Casting Brief Q12: Any specific scene that the director wants to audition the characters?

For the entire list of questions go back to

Casting Brief

Question 12: Any specific scene that the director wants to test the characters?

This is as obvious as it gets. Does the director have any specific scene/s that he wants the person to act out in the audition? Something that he thinks would bring out the character, or a scene which is most important towards the film. 

There are times when more than one scene gets auditioned but that usually happens on callbacks. This of course is true only in the case of films. 

The reason for asking this question could also be at times most directors will not be willing to share a key scene with too many people as that could potentially jeopardise the project. To avoid this a dummy scene could be created or even a scene from an existing movie to test the actor's range of emotions.

In advertising, the actor is required to enact the entire part and sometimes in different tones.

A few examples of auditions:

Joaquin Phoenix Audition test footage 'Joker' Behind The Scenes

Sometimes the camera is kept running beyond the scene to test the chemistry of actors.

Outlander - Original Chemistry Test: Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser) & Caitriona Balife (Claire)

It's not uncommon to do the auditions in mood settings, especially in callbacks. If there are more than one character in the scene then either one of the casting assistant or another actor is called to say the other lines. Most of the time the other dialogues are off-camera but sometimes they are used in the scene.

AUDITION TAPE: Robert Downey Jr. audition for Iron Man

TIP: As an actor look for audition videos of the characters that have done very well in films and you will see what was brought to the table right from the beginning or the improvement that came in the shoot.

You can also look for practice scripts to work on in your free time.

For answers to the previous question go back to
Casting Brief Q11: Reference of role

Read on for the next question
Question 13: Any specific props required for the audition?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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Casting Brief Q11: Reference of Role

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

Question 11: Is there any reference for the role of some previous character/actor?

This is a not so obvious question and not often does this one have a particular answer, a lot of directors would like their character to stand out by themselves and hope that the actor can bring about something to the role that would make the character stand out. However there are times when a director wants the actor to reference a particular actor or character from past work, it could just be a certain nuance from that character - the way that character walked or talked or if that character had a particular tic that made the role stand out. Also, it need not be a reference from a previous film, the role could be inspired by an actual human being e.g -  a politician,  a school teacher, a sports personality, a local person, anyone for that matter.

TIP: Actors in feature films especially should add a very subtle tic to their role that makes them stand out. It could be like a facial expression like Heath Ledger as the Joker, watch in the montage below how he uses a lick lip in almost every scene (he had a lot more than just lip lick in that role)

Sometimes it's inbuilt into the character like "My name is Bond..."

Or watch Shia LaBeouf, the way he says "No no no... in multiple movies

I personally prefer it when the actor keeps the tic to just one character but lots of times these are just personality traits to the actor himself.

To sum it up, a director might want the actor to reference a character for a particular style or tic that could make the character stand out a lot more than normal.




For answers to the previous question go back to
Casting Brief Q10: Anything in the role, that might require a warning.

Read on for the next question
Question 12: Any specific scene that the director wants to audition the characters on?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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Filmmakers Talk #6 Brief to Casting Director

Post your funny comments that you may have come across and it just might make it to the Film-Makers Talk List

Some past Talks:

FT#5 - Dedicated to clients

FT#4 - Agency to a young director

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, quotes, places and incidents mentioned, either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, from the film industry or outside the film industry is entirely coincidental.





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Casting Brief Q7: Contract?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

Question 7: Contract?

A contract is made between either the producer (production house) and the actor or sometimes directly with the brand, like in the case of commercials.

In features, a contract is usually made for almost everyone working on it. In the case of actors, all the cast who have to give more than a few days to the film have to sign contracts. Some of the basic things that a contract usually contains are,
a) The total amount that the producer and the actor agreed to for that particular project.
b) The time required from the actor.. i.e. no of days or months or sometimes even the exact dates that are required, not just for the shoot but for dubs as well.
c) The timelines and distribution to when this would be paid,
(eg- 10% advance on signing + 50% on completion of shoot + 40% on completion of dubs is one version, other is a fixed sum at the end of every month. The break is what is best suited to both parties)
d) Participation of the actor in promotional activities before the release, this also could be in terms of no of days of appearance or get even more specific like 10 tv shows 3 radio, etc..

