Reality TV Casting

The cult-like following shows like The Bachelor and The Amazing Race have garnered have transformed the ‘reality’ TV show format into something of a pop-culture phenomenon.

Whether you an experienced or amateur actor, you may have decided you would like to audition for a certain reality TV show. Even if you have no acting experience and no interest in acting, you may be considering trying out for a reality show just for the thrill of it. There are many factors to consider when auditioning to be on reality TV. One very important factor to consider is the portfolio of pictures you will submit in the audition process.

Already Have a Portfolio?

If you are an actor with any level of experience, you may already have an existing portfolio of professional photos of yourself. Your portfolio may include head shots, body shots and lifestyle photos among others. Whether the photos of you that are in your portfolio were taken by an agency, a professional photographer or a friend, they are undoubtedly both professional and flattering. Unfortunately, producers of reality TV shows are not looking for professional actors or models (unless you are trying out for America’s Next Top Model, etc.)

Keep it Real

If you want to audition for and get cast in a reality TV show, chances are, you will need to portray yourself as a real person – A.K.A. your real self. So if you have a professional portfolio, scrap it altogether and start from ground zero. Choose a simple photo album for your portfolio. Go through recent personal photographs that include you. Make sure the photos you choose to include portray you as you currently look. If you had long hair but recently cut it, make sure to only use photos where your hair is the same as its current style.

Capacity for Drama

In addition to choosing pictures where you look like a regular (real) person and where you really look like yourself, look for different pictures that capture the range of emotion you are capable of. Reality TV producers look for participants that will create interesting circumstances due to their propensity for drama. In other words, do not choose only photos in which you are happy and shiningly smiling. Try to find some (or strategically take some) pictures where different emotions are captured on your face. This may sound gloomy, but if you have pictures where you look angry or sad, include them so that you come across as someone with some depth of emotion.

Personality Pointers

When putting together your photo album – A.K.A. portfolio, make sure to include several pictures that portray your personality and lifestyle. For example, if you are known as a world traveler, use pictures of yourself in Italy, or at that Buddhist temple you visited last summer. If you are an avid athlete, include photos of recent events you participated. Try to use pictures that show you actively participating in life – no matter how you do it.

Video Portfolio

Though sometimes you will be auditioning live, (and may be asked to submit your photographs prior to the audition) chances are you will be asked to videotape a 2 to 5 minute video of yourself first. Some reality TV producers request a video tape in lieu of photos or a portfolio. In this case, review past seasons of the program you are trying to get cast for and see what type of people the show is likely to pick. Practice in front of friends and family members, and re-record your audition as many times as it takes until you get it just right.

The cult-like following shows like The Bachelor and The Amazing Race have garnered have transformed the ‘reality’ TV show format into something of a pop-culture phenomenon.

Whether you an experienced or amateur actor, you may have decided you would like to audition for a certain reality TV show. Even if you have no acting experience and no interest in acting, you may be considering trying out for a reality show just for the thrill of it. There are many factors to consider when auditioning to be on reality TV. One very important factor to consider is the portfolio of pictures you will submit in the audition process.

Already Have a Portfolio?

If you are an actor with any level of experience, you may already have an existing portfolio of professional photos of yourself. Your portfolio may include head shots, body shots and lifestyle photos among others. Whether the photos of you that are in your portfolio were taken by an agency, a professional photographer or a friend, they are undoubtedly both professional and flattering. Unfortunately, producers of reality TV shows are not looking for professional actors or models (unless you are trying out for America’s Next Top Model, etc.)

Keep it Real

If you want to audition for and get cast in a reality TV show, chances are, you will need to portray yourself as a real person – A.K.A. your real self. So if you have a professional portfolio, scrap it altogether and start from ground zero. Choose a simple photo album for your portfolio. Go through recent personal photographs that include you. Make sure the photos you choose to include portray you as you currently look. If you had long hair but recently cut it, make sure to only use photos where your hair is the same as its current style.

Capacity for Drama

In addition to choosing pictures where you look like a regular (real) person and where you really look like yourself, look for different pictures that capture the range of emotion you are capable of. Reality TV producers look for participants that will create interesting circumstances due to their propensity for drama. In other words, do not choose only photos in which you are happy and shiningly smiling. Try to find some (or strategically take some) pictures where different emotions are captured on your face. This may sound gloomy, but if you have pictures where you look angry or sad, include them so that you come across as someone with some depth of emotion.

