final decision. Call-backs are usually paid if they are for commercials, but not for feature films or a TV series. They will also be longer than a casting and less children will attend; the payment for a call back is most likely to be just a base wage amount per hour.

If your child is successful and is requested, they may be required to attend a wardrobe fitting. A wardrobe fitting is exactly how it sounds, the child will need to go and try on their wardrobe for their shoot, this is to ensure that all items fit, adjustments can be made if necessary or give the stylist time to source other items if needed.

This is very similar to a call back in the sense that they will be paid for their time, just an hourly rate, but it will be a tad more exciting because you know that your child has been selected for the job.

The next stage will be the shoot, the best part of the process. Shoots can be unpaid; however, you may be compensated with clothing or vouchers from the client. We always accept these jobs to create more opportunities for our talent, we will also always pay the kids a working base awards rate if the client is not providing payment or is providing clothing vouchers instead. This is so that no shoot is ever technically unpaid. These shoots aren’t very common but it is still a great opportunity for your child to attend any kind of job, especially for the experience.

Unpaid shoots are often student films and runways or extras in Live TV crossovers such as Sunrise or The Today Show.

The majority of shoots will be paid opportunities and every shoot will be different. When you receive the booking details for the shoot, you will also receive the details for your child’s payment.

The payment amount will depend on many factors including the type of work, hours needed on set, where the advertisement will be shown and how long it will be shown for, among others. As your agent, we are here to ensure your child receives equal compensation for the amount of work done for the client. It is important to align your expectations with the fact that every shoot is different. Some will pay per hour and others will be a lump sum and in most cases no payment will be the same.

While it is important to know this information if you have a child within the industry, also remember that money isn’t everything. Though it can be nice for your kid to get some pocket money or savings for later in life, overall it is all about the experience and the fun your child will get from these opportunities. And for the parents, well you can have some keepsake images to share with family and friends, maybe even bring them out for some embarrassment at their 21st!

Any job will be an exciting and enjoyable time for your child and a great opportunity for them to build confidence and gain experiences that they can remember for the rest of their lives.