FAMILIES IN THE TALENT INDUSTRY

The use of real families in advertising and the talent industry is absolutely invaluable. It is extremely difficult for people to imitate the real relationship between family members.

If a few strangers show up on set for a television commercial and are asked to play a close-knit family, it is often difficult to replicate the genuine warmth and closeness between real family members. This has led to an increase in the number of real life families landing roles together.

Casting real families has many benefits for the talent and entertainment industry, as well as for the families themselves.

Replicating genuine family connections is notoriously difficult. (Image: William Fortunato/Pexels)

A real father and son will always appear more realistic and believable than two actors playing a father and son. Young kids may not feel extremely comfortable or confident interacting in such close confines with a stranger. However, replace that stranger with Mum or Dad, and you’ve got some absolutely priceless and authentic footage. It makes it easier for everyone to be comfortable and confident, providing kids with a sense of security that Mum or Dad is in front of the camera with them.

Interacting with family on set is an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable experience for kids, parents and other family members. Not only do people get to enjoy the company of their family, they also get paid for it and will often have a fun memory to look back on, such as a television advertisement or catalogue appearance.

Identical twins Ava and Olivia have starred in campaigns with their mum Sammy for brands such as Elevit and Airtasker. Sammy says her girls love being on set and she values the ability to work with her young daughters.

“The best part of working on set would be being together as a family, to be able to work as a new mum with your children was quite a special experience,” Sammy says.

Clients booking individual talent would also normally have to work hard in matching groups of different actors in terms of looks, ensuring that the illusion of a real family appears genuine. However, when casting real families, clients won’t have to search for individuals to fit a certain ‘look’, as there is a general resemblance among some family members anyway. For example, the kids may be the spitting image of Dad, with a few of Mum’s features showing through.

Children feel much more comfortable and confident with their parents on set. (Image: Pexels/Pixabay)

Working with your family in the talent industry can lead to some incredible opportunities. You can meet amazing people, learn wonderful things and see new places.

You might even get the chance to land an all-expenses-paid holidays to a far-away destination! Families in the talent industry can sometimes book jobs requiring them to go on trips. Imagine being paid to visit places such as the Northern Territory and Fiji!

Brodie Manning is thoroughly enjoying his time in the talent industry. His first job was an advertisement for Vicks Vapour Rub, where Brodie and his mum Amanda got to travel overseas to Malaysia for a job. Brodie loved travelling for his job and said the experience of meeting different people was great.

“Going to Malaysia was really exciting because everybody was nice, I got to meet new people, I made new friends!”

The use of families in the talent industry makes filming and production much easier for clients, as well as other members of the crew such as photographers and production assistants. Not only will the talent be more comfortable and open to direction, clients often have to work hard to match individual talent to appear as though they are related.

Instead of trawling through pages of headshots, trying to match up talent’s appearances, real families usually have a beautiful, natural resemblance to one another, easing the workload for clients and making family selection more likely.

Due to the current situation in Victoria and much of Australia, families in the talent industry are becoming more and more popular. This is due to the fact that they are usually from the same household and are therefore allowed to be in close contact with each other.

Working with families in the talent industry makes everyone's jobs easier. (Image: Pexels/Pixabay)

Not only does this allow sets to be compliant with all relevant regulations, it also makes the jobs of the crew members much easier.

There are also several benefits to you and your family as talent. You get to have fun and spend time with your loved ones, whilst earning money! There is also every chance that your family may be able to experience something even more special, such as being paid to star in a holiday destination commercial, travelling there and seeing all the tourist attractions.

If your kids are in the talent industry or are thinking of finding representation, why don’t you join them? It’s likely that, as a parent, you’ll be there with them on set regardless of whether you are part of a production.

Make your kids feel more at home in front of the camera by being right there with them. They will appear so much more confident and comfortable, and you’ll all have fun while you’re at it!