Sorry to intrude on your conversation, but as the Head Booker of Bizzykidz, a parent on my books called me this morning and asked that I look at these threads and clear up a few queries for parents.
Firstly, there is no joining, or representation fee to be with the Bizzykidz. There is a one off payment applicable for the work entailed in setting a child up, but that is all. In a child's acceptance letter it states in a clear, bold, italic paragraph, consisting of 5 lines in the centre of an important letter (not a small sentence at the foot of an email as one parent has falsely stated), that parents MUST contact the agency on the first day of every month with new sizes for their child, whilst new shots can be emailed at any time to update and should also be sent when their child alters in appearance. After joining the agency, the parent is sent a letter which requests certain items for licencing purposes. One of those items is a GP letter, which is law. In bold underlined wording, it states that the parent should ENSURE that this letter is updated every 6 months. Unfortunately, gp's can charge what they like to sign these letters as it is not a service on the NHS (I had one parent 2 years ago tell me her GP wanted £180 which was ridiculous!), but the average fee is around £10-£15. Some GP's do not charge at all.
I would like to address two points please that have been brought to my attention on this website, which I feel need to be clarified.
- We do not charge a penny after joining for representation and I spend endless hours submitting my children to clients. Many children are not chosen, so the agency does not earn from those, so that is not really all that bad I would say, especially if you compare it with other companies that charge very large fees and EVERY year and with the same guarantees of work as we do, in that NO agency can guarantee work as it is the client that selects a child ultimately. In return for that gesture, we have a condition in our policy that may not be to the liking of some, but if a child is not adequately updated then they will be removed from the website and therefore from view of the client. We advertise to our clients that ALL of our children are up to date, so we have to maintain that policy without question. It is stated CLEARLY in our terms and conditions and acceptance letters, so if a parent does not fulfill their obligation to the agency by sending a 2 second email with height size, or get a gp letter updated, then we cannot be expected to be held responsible for that. We do not replace websites as we are too busy with our child work and the company that does this work has a fee, as do all companies that do work, unless they are a charity.
- In reply to 2manypimms's comments about our photoshoot, I do think you were exaggerating somewhat Andrea. We had 20 children at a 10-3pm photoshoot. We said clearly in our letter that only one person per child should attend due to space and even you brought a third party, which highly contributed to the numbers in attendance. Your time slot was 12-1pm along with 4 other children. We had a small delay with one young baby that was really hungry and tired, so that left us with 5 children waiting, but along with 10 parents and a few siblings to watch! A zoo it was not, I can assure you, but hard work yes, which incidentally I did not get paid for. Yes we arrange the shoots in accordance with a casting and it was carried out in that fashion. I am extremely efficient with my children when working and always get the best out of them. Julian's shots were great and so we achieved what we needed. I did do an assessment and I can forward you a copy once the photographer has signed it, if that will make you feel better. Both child and parent are also assessed whilst in the waiting area for their reaction with other children and adults. I realise that children are not in with the photographer long, but there is no point once they have finished the task in hand. Especially when I have a parent in reception complaining that it is like a zoo with too many people waiting? If a child is really good and takes little time then that is in their favour as clients pay by the hour and would prefer a child that is easy to work with than one that takes 2 hours to do a 1 hour job.
Regarding your holiday dates, which your comment made us look extremely inefficient I must say, I do have your unavailability dates on your file, but some parents holiday in the UK and can make certain assignments if they so wish, so I never completely book a child out unless it is specified that I should do so. The decision to decline a job I leave to the parent and do not make that dedision for them.
3) We do have a model book and our summer issue was on CD ROM, which was with me for you to look at on the PC with the photographer if you wanted to. Our new Look Book is in production shortly and will be distributed in early Jan for 2006. That is hard copy, as we alternate our advertising methods all the time. You are welcome to make an appt to view this once we have our issues delivered in December.
Hopefully I have cleared up those points for those that are unsure, however, I would appreciate it if anyone has any further queries regarding the above, they contact the agency (0208 3032627 EXT 20) directly when we will be more than pleased to answer those queries.
May I now take this opportunity to give some sound advice to any parent looking to join an agency, whichever agency they choose to apply to:
- If you have never heard of the company, or are unsure about anything, contact clients, casting directors and the like (a list can be found on a link under www.castweb.co.uk). Ask them who they use, which will mean they must get work if the client uses them!
- Do not attend hotels, seminars and the like! Go to www.albamodel.info and read the latest on the recent scams that parents have fallen prey to.
- Remember, no matter how gorgeous, or characterful a child is, or may be, that will not secure you any work at all. An agency can only do their best by offering you a position with the best intentions, and then ensuring they advertise adequately to the industry. They can then only wait for a client to contact them, whilst a parent hopes their query is for their child's criteria, and even then if they are submitted the client may not select them. They do not have to give a reason and the majority of the time they do not, so we merely have to just move on to the next client query.
- All agencies have different working policies and there are many GOOD agencies to choose from. Please bear in mind, however, that for every good agency out there you will find another 2 bad ones in operation. Do not ask the public, when they are strangers, for their opinion on a company. After all, you do not know who you are talking to and if someone says something good about an agency then could they work for them? Likewise, if something bad is said, then could they be the words of a company in competition with the said company that are trying to sabotage them? You will never know. Call the clients and ask them what they know and who they use. If you then find a few that have good words said about them, then go for the cheapest, after all, it is going to be a gamble whoever you go with.
- When you have found an agency, then work with them and update them, let them know if you are going away, keep your mobile on!! And although you may not hear from them at times, ENJOY when you do because the wait will most likely be worth it!
Good luck to all, whoever, you decide to go with!
Debi Clark