What Does It Mean When An Actor is Pinned

In this video, I'm going to be teaching you what the term means when an actor is pinned. And that way, if you're in a fortunate situation and you are told that you're pinned, you're going to know exactly what that means. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to my Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel, where I teach people who want to break into the acting and modeling industry and also share information for those who've been in the industry for a while and want to take their career to the next level. If you haven't done this yet, don't forget, click the subscribe button, the little bell, the notification button. That way you'll always know when I upload a new video. And assuming you like the video, please give it a thumbs up, and that will help share information with other people that this video has value. Hey, and the very last thing before we get started, if you scroll down into the notes, you can sign up and get 3 free videos that will be invaluable to you. So check it out, sign up and get the videos. Okay, so let's talk about the term being pinned. Essentially what that means, and it's not that meaningful, it really isn't. I know it might sound good, but what that means is actually let me give you a specific example and I always find it's better To give real-life experiences, to share information. So I had an audition. It was in another state. It's for a feature film. And did the audition. And like with most auditions— and it's not that I'm a negative guy, I just don't think I'm ever going to book a job. And the reason why I feel that way is because there are just so many factors that go into booking a job and not booking a job. And it's not necessarily based on who gives the best audition. It's not like It's not like the Olympics, who performs the best. It's who fits the role the best. And yeah, you have to give a good audition, but there's just so many factors. I don't even think about booking it. My goal— matter of fact, I've got 3 goals. Number one, my first goal for every audition is I want to have a good time. That's my goal. You know, it might be a Tuesday afternoon. I get a chance to, you know, play and act for, you know, 2 and a half minutes. That's fun for me. Second, I want to learn. From every audition. So when I walk out of the audition, you know, I might think about, you know, did I do what I wanted to do? If I was given any direction from the casting director, did I follow it? Is there something I could have done? And then third, look, if I happen to book the job, that's just icing on the cake, but I'm not even thinking about that. So had this audition for a role, feature film, and, you know, I wasn't thinking about it. And a couple days later— actually, I think it was about, about 4 or 5 days later— I get an email from the agent saying you've been pinned. So what that means is that the casting director, if he or she has input, liked what I did. The director liked what I did. I was the number one choice. Now I'm, I'm just pinned at this point for certain dates, and what happens is it has to go up to the studios and they make final decisions. Now Quite often, especially if it's a feature film, the director really has a lot of input as to which actors he or she wants in the project. But look, I've also heard of situations where there are network people who say, hey, you know what? It's not that big of a role. I've got a cousin, I've got a nephew who really wants to get started in acting. I'd like to give it to my nephew. Those things happen all the time. So it's not a guaranteed thing when you're pinned. I am holding a bunch of dates for them. And what you always need to do is do not accept any bookings for the days that you've been pinned. So if you've been pinned for certain dates and then there's another project that comes up, that will fall into those dates, what you absolutely need to do before accepting it is contact the agent. Or if you're dealing with them directly, with casting directly, then you need to let them know, hey, by the way, you know, you've got me pinned for these dates. Yeah, I was just offered a job during one of those time periods. And then they'll have to make a decision as to whether they want to book you or release you. But you never want to lose a job, um, you know, because you've been pinned, because you're not guaranteed, you know, a booking. You know, they— it's possible maybe they, they pinned a couple people. And so the main thing to keep in mind is that it feels good when you get pinned because that means that people liked what you did, which is really important. And, and the positive thing that can come out of this, even if you don't get the job— Hey, look, I've been released You know, a few times from projects where I've been pinned. But the good thing is that way the casting— you know that the casting director liked what you did, and assuming the director did as well. And, you know, why wouldn't that casting director ask you to read for another role on that project, you know, if there's another one that's right for you, or in a future project? And that's really what it's all about. It's about building relationships. It's about, you know, having people like Like what you do, and that's how you have success. And, you know, I know sometimes people say, and they use this expression, you know, it's really who you know in this business, you know, that's how you have success. I have a different idea. It's who knows you in this business. And so when you have a director, when you have a casting director who liked you enough to pin you For a project. Of course. Why wouldn't they think of you again? You know, it's like being asked out on a date and you had a good time. Well, why wouldn't you go out again? And, you know, you might hear a couple of other terms that are pretty similar, like you are being hold— you're put on hold for certain dates, or they're asking for the right of first refusal. It's basically— my understanding is it's all pretty much the same thing. There's no guaranteed booking in any one of those expressions. And the thing is, basically, they're just asking you, please hold these dates for us, give us the option to have first rights to you. But certainly, if there's another project that comes up and they're making you an offer for those dates, absolutely. Give them The courtesy, you know, to contact them first and say, hey, look, somebody's asking me to work on these dates. I'm holding them for you. You know, I've been pinned for these dates. And give them the courtesy to let them make a final decision. So anyhow, I just wanted to share that term with you. I really hope you get pinned. That's a great situation to be in. But once again, you are far away from actually booking the job at that point. Hey, really quickly, if you've ever been pinned, on a project or been asked to hold dates or been put on right of first refusal, please leave a comment below and share your experience with others. My goal here is to build a large community of actors helping each other and sharing information with each other. So yeah, it would be great if you would let other people know about your experience. And please, I'm giving you permission Share the link to this channel and this particular video with all of your friends throughout your social media platforms, so that way we really can help build a community of people trying to help each other. If you haven't subscribed yet, please don't forget, click the subscription button, the notification button, the bell. And if you like the video, please give it a thumbs up. That's helpful. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya. See ya.