Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Tiffin.
Melissa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a young family with three little towhead girls, we were stopped in public a lot by passersbys with comments about the girls, probably similar to a family with twins or triplets. Throughout the years, people would mention getting them into modeling or commercials but I wasn’t sure how to get started. When the girls were 5, 8 and 10, I created a photosheet with pictures of the girls, drafted a letter and sent it out to a couple of agents and managers. We immediately got a bite from Jet Set Models. I was beyond excited. I didn’t even know what would be expected of us, but I was excited for the opportunity. Well the kids had a great time! The agents, Mike Powers and Shawn Cusack walked us over along with some other families to a frozen yogurt shop where they observed the kids interacting with each other, asked the kids questions, spoke with the parents and then said they would be in touch. Nine years later, we are still here!
After Jet Set closed their doors, we went to Paloma Model & Talent for several years and have now been with Mavrick Artists Agency for the remainder. We were extremely busy driving from Orange County to LA several days a week, sometimes with multiple auditions in one day. We even threw their dad into a few auditions. I instantly became addicted to the rollercoaster ride and wanted to go every day. Some of the jobs we booked included Toyota Super Bowl Commercial, BMW, Nike, Under Armour, JCPenney, Carter’s, Hanna Anderson, McAfee, Barbie, Music Videos, and various TV shows and movies. Favorite movie was People Like Us when Allyson (youngest daughter) played Young Elizabeth Banks and I was asked to be in scene and have some photos taken of me as her mom, Young Michelle Pfeiffer. Ashley’s favorite was a pilot TV show where she had to eat pizza with anchovies and Krista’s favorite was Family Game Night as we were called, “Krista’s Family.” We had a lot of fun, but as Ashley reached her teen years, she became very competitive in soccer and would never miss practice or games.
Then Krista reached that age and became very involved in dance and music. I still had Allyson, who was very busy, thank goodness, but my daily fuel came to a slowdown as I still wanted to go to an audition or work on a set every day. I quickly realized that it wasn’t fair for Allyson that I had to rely on her for my own entertainment. That’s when I started to help friends’ kids, then young adults and now all ages, be successful in the industry. I lived vicariously through them in between taking Allyson. Fortunately, she has outlasted her sisters by a couple of years so far as she is now 14. Her availability is definitely limited as a social high school student involved in film, cheer, soccer and church, so living mostly vicariously through my fabulous clients is what gets me through my day.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The first challenge I faced once I officially claimed to become a manager was qualifying to receive breakdowns (listings of roles needed to be filled for shows, movies, commercials and print.) There are three industry standard casting sites and each one required proof of managing industry professionals for at least two years and required letters of recommendations from casting directors and producers. Each casting site had its own requirements as to what and who qualified as a letter of recommendation. Some casting directors and producers qualified for some sites and not for others. Then I tried to join the Talent Managers Association, which again had another set of requirements, letters, number of clients, clients with IMDB credits, etc. and included an interview and approval from the board of directors. My struggle was that I worked closely with agents, but I needed to develop relationships with casting directors and producers and convince credited actors to come on board with me while knowing I was new to management. I had 15 years experience in marketing and public relations and part of my bachelor’s degree included TV & Film, but still new to managing in entertainment. In the meantime, I managed clients through helping them get signed by agents, help with headshots, resumes, schedules, preparations, etc. and network with some production companies so they would cast through us directly outside of the casting sites.
At the start of 2015, I officially became a member of the Talent Managers Association and quickly started receiving approvals from the casting sites. The other challenge faced was financial. As to be expected, there are expenses with owning and operating an agency and a lot of work with not only managing clients, but submitting on hundreds of projects per day. First to be addressed was covering expenses. Money does not come rolling in and a paycheck is not there every Friday. Mathematically, we submit 100% of our clients on projects, about 20% of our clients are invited in to audition on a regular basis, then only the top 10% actually book jobs consistently. The process is also long. They have to audition, then get invited to a callback, then be put on avail/hold/pinned, then book the job, go to a fitting, work the job, get paid for the shoot date and then get paid for residuals or buyouts. That means there is a lot of daily activity through the agency, but collecting commissions takes a while. To help meet the needs of a busy office, I found another addicted mom who obsessed over the industry that offered to help. I am eternally grateful for her helping me for years and sharing every moment of excitement and disappointment with me. She unfortunately moved to Florida, but I have some other wonderful assistants that help me now behind the scenes.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Creative Talent – what should we know?
Creative Talent is a Talent Management Agency that helps enhance the careers of actors and models in all stages of their career. We have clients that are brand new that we help get up to speed and become competitive right out the gates. We have clients that are experienced and work hard but are waiting for their big break and take advantage of every opportunity. We also have clients with years of experience and series regular credits. As in many industries, you are only as good as your last job and if you don’t constantly put yourself out there, then you can be forgotten. We push our clients to stay active and constantly work on their craft.
What I am most proud of is watching my clients grow physically, mentally and professionally through the years. I know I didn’t have a hand in all of that, but I still have clients with me from the day I registered my business name. Since I started with kids, you can assume that they are all now teens or young adults. One set are the same ages as my kids and I told their mom that we should be awarded an Honorary Bachelor’s Degree in Administration for juggling schedules and details for school, sports, events, rehearsals, training, photo sessions, auditions, fittings, bookings, and lots of emotions, and a medal of honor for surviving!!! What sets us apart is what I said about living vicariously through our clients. I understand this is a business and we need to generate income to keep it alive, but I made a vow to not let any audition, booking or anything in the middle go without genuine excitement.
Our clients have booked major TV shows, Super Bowl commercials (one year we had three clients back to back airing around half time), and print cover models, and we still are excited when just a body part or sound is captured of a client. Remember how excited Mike Wazowski was to be on the cover of a magazine in Monsters Inc and yet the label was across his face, that is us. We are equally as excited for Mikey as we are for Sulley. For more information, you can visit www.creativetalentus.com. For talent interested in possible representation, they can complete our New Talent Submission Form and we will get back to them with more information.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
One quality that has led me to success is having a strong work ethic. This industry is extremely competitive and my clients need all the help and support they can get. I work 24-7 learning tips and tricks of the trade, pitching clients for projects, networking with agents, casting directors and producers, reviewing reels and self tapes, offering suggestions for coaching and photography, approving reels and headshots, coordinating schedule changes, coordinating bookings, and serving as IT person when a client has technical difficulties. Last night I was up until midnight after a long ski trip helping a client with technical issues while trying to meet a deadline for a series regular role for a pilot TV show. Because I started out with my kids, I understand how much time and effort was behind that tape, which can includes coaching, memorizing, canceling plans, stress and sometimes tears, that I was not going to go to bed until the casting director received the tape. Casting directors and producers like working with us because even if it is after hours, they know they can reach us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.creativetalentus.com
- Phone: 714-501-2706
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @creativetalentus
- Facebook: @creativetalentus
- Twitter: cr8tivetalent
Image Credit:
Allyson Tiffin (shots of me), Melissa Tiffin (most), John Russo took picture that was in People Magazine, I took a shot of the magazine.
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
