Bcast Agency Toronto

[DinoSoup]

http://www.bcast.ca/signup.html

Anyone have experience with this company? Is it legit? I'm leery of the $30 registration fee.

[bigwinner]

Same here. I just recieved an email from them. It is against my standards to ever pay a company for taking a job with them. It should always be the other way around. Now, if someone can prove otherwise, that they're legit, I may change my mind ...

[pkaniuk]

Bcast is legit. I signed up with this agency and sent in the minimal payment of 30$. I was booked for degrassi the following week.

[cborody]

Thabks god! Because I just sent a reg. fee and was worried!! I definatley also recommend Endeavor Background Agency, I was with them last year and I did background for American Pie and Footlocker- their fee is higher though.. yea the 30$ initially threw me as well.

[wacky632]

Ive always thought of signing up for extra work, but I realize I would prefer the real thing. Any one a working principle actor here? Howd you guys start and what lessons have you taken IN Toronto? I know the general method and some websites but I just want to get extra info specifically to TO, and just how busy the industry in TO is.

[Older Actor]

I definatley also recommend Endeavor Background Agency, I was with them last year and I did background for American Pie and Footlocker- their fee is higher though.. yea the 30$ initially threw me as well.

I did a photo shoot through Endeavor back in June and I have not yet been paid. (Sept 15) The new owner (Kevin) does not return my calls and I am trying to get them listed on Actra's do not pay list.

Take precautions and do not have money go directly to them.

UPDATE OCT 5/2008 AND I STILL DO NOT HAVE MY MONEY. I HAD TO PHONE THE PHOTOGRAPER, AND NOW ENDEAVOR HAS STILL NOT SENT ME THE MONEY. CAUTION IS ADVISED.

[Chuck Chorus]

hi guys. apparently Bcast is not included in the Actra list of legit talent agencies to work under.

[BornRuff]

Bcast is legit. I signed up with this agency and sent in the minimal payment of 30$. I was booked for degrassi the following week.

Hmm, the only person in this thread who claims this site is legit joined just to post that? Think somebody might have been googleing Bcast to see if anyone needed any "advice" as to weather or not his agency was legit? The email is a ****ing Gmail account. Apparently it's not on the list of Actra approved agencies? Something smell here?

[bk33]

I did a photo shoot through Endeavor back in June and I have not yet been paid. (Sept 15) The new owner (Kevin) does not return my calls and I am trying to get them listed on Actra's do not pay list.

Take precautions and do not have money go directly to them.

They also contacted me for an interview, and mentioned a $200 "courier + photo" fee UPFRONT, I just ran away.

[JosephC1982]

BCAST IS A SCAM! Sherry Babbit only wants your $30! Shes posts fake jobs and when you reply to take the job she saids it's been taken already. She e-mailed a job one time at 11:45 and said she needed 6 background performers. Coincidentally saw the email the minute she sent it and I replied at 11:46 and she saids it's all taken. This has happened more than once. I paid my 30 about 2 years ago and haven't gotten a single job. I'm so fed up with her fake job postings that I blocked her off my email list. I'd call the cops on her if I could. She is NOT listed on Actra. She tells everyone she is Torontos leading background agency but shes not. Check out Melissa Lee. She is truly the leading agency. You pay like $100 but you frequently get job opportunities from Melissa. I signed up with her and got on average 5 opportunities a week to work. That's enough to work five days a week if you want and for $80 dollars a day for about 2 hours of work each.

[wobbble]

paid 30 bux today.
the more i think about it, the more scam-like it is.

i have a list of things that convinces me this is a scam. this is what happened. saw ad on craigslist, emailed. got reply, the reply was very unprofessional, no capitals were used, and improper sentences. ok, she's busy, whatever i thought.

she asked for reply to confirm, either wed or friday interview. she replied, and said wed was full, so friday at 2:45. wed was full, made it sound very legit and made me feel like i was very lucky to make friday.

i go, the place is some studio or something, fair enough. go in, few people waiting at couches. room inside, interview going on. she comes out, asks for my name and hands me a sheet to fill out. the sheet had random questions like height, suit size, special wardrobe, availability, had car or not, etc.

few new guys came in and a small chat started. they mentioned their appointment was also booked for 2:45. 3 guys at 2:45 makes no sense. i think she just copied and pasted the reply.

this one dude started saying how being an extra is great, easy money, etc. i go in, the woman tells me everything and i never really had the chance to say anything about myself. she made it sound easy, legit, and everything, but if you think about it, why didn't she just explain it to all 4 of us at the same time? i left a few parts blank on the form and she said it's okay. everything seemed so perfect. then she asked for $30. i was surprised, but was completely sucked in and felt like i couldn't miss this opportunity. she said thers a bank nearby, so i went. back up, another interview going on, so sat back down. the guys were like oh didn't know had to pay $30 bux. the dude that said he's been an extra before said he had to pay $45 with is previous agency, but the fee was deducted slowly from paychecks instead. sounds much more legit.

