Decentral Casting

Avatar and digital persona talent management.

Stepping aboard the janky time machine, I took a detour into a not-so-distant future timeline. I was soaking in the sights (map of the stars in hand), when out of nowhere, a talent agent approached me. He expressed admiration for my look, labeling it as distinctly "retro." I chose not to mention that I wasn’t in my primeline, and instead, chose to ride this wave of being deemed fashionable for as long as it would last.

The agent handed me a card, inviting me to sign a few contracts and stand in front of an intricate array of cameras for a mere 15 minutes. In this future, it seemed that's all it took to break into the acting industry. Of course, there were no guarantees on where you might end up, but your chances of success seemed largely dependent on how generous you were with the permissions you granted.

Taking his offer under consideration, I decided to keep my foray into this digital acting realm relatively low-key. I restricted my contract to a select few opportunities: Japanese beer commercials, cat food advertisements, and the occasional gig as an intimidating biker in low-budget karate films.