Personality Pointers

When putting together your photo album – A.K.A. portfolio, make sure to include several pictures that portray your personality and lifestyle. For example, if you are known as a world traveler, use pictures of yourself in Italy, or at that Buddhist temple you visited last summer. If you are an avid athlete, include photos of recent events you participated. Try to use pictures that show you actively participating in life – no matter how you do it.

Video Portfolio

Though sometimes you will be auditioning live, (and may be asked to submit your photographs prior to the audition) chances are you will be asked to videotape a 2 to 5 minute video of yourself first. Some reality TV producers request a video tape in lieu of photos or a portfolio. In this case, review past seasons of the program you are trying to get cast for and see what type of people the show is likely to pick. Practice in front of friends and family members, and re-record your audition as many times as it takes until you get it just right.

Part of the appeal that has reality TV shows so intriguing is the fact that the characters are true-life people, folks who could be your neighbors or co-workers. This engages the audience in a way that not only allows them to relate to the characters, but also makes them feel as if they too could be a television star by being on one of these shows.
Many people in fact do want to be on a reality television show and would like to know how, when and where they can audition to be on shows like The Biggest Loser, The Bachelor and others. Below are some tips on how to prepare for your reality TV show audition.

Get Started

Several reality shows allow candidates to apply online or by mail. For other shows, you must make a videotape of yourself and send it in. There are many reality shows that require that you audition in person. In order to start preparing for the audition process, you’ll need to find all the details of that process. Start by looking at the TV network Web sites for reality TV show casting information

When and Where?

There are many online sources for finding out when and where live auditions are held for reality shows. Some blogs or audition sites list audition schedules for multiple reality shows. If you are interested in a specific show only, for example The Amazing Race, you could go to the Web site of the TV network that the show is on to find audition information. Once you know when and where auditions are, you’ll need to figure out the logistics of being available for and getting to the audition. There may not necessarily be an audition in your home town or city. In this case, you’ll need to arrange travel to the nearest audition site.

Know Your Story

Whether you are applying to be on a reality TV show online, through the mail, or showing up to a live audition, you must prepare by knowing what you will say about yourself. You will need to portray yourself as an interesting person. Start by brainstorming a list of as many different facts about yourself as you can possibly think of. Include places you’ve live, places you’ve been, accomplishments you’ve made, anything at all that makes you interesting. After that, narrow it down to 5-10 interesting tidbits that you can memorize and speak about on demand.

Make for Good Drama

Many of today’s reality shows claim they’re not casting to fill niches or to create conflict. Despite those claims anyone who has seen more than one episode of any reality show can tell this is not always true. The fact is, reality TV must have some drama in order to be interesting and engaging. Casting people that are likely to create interesting types of conflict ensures this element will be covered. You can use this to your advantage. First off, make sure to keep it real. Don’t lie or grossly exaggerate. Think about your opinions and outlooks on controversial matters. Play up certain things about your lifestyle that may clash with that of someone else. Play up certain things about you that make you likely to fill a certain niche.

Confidence is Key

In conclusion, once you have found out all the details about the audition, prepared and memorized your ‘story,’ and strategized your drama factor, focus on your confidence. You must come across as someone outgoing who is not afraid to be themselves and be outspoken. If nothing else, focusing on this will give you the greatest chance of being cast on a reality TV show.

When participants sign on to be a part of a reality TV show, they sign contracts and are then bound by the terms of the contract. If the participants violate the terms of the contract, then they risk being kicked off of the show. This is what binds the participant. However, there are laws and regulations which govern reality TV shows. This may be hard to believe since many reality TV shows seem cutthroat, but contestants are aware of the type of TV show they are taking part in and they agree to such treatment in their contracts because that is what makes the show interesting.

The FCC regulates what we see on TV, but the shows are prohibited from rigging of any kind, exploiting children, and other such things as nudity and language that are not censored. Those are your standard FCC regulations. However, there have been statements that have claimed that the show Survivor is not subject to game show regulations set forth by the FCC.