if this really was a scam, she'd be worried if i was really going to get the money or if i had realized what it was about. when the interview inside was over, the women comes out and instantly says "oh, there you are!" as if i (the $30) really matter. she makes me go into the room again with the door closed behind. i gave her the money, and she says lets put this in an envelope then she wrote my FIRST name on it messily.
1. people can have same name, won't it be super confusing without last name?
2. it's so messy how the hell do you go through supposedly a hundred envelopes with ugly names.
3. why not just put it all in the same envelope/box and tick off people's names on a LIST SHE'S SUPPOSED TO HAVE but didn't? what's the point of going through a hundred envelopes with 30 bux and names on them afterwards?

before i left, i asked her if she could read my email properly, cuz my writing can be hard to read. she read it out quickly and misread a letter, she fixed it quickly as if she doesn't really care and just wants to get it over with. then she said "but i'll have your email anyways from your responses" (i gave her another email for i have one for junk and one legit). but why would she require me to fill in my email if she is going to use the list from her inbox? would any legit company go through forms and then compare them with email inboxes to see if they match?

i've said enough, i accept that i have been scammed, and scammed properly so. let's see how you do.

[pochacco25]

I went these few days as well-- and I don't know how to describe my experience. First of all, I couldn't find where it was located. When the address said "Frasier Studios" I was like wow that's pretty good location. I actually thought it was some acting studio and she worked there. But it turned out to be an empty office with nothing besides an interview room with papers and a bunch of couches. So I got there, and there were a lot of people waiting on the couches. My interview was at 3:00 and it was 4:00 until I got in. There was probably some problem so she was behind schedule. I don't really like the $30 that we had to pay- it should've been taken off our checks instead. This will guarantee us one job at least. As well, when I had my interview, I had no chance to talk. She rushed through it all ending with 'so are you paying cash or cheque". She stuffed it in an envelope, wrote my name messy on an iD card and herded me out the door. And that was it. She seemed in such a rush. As well, her office looked empty, as in there was nothing there- only a table. Seems really sketchy to me.

[lovehotpink]

http://www.bcast.ca/signup.html

Anyone have experience with this company? Is it legit? I'm leery of the $30 registration fee.

I have just received news from endeavor that they will be paying their talent in May of '09. I think they may have had some issues within the office that delayed some checks. It has almost been a full year since I have worked with them. When I worked a couple shoots, I always made sure to ask everyone if they had actually been payed by endeavor in the past, and I had all positive responses indicating that they did indeed get paid. I would e-mail their accounting department with whatever you are missing. Call the agency and get the accounting department's e-mail and someone will get back to you.....eventually.

[Jocelyn919]

Wow good thing I found this thread about BCast....
So Melissa Lee is a reptuable agency? I just found her site online recently and was goin to give her a call and see if its legit

[BornRuff]

I think we should close this thread. I've never said so many people join just to post once in any other thread before.

It is obviously just people joining to bump the thread and promote their own agencies.

[Jocelyn919]

Please don't close this thread just yet lol...I really did just find the redflag forum to have information that I was lookin for....

I guarantee that I am not just bumping this thread....I really would like to find out about the reptuable agencies in Toronto.

It's just cuz I recently saw that for ACTRA Toronto, Melissa Lee's Agency was listed and I had contacted through email....just wanted to know what does the agency really provide us? Does it give u exposure to see what the industry is like?

Thanks... :lol:

[Neil7]

This agency owes me $3000.00 and refuse to pay! I called the agency and asked an intern if he knew anything about Kevin being a scam artist and he told me that I am one of dozens and people who are not being paid - if his employees think he's scum, then I'd stay far away.
He will pay the small sums of money, but if you do a big job you can forget about it!
They do have a fancy new website, so I can only assume that is what my money went into. Nice.

[ricoboxing]

BCAST IS A SCAM! Sherry Babbit only wants your $30! Shes posts fake jobs and when you reply to take the job she saids it's been taken already. She e-mailed a job one time at 11:45 and said she needed 6 background performers. Coincidentally saw the email the minute she sent it and I replied at 11:46 and she saids it's all taken. This has happened more than once. I paid my 30 about 2 years ago and haven't gotten a single job. I'm so fed up with her fake job postings that I blocked her off my email list. I'd call the cops on her if I could. She is NOT listed on Actra. She tells everyone she is Torontos leading background agency but shes not. Check out Melissa Lee. She is truly the leading agency. You pay like $100 but you frequently get job opportunities from Melissa. I signed up with her and got on average 5 opportunities a week to work. That's enough to work five days a week if you want and for $80 dollars a day for about 2 hours of work each.
thanks melissa

[peterrm28]

i did the interview with sherry about two weeks ago and paid the $30, I have gotten about 2 emails from her every week with regards to jobs with description of what to wear, location, and time. unfortunately, none of them really fit my time and profile so far. But so far it looks legit to me, I paid them $30 and they are sending me opportunities as my agent. Once I go to one of this jobs i will make sure to post about my experience here.

