If you click on the website, you'll see they also provide voicereels and, being an actor, I kept being hit with their 'Pay what you can' ads on Facebook (Meta). I have a good showreel, and decent headshots, but thought it was time to get a voicereel together, as an actor had recommended I join their voice agency. I clicked on the 'pay what you can' voice reel offer. I actually thought it might be as philanthropic as it sounded but...The first thing you get is not a "what can you pay" query, but a list of prices you might be willing to pay, the lowest being £75. It then asks that, if you want to pay a lower price, you email them at the 'aktaphotography' address they provide. I emailed them saying "I was hoping I could get a voicereel for £40 and then pay more when I get my first job."They quickly replied:"Lovely to hear from you! Thank you for letting us know your affordability. Could you also reply back with your Instagram and Spotlight handle please.""Spotlight handle"??? I gave them my full name. I gave up my Instagram handle, too.Both requests struck me as red flags. "Spotlight handle" suggests they wanted my name, which I thought they could look up themselves on Spotlight, if they were in any way reputable professionals. Anyone involved in the industry would know what to actually request, with regard to your Spotlight membership, and it's not a "handle". My Spotlight details are shared with professional agents, those who are considering me for work, not those I am paying so that I can secure work for myself (except for Spotlight themselves, and even that is currently being challenged by Equity, the actors union). Industry professionals pay to access Spotlight, but Akta want you to give it up for free, as if you are auditioning to do their "pay what you can" voicereel.With respect to access to my Instagram, I'm not hugely active on social media (-where's the time?!). My Instagram is quiet, I prefer Facebook (Meta), and my social media is largely private. Clearly they want to use my social media to promote their products but they don't offer to do this after creating the product, and with my consent. They are on the hunt for what can serve their interests. "Pay what you can" comes at the cost of intrusion in to your personal media and access to your professional media. It's not an honest offer. Rather it's exchange you are being drawn in to, without any clarity as to why they need this information to start with.After their initial response, in under 24 hours, Akta then took five days to reply with: "I hope you are well! Can I get a direct link to your spotlight please?". Preferring to take up the offer with the voice agency, to whom I had been recommended, where I pay a lot more but I end up with a quality voicereel and being taken on by a reputable agency, I didn't respond, lacking trust in what's on offer.The final response I've received from them arrived this morning:"Thank you so much for applying to our Pay What You Can VoiceReel initiative.Unfortunately, your application has not been successful for this round. However, we would encourage you to reapply for another edition here. Feel free to apply to as many editions as you wish, as a previous application does not diminish your chances of success in another. We sincerely thank you for taking the time to submit an application. Although this outcome may not be what you had hoped for, we look forward to receiving another application from you in the future.Kindest regards,""What I had hoped for"? I had hoped for something more honest than a surreptitious mining of my social and professional accounts.What appears to be a philanthropic gesture on the part of the Akta voicereel initiative (and their photography/showreel efforts I suspect) is actually intrusive access to your social and professional media. "Pay what you can" comes at a cost. It may well be a cost you are willing to pay but I found it rather sneaky: nothing explained upfront, with your details requested, and mined, before they decide if you are 'good enough' for them to accept at a low cost. It's a commercial exchange but they are not being upfront, or honest, about the access they are requesting. They put you in a position to provide this information without actually coming good on their offer until they've evaluated your content. Their final response can leave you feeling under pressure to reapply, offering up what they require, without question.It's not philanthropic. You are essentially auditioning to have a cheap voicereel made, at the extra cost of your personal details.Their emails are possibly just cut and paste responses, for each request they receive, but now you can decide for yourselves whether or not you'd like to audition for their 'pay what you can (once we've evaluated how suitable you are to serve our needs)' cost.
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Akta Photography is a leading portrait photography company, based in Great Western Studios. Specialising in actor headshots and career development, we are the first headshot company to support actors in using their portraits effectively, working hard to aid the industry that we love.
By actors, for actors.
