Balaji Telefilms, a BSE listed TV production house, recently launched a talent sourcing and showcasing portal called Hoonur, which allows aspirants to create and host portfolios by uploading photographs and videos. Balaji is also creating content for the mobile, currently focusing on audio content. On Hoonur Hoonur is a case of segmentation in the online jobs space: other portals like Naukri, Monster, TimesJobs and ClickJobs don't host elaborate portfolios, hence can't do justice to the entertainment segment. Uday Sodhi, CEO of New Media for Balaji Telefilms, told MediaNama that in the entertainment domain, there is a significant amount of talent that needs to be hired - actors, actresses, script writers etc, and much of this industry is fragmented. -- The Need: For a movie, hiring involves 3-4 months of screening and audtioning; Studios typically get swamped with responses to job advertisements, with photographs, DVDs, VCDs, portfolios being sent by email and snail-mail; only some are viewed, or reach the right people. The aspring actors end up paying "model co-ordinators" for work etc, and the studio typically does not pay for hiring. Hiring is inefficient, and on the basis of recommendations, and Hoonur will allow studios to screen talent for auditions, according to Sodhi. On the issue of over-supply of portfolios online, Sodhi said that social tools will help segment - users can create a fan base, videos and photos can be "liked"; this makes the task of searching for a profile easier (though it can be gamed). "Eventually, there will be serious contenders who…