[Wilmega]

i did the interview with sherry about two weeks ago and paid the $30, I have gotten about 2 emails from her every week with regards to jobs with description of what to wear, location, and time. unfortunately, none of them really fit my time and profile so far. But so far it looks legit to me, I paid them $30 and they are sending me opportunities as my agent. Once I go to one of this jobs i will make sure to post about my experience here.

What was the interview like. What did they ask you and did you have to provide professional headshots?

[PDonna]

Is anyone that was on this thread before still here?

[PDonna]

Hi Everyone,

This is my second message and I'm hoping someone here could help me.....I do believe Sherri from Bcast is just lying to people about her agency....everyone that I've talked to in the past has told me to stay away from her.....reading some of your posts here I don't see anything positive about Bcast....it's funny the 2 posts that had anything to say about her and her agency are the 2 profiles that just joined the same day....it's obvious it's her or her people.....before I got all the feed back from her I emailed her and asked her to tell me about her agency and what kinds of movies they are working on....it took for ever for her to get back to me with this unprofessional email, this woman can't write for s#$%.......and it seemed rude....try to email her back and she wont get back to you on till you tell her that she will get the money...anyway with everything that I've heard about her I don't think her agency is one that can be counted on for work.
Anyone know other places? I also heard that endeavor is not a good one and Melissa Lee is sometimesh....please help.

[Sanhedralite]

They are ALL scams. I worked in the business. STAY AWAY.

[peterrm28]

Ok, just doing a follow up with my previous post. I did go to a booking through Sherri at bcast agency about a month ago, it was for Flashpoint. The agency is real, she does send me emails 4 or 5 times a week with work on various shoots like Flashpoint, Warehouse 13, Chloe, etc.

the shoot took about 12 hours, out of the 12 hours, we did what you would consider work for about 8 hours of it, the rest was waiting, some breaks, and some eating. They paid me at $10.50 per hour for the shoot, which is less than what I thought it would be, however after 12 hours of work at that rate I was expecting a paycheck for around $110 bucks after the taxes. But as it turned out I only got paid around $95. Sherri basically deducted her fee from my check. so she pocketed around 10% of my pay. To me, this is the ******** part. I don't remember her saying anything about commission for themselves every time i got paid. So, if you are going to an interview, ask about the fees and rate of pay, and her commission before you sign up. Also consider other agencies. She talks very fast in the interview, so listen very carefully to her and ask about the fees.

you don't need to take a photo with you to the interview, but she will ask you to email them to her as a reference, which is normal.

[msousa]

Um... you know that ALL agencies take a commission. That is how they operate, and you know... generate income.

15% is industry standard, 20% for print.

I know that signup fees are sometimes normal, but not for principal talent. It violates EIC (The Entertainment Industry Coallition), EICCA, as well as TAMAC (Talent Agent and Manager's Association of Canada). Normally if your not signatory to these associations, you get blacklisted by other unions that are partners, such as ACTRA.

It does not necessarily mean unethical business practice, it is just a different approach to operating a business. Unethical business practices are when the agency doesn't pay you, such as Sherry Babbit.

But there is nothing wrong with an agency charging a commission. It is after all their incentive to sending you out for background work.

[titack]

Im just very happy I saw these posts before, I went to this interview today and everything seemed very fishy to me, first of all, if the agency it's been on business for 13 years, as she stated, why is there only one very poor desk and even poorer chairs in that office? and again if they have been on business for so long the email is with gmail? the card is very poor and simple also.
When someone speaks so fast in an interview I know there's something wrong, I've been in to many, so called, "job interviews" and usually that's what scammers do, speak fast to "confuse" so, they ask you many questions either and when you do ask a question they just speak faster, like trying to get rid of you as soon as possible. when she shows you the "way of payment" she doesnt even let you take a close look, I knew that had SCAM written ALL OVER.
As an advise always check on this kind of forums what people say, as far as I know they shouldnt charge you, but even if you think it might be legit, try always to pay with a check, that's the only way you can press charges, if you pay with cash there's no way to do it, you might think is only $40 dollars, because that's what she is charging now, but how many people has fallen into her trap?! I cant imagine how fat her bank account is.

[dontbe_vain]

When I went in there was a 30$ fee. I only paid 20 since I didn't have 30 but I offered to run out to the bank down the street to get it but she said it was ok and that she'd take 10 off my first pay check. Sketch??

After a month from signing up I got my first job so she does get you bookings.

Bcast does seem sketchy. Their web site is down right now and a friend told me that Bcast posted up an announcement last year that they'd be closed for 8 months.

I've seen people go in to pick up cheques so I guess people are getting paid.

It's just frustrating not getting booked when other people I know get jobs every week. I know it's not a consistent job but if other agencies are getting their clients jobs weekly then shouldn't Bcast get it for you too?