With just over three weeks to go until our full launch, we wanted to share exactly why we decided to drop everything and spend the last year building a video-sharing community - built for actors, by actors.
We also want to tell you a little bit about the actors behind FlairBox, and our ongoing plans to do as much as we possibly can to help actors, casting directors, agents, and TV or film studios.
Why FlairBox?
The most obvious place to start is: Why?
We're Elliot & Rob, co-founders of FlairBox. We've both been jobbing actors for more than ten years - but graduated from drama school 3 years ago. We've been lucky to get acting jobs on and off throughout that time, but found - oddly -that there wasn't really anywhere for us to simply do some acting, record it, and put it out for casting professionals and other actors to see. So the idea of an app for actors to 'Let Talent Talk' was born.
What's the Idea?
After spending a few months expanding the idea, we realised that not having anywhere to share our flair was just one of a long list of solvable problems that actors face. FlairBox looks to solve these issues - all in one secure platform:
Inclusivity. Opportunity is very limited, particularly if you're not white, middle class, and a graduate of a select few drama schools. That doesn't mean those people aren't fantastic actors - but thousands of others are, too!
Simplicity. Actors have to apply to acting jobs with a written application and headshot - instead of a video of them doing what they do best... Acting. We also have to update our CVs and headshots every few months - instead of updating video feeds of our best work.
Affordability. We pay hundreds of pounds to attend workshops and classes, upload our resumes onto casting platforms, and film showreel scenes. Often, there's no pot of gold at the end of these rainbows - just debt and disappointment.
Efficiency. We spend hours emailing casting directors - but they in turn have to deal with thousands of emails, so they rarely get a chance to reply, and we rearely receive feedback or constructive criticism.
Community. Unfortunately there isn't an actor's space online that is built on mutual support, feedback, and a sense of belonging and positivity. FlairBox is now that space.
The list could go on. Our video-sharing community for actors - where we can perform to our heart's content, support one another, and upload our best videos to be spotted by casting directors - is built to make your life as an actor easier.
How Does it Work?
All of that is great, but not necessarily easy to put in place. We still needed to build a video sharing community that could find actors jobs - placing their best videos in front of casting calling professionals, acting auditions agents, and talent agents. As actors, we knew our idea would be a hit - so we gathered our life savings, found an incredible developer to build FlairBox with us, and got to work.
A year later - and after twelve weeks of testing on an incredible group of actors, agents and casting directors - we're only three weeks from sharing it all with the world. We'll be sending updates via email (make sure you're signed up to our email list, click register on our homepage here). Keep abreast of our regular updates on our Instagram & Twitter too.
Who's on FlairBox?
It probably makes sense to break this down into who we are and who is already on board to use the platform.
We're Elliot & Rob. We're both twenty-something actors that graduated from Drama Centre & The Poor School respectively. We've been best friends since we turned 13 (cue the 'awww'...). Acting is in our DNA and it's at the core of our lives and our friendship. That's why we're confident that FlairBox is the tool actors need in their lives today.
Enough about us, anyway. We've been lucky to have plenty of exciting casting directors, professionals, and agencies working with us from the start. They include:
Fiona Weir's office (Harry Potter franchise)
Des Hamilton's office (Jojo Rabbit, The King)
Aisha Bywaters (Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders)
Heather Basten (The Lighthouse, The End of The F*cking World)
Amy Hubbard's office (The Hobbit, Homeland)
Matt Western (Golden Years, Boys Will Be Boys)
Jeremy Zimmermann's office (Hellboy I, Hellboy II, and Blade II)
Andy Pryor's office (Years & Years, Stan & Olly).
..... And several more, with new professionals being drawn onto our platform each and every week. Sign up to FlairBox to receive our weekly newsletter, which includes all our exciting casting announcements and updates!
We're also working with agents from: United Agents; Mcfarlane Chard; Lee Morgan; Mclean Williams; Alphabet; Shack Artists; Core; and Pilot Poet, to name just a handful. They're here to showcase their roster of talent, and to find promising young actors to represent on FlairBox.
Next Steps
Our full launch comes on Monday 3rd October 2020. After that, we'll be focussing on what we know really matters: getting you cast, and getting the powers that be to use FlairBox to find you.
How you use FlairBox after our launch is really up to you. We want to create a community that helps you with as many problems as possible, so we're always going to be thrilled to hear from you, and we're already excited to build new helpful features our actors are telling us they'd love to see on FlairBox.
So, to conclude: despite everything that's going wrong right now, we hope you're as excited about the future as us. We can't wait to see you perform, thrive and get picked up for your next role on FlairBox. We're with you every step of the way, cheering from wings.