How did you get started in this business?
Brynn: With my B.Creative business (a production company specializing in print advertising), I always needed real people for my clients. I could never find them quickly enough. I would walk around the Katy Trail with a camera, asking people if I could take their picture, and it just didn’t feel like the safest or best way to do things. As a producer, Get Real is a solution to satisfy clients. It also helped me from going insane!
Wesley: I lived in Australia for four years, and while I was there, I worked for a word-of-mouth company. I did customer relations and managed the database, and that was full of real people. I found that the people in my database loved to get involved. It was kind of glamorous for them.
Brynn: So we put the two together, starting with people I used for photo shoots in the past. We had about 50 people in our database. Now we have 2,000!
What kind of people are you looking for?
Brynn: We are looking for all kinds of people—all ages, all nationalities. We especially need more Asian people and Hispanic people right now. And men!
Wesley: It’s really great because you just sign up, and we contact you. There is no catch.
Wesley: Pets are welcome, too!
What kind of work do these “real people” get?
Brynn: It varies, from being an extra in a movie to being in an ad campaign. Sometimes people are needed just to fill a restaurant for an ad or a commercial.
What is the pay like?
Brynn: If a person were hired to fill seats in a restaurant, the pay would be $50. If the client is recognizable, the day rate starts at $250 for a half-day and $500 for a full day. There is no need to be worried if a person doesn’t have acting or modeling experience. The photographers are directors, and they want people to be natural.
Wesley: You know how you can always tell if a person is a model or not, just by looking at the ad? There’s just a real feeling when a person isn’t acting.
Brynn, we know you as a clothing designer, and you also have your production company, B.creative. How do you make it all work?
Brynn: The fashion side is really a hobby for me now. About a year and a half ago I made the decision. I was in 85 stores across the country, and I just called them and said, “This is my last shipment.” The production company was growing, and I just couldn’t handle it all. I will do one-of-a-kinds, and I still have a rolling rack in my office.
Sign up at www.getrealagency.com.
