Casting a role is a crucial pre-production process that every casting director must carry out. It is vital because actors breathe life into their characters and connect with the audience emotionally. Their interpretation of the character, body language, and voice all play a role in capturing the hearts of both the audience and critics alike.
This reason is why the casting process should not be rushed but given adequate time. A good character fit can make a good video into an awesome one.
Now that we have spelled out the reason to take casting seriously. Let’s explore how to cast the right actors for your video.
Looking For the Right Qualities
The first thing we do in casting is look for the qualities that make a talented actor. The talent should have a strong connection with the audience, meaning the right aura. They should have this presence backed by their acting technique. They should have powerful body language, so you can tell what the person feels without hearing them speak. Be very articulate and clear when speaking to communicate their script and superb control of their facial expression. When casting, you won’t expect to see all the traits in a person, but you can sense a person is a right fit for a part if you watch them and let them play various parts long enough.
That’s why most casting directors, knowing this, do a script breakdown. A script breakdown is a detailed description of characters with speaking roles. This detailed description means creating character bibles and detailing information like the age range, appearance, relevant backstory, and other essential details. Doing this will help talents understand what the characters are about and immerse themselves into them.
Where Can You Find Actors?
There are places to find the talents for your video, and they include;
- Local colleges
Most schools have an acting department. You can speak to the supervisor about auditioning the students. Alternatively, you can also go to an art school if close to your video location. Most students will be willing to act for little or no money. It’s a good option if it’s a small production and you are tight on budget.
- Acting or Auditioning Websites
Sites like Backstage, Mandy, and CastingCallPro have a thriving community of actors, directors, and producers. You can register there and post job adverts on the site for actors.
- Direct Contact
Another way is to use a contact finder to contact them directly. If you have someone you feel will be a perfect fit for the role but don’t have their details, using a contact finder is your best bet.
- Casting Agencies
You can also contact an agency and send down a character breakdown for them. They have a pool of talents they have immediate access to and can send those they feel suit specific roles. This option will cost more, but you are more likely to get professional and experienced actors from agencies.
- Social Media
You can search and join acting groups on Twitter, Facebook, and other social. Posting an audition on these social media platforms can help you reach out to more talents.
While putting up posts for the right talent, remember to be specific, but leave room in the description for the actors to interpret the characters themselves. It will surprise you how some people interpret these characters, and you may like their ideas.
The Casting Process
We can roughly divide the casting process itself into six elements. The six elements are the casting call, picking an appropriate audition space, setting up the auditions, screening, deciding on the casts to choose, and then deciding. We will go through each of the elements and what they entail.
- Casting Call
We have covered a lot on the casting call already. The casting director will send out ads to agencies, acting websites, or local acting schools for auditions. Put the relevant information in the job adverts, so the actors know what to expect when auditioning. Also, show if you will accept in-tape auditions or if you prefer in-person auditions only.
- Audition Space
When you start receiving calls, resumes, or interest for the auditions, then you know it’s time to get an auditioning space. The first thing we would say is, do not use your house. It’s a terrible idea. Get a stage like a community theatre or a two-room space, one for the waiting area and the other for the audition proper.
Make sure the waiting room is spacious, so the actors are comfortable. And can calm their nerves while they wait for their turn. A small snack and drink can also help the talents calm down.
- Setting-Up the Audition
When scheduling the audition, you have two options: an open audition and a closed audition. An open audition is a walk-in audition. Meaning anyone can walk in and audition for the part, while a closed audition is a scheduled audition. Meaning a time is given to each actor to show up, and then the audition takes place.
It’s best to go for a closed audition because you are more organized, and your audition has structure. You know the number of people coming and what time they should be present. This is better than an open audition, which can become very unorganized fast.
- Screening
The screening stage is where you watch the performance of the talents. Before you screen, you should go through the resumes and files of the actors to wither them down to the people you believe will fit into the various roles. Doing this speeds up the process and ensures you are only auditioning those you know are qualified. You should also decide if you want the actors to bring their monologue or read a part of the movie script.
A good tip is to allow the actors to recite different parts. Hearing a scene often will become tiring quickly. Also, jot down your points and record each person, so you have a reference if you have to conduct a callback for some talents.
- Weighing Your Options
After the interview, it’s time to ponder on your options. To help decide, you can call some talents back to audition again for different roles or act in more scenes to get a feel for them. You can also cast multiple characters and see how their on-screen chemistry works out.
You can also use their personality to help decide. Can the person get along with you and the crew? How seriously did they take their roles? Did they memorize their part? Do they come in extra early or respond to their text on time? Some of these little things can be the difference between a good fit for the role and the team and someone who is not.
- Your Decision
This point is where you make your decision. Remember, after you give the call to the cast that got the roles, also reach out to those who did not. Let them know they didn’t get it and wish them good luck in their future endeavor.
Final Thoughts
These steps help you cast actors for your video. But understand that not all that you planned for will go that way. Making contingent plans is for the best. It allows you to be flexible with your schedule. You should also be open-minded about the roles, ask the actors their interpretation of the roles and what they feel they can add to them. It’s always refreshing hearing the views of others, especially actors who play the characters.