June Member of the Month - Isabelle Du
As an actor, I used IMDbPro throughout my audition as it’s very much a part of my audition process. IMDbPro is the first place I head to whenever I get an audition. For pilots and shows that have yet to air, I cross reference showrunners and writers on board for their previous work to get an idea of what the tone might be for the project. If there are actors attached, I can better visualize who else I would be interacting with in the audition scene. After each audition, I use the “tracking” feature to stay on top of the latest updates on that project. So even if I don’t book it, I can still follow along to see who did and have a better understanding of their career trajectories. I also want to see where the project is in their production timeline: Did the pilot get picked up? How many episodes did it get picked up for? Has there been a standstill because of XYZ reason? All of these things are really important for us to understand the rhythm and pulse of the business. IMDbPro is also how I can research film and TV industry professionals more in depth. I have browsed through agency and management rosters to see what their current represented talent is like - do they have working on actors on a current series? What markets do they have a lot of relationships in? Do they have experience in representing talent of my type? If I’m unfamiliar with a rep, I’ll reach out to some of their talent to see how their experience has been. In other industries, we have background checks and I see IMDbPro as a professional tool to check on credibility.
How should industry professionals utilize IMDbPro to help them navigate their careers? What other advice would you share with them?
If you don’t have a professional website for yourself, definitely create an IMDbPro vanity URL link. It’s such a super quick and easy way to organize your materials in one place where industry professionals can check in real-time. Include it in your e-mail signature. Even though I have a personal website, I don’t have the time to maintain it as much as I’d like to. So I love how I can upload my latest reels, photos where all of my latest resume updates are being take care of too!
Why did you join your current guild?
SAG-AFTRA has truly protected me as an actor - even when I hadn’t joined the union.
Do you have any mentors? How did you meet them and what have they taught you?
I don’t, but maybe one of these days I’ll connect with a potential mentor via IMDbPro!
Tell us about a time when IMDbPro helped with a specific project you’re working on
Last year, I was looking to add a Hawaii agent to my team and looked through the most recent Hawaiian productions’ credits. I was most interested in seeing if there was a pattern of which agency continuously had talent in these productions. I kept seeing one agency name pop up frequently in each project. So I did more research and found a SAG-AFTRA Foundation interview on Youtube and vibed with how their communication style. I reached out and ended up signing with them (shoutout to my agent Ryan Brown of ADR Agency!). Hallmark Channel Hidden Gems was my 7th audition since signing and my first booking with ADR! I’m really glad I did the legwork in finding my rep. Hidden Gems has definitely one of my favorite projects I’ve got to work on!
Please share any upcoming projects you’re currently working on.
You can catch me recurring as Tammy on FOX Monarch premiering this Fall 2022!
