Once you’ve finalized your storyboarding, script writing and planned out the physical filming of your project it’s time to actually cast for the parts in your video production. This can be quite a big process depending on the nature of your film and the budget you have at your disposal. The following article outlines the common casting process and how you can ensure you get the right cast for your production:
1. Get Recommendations
One of the best places to find good cast members for your video production is through recommendations. Ask fellow filmmakers what actors/actresses they would recommend for your project. Using someone who you know can do the job well will make the casting process a lot smoother.
2. Do Your Homework
It’s always good to make a note of promising actors and actresses you’ve seen in other video productions. Constantly checking out new, small scale independent films will give you a true visual catalogue of what actors/actresses are good and hopefully within your budget.
3. Advertise For A Cast
Unless you’re very well connected in the film industry you may not know a lot of suitable actors/actresses for your production. Don’t be afraid to advertise that you are looking to audition for casts for your production. When you do so be wary that open advertising may mean you get flooded with a lot of résumés from non-industry standard actors/actresses.
4. Check Out Résumés
Résumés are the industry staple, imagine the CV of the film industry world. A good résumé will include the standard physical bio of your actor/actress i.e. height, weight, hair/eye colour and any other useful measurements as well as a list of their acting credentials, skills and contact info. Résumés will always form the standard start of your auditioning process.
5. Look At Headshots
Headshots should generally come attached to résumés as your first visual point of contact with your actor/actress. As the name suggests headshots do tend to be just a black and white photo of the actors/actresses head. You should never cast someone based on their headshot and résumé as you may find in person things stack up quite differently.
6. Watch Audition Videos
Depending on the effort your applicants have put in you may receive a video example of their acting work. This works as a show-reel of their acting career so far, usually only several minutes long. Unlike a résumé or headshot a video will be your first real taste of what the candidate is really like as an actor/actress.
7. Schedule Auditions
The auditions are the final parts of your casting process. You may need to have several auditions to be 100% sure the candidate is right for the part. Different actors/actresses may have different material prepared for their auditions so try and give your candidates a particular scene from your script to perform rather than a performance piece they may use regularly. This will give you a far better idea of what they’d be like in your production.
Summary
By following and understanding the typical audition process you can optimise how you look for a cast and be efficient about choosing the right actors/actresses for your video production.
