Some of my favourite web tools!

I often joke with my friends that no one warned me about acting being such an office job but it is true a lot of my work ("the job is getting the job") is done on my lovely MacBook and iPhone. So I would like to share with you a few of the web tools I use and how I use them. Some might be obvious, some might be completely new. I'd also love to hear what YOU use!

MailChimpEvery 4 to 6 months I use MailChimp to send a personalised newsletter to Casting Directors in the U.K., Germany and France. MailChimp allows you to track who opened your email, how many times and which links were clicked on. The program is fairly straight forward but you need a day to save all your contacts in the right lists and get a grip on all the features. I keep my updates short and to the point, nothing personal and I only write when there is really something new to share - starting usually  along the lines of "I'd like to invite you to watch" or "I am happy to share with you" etc. I strongly suggest personalising (not starting with "Hi everyone" but Dear *FNAME* *LNAME*) and not sending them out more than quarter-yearly.https://www.mailchimp.com 

DramaQueenI have recently started venturing out into screen writing and DramaQueen is a brilliant, freely downloadable program that lets you write professionally formatted, Final Draft compatible scripts offline. https://dramaqueen.info/about-en/?lang=en Our own Michaela recomends https://v4.writerduet.com for writing together.

WixI built my own personal website with wix.com. There is a free version that comes with adds and it is super easy to use. The templates are simple and beautiful allowing you to create a very professional looking website. Albeit that it is not obligatory to have a personal website as an actor, I like the idea of having everything I want my professional contacts to know about me in one place. Check out my website: www.katharinasporrer.com

DuolingoLearning a language has never been easier and as actors it is always useful to learn or improve foreign languages. Duolingo and its sister app Tinycards allow you to practice languages easily and fun on the go. Podcasts such as “Coffee Break” are also a brilliant get to get into a new language. This is how my French and Italian became fluent :)

AccentsFor any accent or dialect of English you might need there is a voice sample on this website: http://www.dialectsarchive.com.  If you'd like lessons on different accents go to https://www.accenthelp.com

MeditationSometimes I do, sometimes I don’t but I know it only has benefits. Two apps have helped me: https://chopracentermeditation.com > Deepak and Oprah offer free 21 day guided meditation programs on a regular basis, a very easy way to get into it.Insight Timer > an app on my phone that times my meditations and ends them with a beautiful Gong.

IMDb pro
Having a pro account is definitely worth it once you have done some work in the industry. Not only can you add your own credits and control your pictures etc. but also you have all the industry contacts to your fingertips. Who represents who, who casts what? And what is their personal email address? In many cases you find all that on IMDb pro.

Casting Sites
These are the ones I use in Europe and have gotten jobs via: www.encast.eu, www.casting-network.de, www.castforward.de, www.cineaste.org and of course www.spotlight.com. This topic deserves an extra blog post ;)