|
Forums >
General Industry >
$1700 at Page Parkes in Dallas?
An aspiring model friend of mine met last week with Page Parkes and has been "accepted" into their commercial division, but they want her to go to a "boot camp" in Houston, costing $1700, to make her "client-ready." Ouch. I was under the impression that Parkes was one of the more legit agencies, but this is sounding like a mall scam. Given the limited size of the Dallas market for commercial work, any recommendations I should pass on to her? Oct 16 06 11:50 am Link Sounds like a scam to me. It sounds like a school more than an agency. From their site: "Q. If I have so much potential, why would I need to pay for training? M.B., Seattle, WA A. Being pretty is not the entire reason a model gets a booking. You must be good at what you do. How would you feel going to an audition for a shoot or runway tryout against models who have great experience in our industry? It's extremely important to send a model with experience to demand a new face model rate." Sounds dodgy. But that's just me. $1700 sounds awfully expensive for what they're offering. Anybody else want to weigh on this? ** Edit ** http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/report … 160291.htm Oct 16 06 11:54 am Link I have a bridge for sale,i'm sure she would be interested.Of course it's a scam! Oct 16 06 12:56 pm Link Well you should ask TXPhotog or one of the other Texas guys here how this applies. Texas Statutes: OCCUPATIONS CODE CHAPTER 2105. REGULATION OF TALENT AGENCIES SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS [S36 note: For this purpose a model is also defined in, and included in, the definitions for these sections] § 2105.201. ADVANCE FEES; SPLITTING FEES. (a) In this section, "fee" includes: (1) money or other valuable consideration paid or promised to be paid for a service rendered by a person operating as a talent agency;... (3) (b) A talent agency may not: (b)(1) charge, as a condition of registering an applicant or representing an artist, a registration or advance fee; or (b)(2) split or share fees with a person who is not registered under this chapter. § 2105.202. REQUIREMENT TO USE CERTAIN SERVICES PROHIBITED. A talent agency may not require an applicant or artist to subscribe to or use a specific publication, video or audio tape, postcard service, advertisement service, resume service, photographer, or acting or modeling school or workshop. --------- § 2105.253. CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter. (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. Studio36 [edit] Agencies are also required, in Texas, to be licensed and bonded. Oct 16 06 01:19 pm Link I doubt very much that this is "the" page parkes they have been around forever, and have a good name Oct 16 06 05:39 pm Link gsvb wrote: Well it's certainly THE Page Parkes of Dallas and Houston. If you do a web-search it also seems to be the ONLY one. Draw your own conclusions. Oct 16 06 05:47 pm Link There is a page parkes in Houston Correct What isnt known is the actual story. So..In my mind the jury is out. Any Agent who is good takes on a model that is already "client ready" And, as I said in my earlier thread, Page Parkes, have been around for years. So..who knows the real Story here. Its a bit like when a Model sas an agent turned them down because they were too old,too short,foo fat,too thin.... Bottom Line, when an Agent doesnt want you, they have to say something to soften your fall So, they say anything... Oct 16 06 08:01 pm Link I had an offer from some magazine to sign up for it to show my work, they expected me to pay them for the privilege and then 25 buck entree fee for every photo I submit. Sounded like crap to me, I passed couldn't see any benifit for me in the deal. A couple of years later there was a write up in Photo district news about hundereds of photogs suing this place for fraud. Glad I passed, your point, if you feel a bad feeling in your stomach, then pass you'll be glad you did. PS, that is why God put those feelings in your stomach to keep you out of trouble. Oct 17 06 02:52 am Link studio36uk wrote: Yep... I've wondered about that also though... Oct 17 06 03:39 am Link Iris Swope wrote: My beef with operations like that is the "IMPLIED" sub-text that if you don't do the camp you have no chance that they will represent you... because, of course, you are not "client ready" [in their judgement] That may not be true but it still stinks. Oct 17 06 04:44 am Link studio36uk wrote: I do agree with you on that... And I've always been confused as to why they had a "camp". Especially when I know that other agencies models have switched to their agency, and vice-versa. If they were a fake agency\school front, I don't think that would be happening. Oct 17 06 05:06 am Link Richard Tallent wrote: Not clear whether your friend's in Houston or Dallas ... Oct 17 06 05:19 am Link To clarify: - This is the real Page Parkes agency, she contacted their offices and made an appointment during an open call. - She is in Dallas. - She's 5'7.5", so she's just under the Dawson and Campbell requirements of 5'8", although their sites are unclear about whether the 5'8" limit is strictly applied for commercial modeling. she's already decided to send in an application package to these other two just in case. - She's 23, so she knows her window is short compared to other new faces these agencies are seeing. Oct 17 06 09:14 am Link Richard Tallent wrote: Sounds like she also knows how to neatly save herself $1700. Oct 17 06 10:10 am Link Richard Tallent wrote: The 5'8" on their websites (KD anyhow) applies to all divisions , however, they actually do sign girls shorter than that. There is one girl in New Faces at the moment who is 5'5"!? But unless your friend has perfect stats, 33-24-34 or smaller. And a perfect smile (very,very important), They probably won't be interested. Oct 17 06 04:58 pm Link |