Such rules set forth by the FCC involve the Prime Time Access Rule and the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, which has a large effect on game shows. What the first rule does is give total control of a certain time slot to a local station to do what they please and the second rule gives the producers limited ownership of a program after its initial run. However, these rules don’t really interest the public. What interests the public are the censorship rules.

Regarding the claim that Survivor is not subject to the game show regulations of the FCC is contradictory to what the show has claimed. The FCC rules are mostly effective in the areas of censorship and making sure that there is no rigging going on although the above applies as well. They say that reality shows do not leave much room to cheat anyway despite what some may believe. If the FCC caught reality shows rigging, the reality shows would be severely fined. If the contestants found out that the shows were being rigged, then the shows would be facing numerous lawsuits.

Lessons were learned many years ago from such shows as Quiz Show where the producers were feeding the questions and the answers to the contestants before they went on the show. If the audience loved a particular contestant, the producers wanted to make sure that contestant stuck around for a while. Once the ratings would fall, the process would start all over again so that the audience would once again fall in love with a particular contestant.

However, when we look at the reality shows of today, we may absolutely enjoy a particular contestant for them to get voted off. That hardly constitutes any type of rigging because the show is risking viewership if a beloved contestant is gone. The FCC regulates how these shows conduct themselves and they make sure that everything is done fairly to the best of their ability because, if the show is found out, the show risks everything, including their reputation. If they risk their reputation, then they lose viewership. When a show loses viewership, they are then taken off of the air and placed into syndication if they’re lucky. Some reality shows have been on the air for so long that it would be a shame for such things to happen, but scandal does occur and solutions must be reached. However, sometimes it is the scandal that brings even more viewers to a show than ever before. But if the show is deceiving their viewers, then viewers feel violated.

Reality TV shows have taken the world by storm and have become quite popular. You always hear of people having to get their American Idol fix each week or you’ll be sitting in the doctor’s office hearing general conversation about the latest episode of Survivor. It isn’t like they contain any type of artistic wonder to them, but they are, however, cheap for to make and there are always new ways being developed that exposes the lives of people on TV.

The truth is that real life is not boring. It is interesting to see what it is someone is going to do next, especially if they are known for doing things that are considered to not be normal. However, these people get on these shows somehow, which means there are certain criteria that has to be met. Sure, we look at some of them and wonder what kind of criteria a show has when some of the participants may seem somewhat psychologically imbalanced, but it is those people that make reality shows even more interesting.

So how do people get onto reality shows such as the Bachelorette, American Idol, The Apprentice, and other such shows?

Let’s look at American Idol. We all know that there is an audition process involved. We watch them on TV and we laugh our heads off at some of those who think they can sing and can’t or who are just trying to get on TV. These are people that are amateurs, seasoned singers, but none of them are under any type of entertainment contract. The ages of 16 to 26 are permitted to audition at the designated venue before 8:00 a.m. on audition days. However, other reality shows may require that those applying to become participants on the show be at least 18 or 21. These are considered open call interviews, which a lot of reality shows such as the Apprentice will do in order to increase the choices of possible participants

All reality show auditions require that a release form be filled out and presented. Identification and a photograph are also required. Participants are usually interviewed at some point. For shows such as the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, the applicants must be single. The worst thing these shows want to learn is that a married man or a married woman is simply trying to get on TV. However, those wishing to participate can apply on their own or be nominated by someone else. Shows such as these also require a video that does not exceed three minutes must accompany the application and be mailed to a specified address.

For the shows that require travel in order to interview, the show will not pay the travel expenses, so it is up to the potential participant to fit the bill. Such reality shows that require this is Survivor and the Apprentice. An application is sent into the show along with a photo to a specified address. If chosen for the interview, the potential participant gets to go to Hollywood or another designated location for the interview. Most also a video no longer than three minutes that introduces the prospect to the

However, it is fair to say that the applications are on the reality show’s websites and those wishing to participate must be vigilant in listening for when the show starts asking people to apply. Many of the applications require photos and three minute video introductions and will require the prospect to fit the bill for their travel expenses if chosen for an interview. Then again, open hne castings calls are a great way to quickly get attention, so it is important to look out for those as well.