![]() Great casting directors consider how this actor embodies the director’s vision for the character. If that were the case, directors wouldn’t need anything more than a paid subscription to Breakdown Express or an extras casting company. It’s not as simple a matter as matching someone up to the casting breakdown physically. Understand the Craft of ActingĪbove all else, casting directors, casting associates, and casting assistants, must have a throughout understanding of what makes a good actor.Īnd more importantly, what makes a person right for the part. And that means they have to share the director’s artistic vision. However, they’re also in charge of some of the most important artistic decisions for the project. There’s a great deal of logistical work that goes into the casting process - arranging space, scheduling time, even managing budgets. This is one of the reasons it always pays to befriend the assistants, by the way.Ĭasting directors and their associates have a diverse skillset. In the murky underground world of Hollywood assistants, it’s not uncommon for duties to be passed back and forth in a big market of favors. This is particularly true between casting assistants and the assistants of talent agents. Depending on the relationship between the casting director and the agent, different parts of the process might be managed by different people. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that there can be some overlap between their jobs in the casting process.Įven with breakdown services like Breakdown Express acting as mediator, the boundary around who does what can be fuzzy. A casting director might, as part of their larger duties, engage the services of a extras casting agency local to the shoot. A casting director represents a film, television show, or other projects, and hires actors for jobs.Ī talent agent, for example, will never work with extras. ![]() Agents who represent actors are known as “talent agents” (as opposed to literary or below-the-line agents).Ī talent agent represents actors and tries to get them jobs. Technically speaking, there’s no such thing as a casting agent. There’s a great deal of confusion regarding the difference between casting directors and “casting agents.” The casting department acts, in a sense, like a pre-production HR Department, keeping everything safe and keeping your production above board. ![]() Advocating for the TalentĪside from managing breakdown services, one of the most important aspects of what a casting director does is keep everyone safe.Įver since the dawn of Hollywood, there have been predatory elements looking to take advantage young actors and actresses with stars in their eyes.Ī good casting director keeps the audition process professional and never allows actors into a situation that can turn bad.On the reverse, a good casting director will also run “background checks” on potential talent reluctant to disclose potential problems. You can find tips on auditions, as well as several free templates, here. From the first round, they’ll make notes, select their favorites, and schedule callbacks for actors they think are worth showing the director or showrunner. The first round of auditions are frequently just the casting director and a few casting assistants. Independent casting directors will have to scout, schedule, and rent audition space. Larger casting companies might have their own space - as will major studio projects. These are generally slices of the original script, although large studios are increasingly using false sides these days to protect the secrecy of their projects.J.J. This starts with producing “audition sides”-the script actors will be reading to audition for the role. The casting director is responsible for all the logistics of staging auditions. The casting director will then put those descriptions on to one of the breakdown services like Breakdown Express or reach out to any agencies or agents they have connections with.įrom the headshots and auditions tapes sent in, the casting directors will select a first round of candidates and stage an audition. They include basic physical specifications (age, gender, height, etc), necessary skills (must be able to sing, must know martial arts), and a short hook on who the character is to attract an actor’s attention. Casting breakdowns are short descriptions of the character.
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