In most cases there are no contracts made for actors who are cast for a day's shoot and for background artists, however, there could be a one-page agrement with these actors and for background artists, the contract is usually made with the coordinator.

In the case of commercials, the actor has to reveal at the time of casting if they are or have been part of competitive brands irrespective of contracts. Usually, if the actor has had a lead role and face has clearly been seen on a major brand like a cola drink the actor cannot act for its competition for around 2 years (even if no contract is made as competition won't touch the actor), it is therefore also necessary for the casting director to make sure that this is followed as this could land up everyone in a soup. Even when the contract is over it is best to mention at the time of audition that the actor had a contract with a particular brand that ended on so and so date. Contracts in commercials range from
a) A simple agreement to endorse the brand and not participate in the competition for 'X' time period. to
b) A contract that signs the person as a brand ambassador which goes beyond just shooting a commercial but print, radio and presence at live event's, etc..

TIP to all:
a) Before signing any contract it is best to read all the fine print on it as that might just lead to bigger problems later.
b) Be aware of all that is required from your end to fulfill the contract
c) Also, keep an eye for the clauses that can stop your payment or working on other similar materials.
d) If your confused about some clause get clarification not only from the concerned party but also from a lawyer if need be. OR lookup online to hunt for similar agreements and see what they contain.




For the answer to the previous question see
Q6 - Casting Requirements?

Read on for the next question
Question 8: Which competitive brands worked on by the actor are to be kept in mind?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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Casting Brief- Q1: Casting of how many characters?

For the entire List of casting questions go back to
Casting Brief

Question 1: Casting of how many characters?

Each film would have multiple characters to be cast, in case of not too many people to be cast one meeting or even a brief over the phone would do, (like in commercials where some times there are not more than 2 or even 1 character at times) but in cases where a lot of casting is to be done, there would have to be multiple meetings both for briefing and for presenting the cast in batches. Casting where there are a lot of people involved, which is mainly in feature films is broken down into Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Background cast.

Primary Cast also know as Main Cast being your lead actors which includes hero, heroine, villains, etc,

Secondary Cast is your supporting cast which also has an important role to play, like friends, parents, etc, i.e. people who rally around the Main Cast.

Tertiary Cast are people who have a small but yet important enough role to play, mostly tertiary cast are people who appear in a scene or two. like shopkeepers, cab drivers etc.

Background Cast are generally not cast, they consist of people who appear in the background like office staff, or the crowd at a stadium, or people at a restaurant etc.

So why would a casting director have to ask this question, well for the simple reason that not always all characters in the script need to be cast, like in case of commercials where one role could be that of the brand ambassador so casting for the rest is required. Also, this question would pertain to what it always boils down to - MONEY. The no of people to be cast decides the no of days it would take to caste these characters and therefore costs on the studio, camera hire, assistant, food, etc. All this needs to be kept in mind at the brief and of course the casting directors fee. 

Once the no of characters that need to be cast are fixed, the casting director along with the producer fix on a schedule as well as the expenses and other details.

Read on for the next question - 

Question 2: Age of each of the characters?

or go back to Casting Brief page to read the other questions.

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Casting Brief

Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you are born to stand out? - Ian, What a Girl Wants (2003)


What goes on when a director brief's the casting director?
What are the questions that could get asked?

Here is a clue to what happens at the briefing session, directors (starting off), Assistant directors (D.A's or A.D's involved), to casting directors read on to find out what you should prepare for at the Casting Brief and actors as well should also know so that they are not wasting time doing auditions that are not suited to them. In the meanwhile actor's looking for work do check out Facebook links to pages that have Posted on Casting / Modeling Jobs.

