| Canadian Model |
| Canadian Model and Talent Convention CMTC RIPOFF, MONEY-GRAB, TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME Belleville, Ontario |
| 11th of May, 2011 by User450362 |
| I am writing this report to educate anyone interested in attending next years CMTC. I attended this year and here is my honest opinion of what I experienced.... I find it VERY disturbing that this kind of convention is allowed to take place. In all honesty it should be shut down for being fraudulent. Audra Anderson uses HIGH pressure sales tactics to get you to commit to attending the convention with NO way to cancel or back out of your agreement. Please be cautious of any agency that solicits talent and pressures you into signing up for something with no way of backing out. Audra will tell you you only have a certain number of days to make your decision or your spot will be given away to someone else....not true. CMTC was taking new registrations up to and on the day of the convention. Audra will also tell you there is a limit to the number of models attending. This year she told us 300 would be the max, however 500 models ended up attending CMTC. Great for Audra....not so great for all the models competing. I think it is important to remember this is a business for Audra and the goal of any business is to make money. Unfortunately she is making money at the expense of hopeful boys, girls, men, women and most sadly 4 year old children. The cost to attend CMTC....including everything....registration, hotel, food, travel, portfolios, comp cards etc is well over $2000. I think you would be better off using the $2000 to invest in your child's future in other ways. Education, extra-curicular activities, local acting classes etc. This is especially true for the children. I am disgusted that Audra Anderson/Mode Elle would solicit young children for this convention. The seminars are mainly for the older models/talent, the agencies in attendance are most interested in the older models/talent, the parties in the evening are held at 10pm....way too late for young children. And the open call was so unorganized. With 500 models/talent in one room trying to meet with the agencies, the 45 children in attendance were trampled on and pushed. Also keep in mind CMTC charges $150 for a Visitor pass for the parents....complete scam. The parents of children should NEVER have to pay for a pass. With all that being said. There were models that received awards and some promising call backs from some agencies....but I think you need to ask your self it that was worth spending over $2000. If you are with a reputable agency, they should be able to get you work through other agencies without having to attend a convention like this. And there are definitely models there that will "make it big" But it's the ones that have been give false hopes, false promises, false dreams, and leave with broken hearts that make this convention wrong. Again....especially the young children. The stories of success that Audra promotes are mainly through her agency...Mode Elle...and you have to ask yourself would they have been successful anyway...without this convention...I think yes. Please don't ever feel pressured. Please don't ever feel threatened. Please don't ever feel this is your child's only chance at success. There are many reputable agencies around. Just do your homework, ask a lot of questions, and don't feel scared to tell them they are NOT the right agency for you. If you do attend the CMTC, go with the intension of having fun and making the best of the week-end. Because at the end of the day, most of the 500 in attendance will not get work from this convention. And if you did attend and didn't receive any call backs don't give up. Audra Anderson, Mode Elle and the CMTC are not the only chance you or your child has. Don't ever give up. There are amazing people that will help you achieve your goals and won't be only interested in taking advantage of you and your money. Unfortunately it was too late for me. When I realized this convention was a scam it was too late. I had already signed the paperwork and they would not let me cancel. But it's not too late for you. Think long and hard before you sign anything and do your research:) My final advice.....stay far away from the CMTC! |
|
|
|
|
Totaly true. Everything what you have written is so true. THE BIGGEST SCAM because it envolves innocent 4 years old kids. We went with our 4 year old son have spent over $2, 000.00 and now we somehow have to recover from this expense. Big scam. It is very subjective judging. No criteria what soever for cover or commercial print. Even if we can afford it in the future we will never support this kind of event. Basically all the parents have paid for the agents tickets, food, hotels. For this kind of money this was extremely disorganized. Why a child has to wait for 3 hours for a call back because an agent shows up to 1 to 2 hours after schedule. Disrespectful and disorganized. GOOD LUCK to the person that wrote this above e-mail. I wish You luck in the future. Maybe we came accross eachother at the CMTC 2011 event.
We will not recomend it to anybody. |
|
|
|
It is true that you should not have to pay for representation, and I agree that parents should not be charged to accompany children to these types of conventions. My experience at CMTC (Vancouver) however, was extremely positive! My daughter asked to attend the introduction and audition when she was 8 (2008). I was admittedly surprised that when she was "accepted" I was hit with a huge fee to proceed to the convention. I considered my options and it occurred to me that the cost for me to travel to Vancouver (I live in Victoria) to meet with agents (would be multiple trips) and try to find representation would be more than this "One stop shop" type event. I decided to take a chance.
Here's why it was great for us...My daughter learned that being an actor is not all glam and fun. It's hard work. She was up early both days, had a limited amount of time to prepare her audition pieces, she met with multiple agencies and was suddenly on stage in front of several hundred people and a panel of judges to do her runway and subsequently commercial audition. She rocked it! I was so proud. It takes a great deal of confidence to pull that off and I got an opportunity to see that she meant business and this was a passion I would support!
The agents panel discussions were highly informative. We made great friends. Those parties...not too late in my opinion. We had a blast dancing and meeting people.
My daughter won the Child Runway competition, and was the Child of the Year runner up. Her beautiful trophies are proudly displayed in her room, with snapshots of the event and friends we made. Multiple agencies wanted to sign her (no fees) and we had the opportunity to meet with them on our own terms and decide who would be best to represent us in keeping with our values. We happily chose our agent (Pamela Wise, Premier Talent Vancouver) and it has been great.
My daughter is frequently called to audition and has starred in commercials, and she is now beginning film and tv work as well. It has been incredible! I would do it all again in a heartbeat. |
|
|
|
Total scam. Even there are follow ups they are not seriously interested in booking you since they receive a lot of pictures of children, teens and adults locally. Therefore, why would they pay for your transportation.
It is all about connections, I book you for a commercial since and you advertise my company for a very low price. Scam, scam and more scam. CMTC is an unofficial donation from working parents towards all these agencies to help them advertise in a different country. Good luck to all. |
|
|
Post your Comment
|
|
|
