The Queenstown-based agency has expanded into Oamaru and will hold an open day in the town on Saturday for anyone interested in being an extra in films, commercials, television, other media, or modelling.
Ican director Tracy Cameron was excited about the expansion of the agency, saying it ''opened up all sorts of possibilities'' for people in a wider area.
Angela Prosser started the Oamaru extras network in 2006 as an informal list of people and, in early 2011, she asked Maddy Maxwell if she would help.
For those two years it was a voluntary role, supplemented with occasional work as a casting assistant, Ms Maxwell said.
But it had been a busy year this year, with local films and a few commercials and the time seemed right to take the next step and become a real talent agency, so Ican was approached, she said.
A busy mother-of-two, Mrs Cameron (nee Neave) founded Ican Models and Talent in Queenstown in 2000, having previously worked for more than 10 years for Margaret Farry-Williams at Vanity Walk inDunedin.
Originally from Stewart Island, she completed the modelling course at Vanity Walk when she was 17 and in her last year boarding at St Hilda's Collegiate, winning Model of the Year.
''Up to that point, I was the ugly duckling, seriously. Ask anyone who went to school with me; ask my twin sister,'' she said, laughing.
In 1998, she was a finalist in the last live broadcasted show of Miss Universe New Zealand, alongside eventual winner Lana Coc-Kroft and Jude Dobson, who both went on to become television personalities.
After modelling in Sydney and Auckland and after four years based in London, Mrs Cameron returned to Dunedin to co-direct the Vanity Walk Talent Agency with Mrs Farry-Williams.
The timing was perfect, as both Lord of the Rings and the mountaineering action thriller Vertical Limit were being filmed in the South Island.
Vanity Walk was supplying background extras and it proved to be the inspiration to head to Queenstown and venture into business on her own, a move that was spurred on by ''blind determination''.
She focused initially on the modelling school, before branching out into a modelling agency.
Last year, Ican expanded into Dunedin and it was special to venture back to the city where she had spent so much time.
Asked how she successfully combined motherhood with a career, Mrs Cameron said she was an organised person.
Earlier this week, a family of six from Oamaru were being filmed for a Westfield commercial and she was excited about the potential in North Otago.
''We offer so many varied opportunities to everyone,'' she said.
From children and grandparents to those involved in sport - from snowboarders and skiers to kayakers and rock climbers - ''everyone can potentially be vital''.
She hoped there would be ''lots of beautiful ethnic people'' at the open day, particularly African Americans and Asians, saying there was always demand for those.
The open day will be held at the Brydone Hotel between 10am and 5pm.