The briefing to the casting director would happen only after all parties have read the script, screenplay, or storyboard. Everyone should know what they are getting into before this meeting or call. Notes should be made and breakdown lists have to be kept ready before this meeting. This prep before this meeting could be as short as a few minutes like in the case of advertising, to a no of days like in the case of feature films.

Once the prep is done the meeting is called for, both parties should have done their back work or there will be more of these meetings. These are some of the questions that should get asked at this meeting, these are not in any particular order

Question 1: Casting of how many characters are to be done?

Question 2: Age of each of the characters?

Question 3: Sex of the character? - Male or female or...

Question 4: Dates for the shoot and shortlist?

Question 5: Is there a budget individually or totally? 

Question 6: Who will take care of the requirements of the audition?

Question 7: Is there a contract to be made?

Question 8: Which competitive brands worked on by the actor are to be kept in mind?

Question 9: Individual character brief?

Question 10: Anything in the role, to be done, that might require a warning?

Question 11: Any reference to any character/actor?

Question 12: Any specific scene that the director wants to audition the characters on?

Question 13: Any specific props required for the audition?

Question 14: Any specific costume/look required for the audition?

Question 15: Will there be a call back for actors?

There could be more questions asked basis on the answers that you get, but these questions should cover call the basics that need to be asked at the first briefing. 

Each of these questions has an explanation to them which will be posted in the following blogs, when posted these questions will get converted to links to each.

Auggieism:- What do you say when auggie is staring at a beauty? 

Ans:- Oggieling... 

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Casting / Modeling / Acting Job Information Pages & Sites - Links

A lot of actors would ask me my email id to send their pictures, but let me tell you that 2 in 100 directors look at people pictures and would remember to call you when required, whats better for a actor to do is to follow casting directors or pages that post about work on  acting or modeling.

So I have listed a few links here to get people started, most of the links are for India, you can hit Like on their Individual pages or just bookmark this page to check for job postings..

Also check out the other pages related - 
Media Job Posting Pages India & International
Tips When Applying For Work 
Careers In Filmmaking Pre Production 
Careers In Filmmaking - Post Production
Webpages blogs magazines etc
Film festivals / advertising awards

Casting / Modeling Job Information Pages & Sites - Links

Actor-Model-Photographer-Makeup-Artist-

Stylist-Fashion-Designer-Casting

Absolute-Model-Management

Aks Model Management

Aryan Casting Director

Auditions-in-Mumbai

AD's  / Film's / TV

Audition India

Bas Ek Chance

BOLLYWOOD HUNTS

Casting-Acting-Photography

Cast It Talent

Casting Networks India

Casting-No-Couch

Casting Raj

CRMM-India-Talent-Signup-Page

Amit-cordination

Casting Director Pal

Casting Director Kabir Kumar

Casting-Directors-Special

Castomania

Castings World

Chennai Spears

Crizaze

Desithrill . Com

ELITE MODEL MANAGEMENT INDIA PVT LTD

Eskimo Vie Models

Fade in 3i Entertainment

Fame Street

Fireworx-Casting-Model-Management

Film-Casting-India-International

Glamour Calling

Glam flame Models

Glamour Hub 

Glamour world Casting

Hoonur

I-Am-A-Super-Model

International Management of Model & Artist

Inega model management

Irfan Archana Casting Director's

Model Book Online

Model Agency

Fashion Models Actors Singer Dancers Film Music

Models Earth

Movie Castings

NEH-Casting-Agency

Super Model 2012

Pure Model Management

Purple Model Management

Rajshree Casting Agency

Roshan-Taneja

Foundation-For-Performing-Arts

Runway-Media-Management

Shaun Model Management - K.L.

Shanoo -YRF Casting

shOwstOpper-casting-agency

International Model Management & Casting

Talent Promoterz

Toabh Talents

TPZ Casting

The Models Portal

Twiran Castings

Vivo Talentos Agency

*do let me know if any logo's or websites have changed and I will have that corrected.

** logo's taken from each company's / persons Facebook page.
***while adding each page make sure you check the authenticity of each as I am not responsible for any page.

****some page could go offline or be irrelevant.

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