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 15 - Casting Director

Let's see how many of you actually get this, leave a note in the comments if you do get it..

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#14 Director at PPM

FT#13 Agency Comments

*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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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 Q8: Competitive Brands

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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

This question is only for commercials. Like I said in the case of contracts, the actor at the time of auditioning has to declare if they have acted in any competitive brand. It is best that the actor mentions most of the work that he has done so that there is no confusion in the future. Even if there was no contract executed, the actor should reveal this and when the commercial was released.

Competitive brands are not just the same category but sometimes extend to the parent company as well, for eg, The Coca-Cola company India owns the following brands - Coca-Cola, Fanta Orange, Limca, Sprite, Thums up, Kinley, Maaza, Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh, etc...
while PepsiCo India includes - Pepsi, 7UP, Nimbooz, Mirinda, Slice, Mountain Dew, Aquafina, etc..
so while all of these are not cola drinks there are times when the parent company insists that the cast for the upcoming commercial has not done any competitive brands like in the above example. Coca-Cola sometimes insists that the cast should not have done any of the Pepsi brands and vice versa. For some of the brands the rules are a bit relaxed and the 'Actor not acted in Competitive Brand' does not mean all the brands like if an actor has acted for the water/soda brand like Aquafina / Kinley they may be excused for the cola brand... All this depends on the rules given out by the client at the time of briefing. Competitive brands are sometimes also generalised like health drinks could also sometimes be counted as competition in the above case.

Also what role does the actor play in the competitive commercial is important, if they are the lead or just part of a crowd, basically how clearly was the face seen and remembered and when was the film released. How long back did the competitive commercial stop airing? If it was a while back like 2 years or so it does not get considered.

It is in the best interest of all that the actor at the audition truthfully says which competitors they have worked for, and even better if the casting director knows if the actor was involved in a competitive ad and make sure that is declared. The best way is to get each actor to sign an undertaking at the audition that they have not been involved in the mentioned brands and for the time when that commercial was made.

All in all, it is important that the casting director gets briefed clearly on which Brands the actors should have not done, and if done then how long back and he, in turn, makes the actor sign an undertaking of the same.



For the answer to the previous question see
Casting Brief Q7: Contract

Read on for the next question
Question 9: Individual character brief?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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Casting Brief - Q4: Dates for the shoot and shortlist?

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

Question 4: Dates for the shoot and shortlist?

This question is asked so that when the casting director calls the actors for auditions, besides the other information, they are told the shoot dates as well so that in case the actor is already booked on those dates they can avoid going for the audition. This is more important in advertising than in feature films, in the case of the latter, the dates would mostly be a range of within an "X time" like a week or between months X - Y since till all the cast and all the other details are not in place the film would not be going on the floor. The only time dates are clear is when all the main cast, and other departments are blocked and only a few people are left to cast. Also, this would be the case when callbacks have happened and casting is in the 2nd or 3rd round of tests. (number of tests to finalize cast would vary, as it would be finalized only when the Director and all others concerned are satisfied.

In the case of advertising, almost 99% of the time the date for the shoot would be fixed and even if there is a doubt, there would be a very tiny range between which the shoot would occur, like between day X or X(+/-1), X(+/-2). That could also be the case because it could be a 3-day shoot and the actor would not be required on all 3 days. So the actor needs to be clear that by giving the audition they are committing to be available on those dates that have been told.

How is shortlisting done?

Now, what happens if the actor has auditioned for multiple roles for different production houses of which shoot could be on the same dates, that's where the shortlist date comes into play.

In advertising the first shortlist (especially if there are a lot of cast to go through) is done between the casting director, D.A, Asst director and the producer (not necessary all would be present) there are however some directors who do go through the entire list of people that have been auditioned. In most of the cases the first viewing is just a short glance at each video, here is where what you wear and your look will come into play, so while the director watches the video the assistant sits with the list of names of the actors that have auditioned and makes a shortlist.  Here only the really terrible actors and the ones that really don't suit the role are removed, like a 35-year-old actor who has auditioned for a 18-year-old. The director also glances at the first round of auditions (at the end of each casting day) when there is more than one day for casting, so that he can point out mistakes (if any) or tell the casting director to concentrate more in finding a particular character. In the second round of shortlisting (which is when all directors view the cast) the audition is watched in detail and a shortlist is made, the marking on each actors name would be YES, KEEP, FOR NOW, NO & MAYBE, basis on this a re-look at all cast is done which is the 3rd round, here the assistant has to line up all the cast basis each character and a new shortlist is further made. In the final round of shortlisting (which could be the 3rd one), the cast is then given preferences like a particular actor would be the Directors 1st choice followed by the 2nd choice and the rest are usually a backup in case the client does not like the first 2 characters presented. Usually, 2 to a max of 5 people per character are presented at the PPM. There are times when shortlisting or one round of presentation is also done with the agency present so that the director and the creative are on the same page so as to which actor is their preference for each part.

So when a production house informs the actor that they are shortlisted it means that the actor is being presented at the PPM, So what happens if the actor has been shortlisted in another job on the same shoot dates, they need to mention this at the audition or more importantly when the shortlist call is made to them, so that a reconfirmation call with the actor can be done just before the PPM and in case they agree to being free ONLY then will they be presented to the client. A lack of mention from the actor of "maybe not being available" is unprofessional and puts a lot of people in a spot of bother especially if they are liked by the agency and the client. The best thing for actors to do in cases where they don't know is to inform the casting director that they have been shortlisted on the same dates that are required and they will know on the date X, which would be the date where the other production house would give a 100% confirmation on the project. It would be a very rare case where the actor is shortlisted in 2 commercials to be shot on the same dates and would also have the same finalizing date and the actor can take on the project whoever confirms the job first and informs the other of the unavailability immediately.
e.g. if an actor has be shortlisted on 2 different jobs both to be shot on say the 8th of the month he informs the one who has the PPM on the later date say 6th that he will know on the 5th (PPM date of the other project) for sure if he is available or not, that way he can be part of both lists and does not have to put anyone in a spot of bother as long as the information is passed on time.

In case of feature films the main cast will have at least 3 callbacks before they are finalised, the first round is to shortlist people, the 2nd and 3rd would be to see compatibility and the last is generally the look test (not necessary for these to happen in this order) Casting in features could go on for months and as people get close to being finalised they are told of approximately when they could be shooting. In most cases the director watches the entire audition for each character and then makes shortlists for it.

Just to sum up, a smart casting director will inform the actor of not only the shoot dates but also on what date when the actor would know if they are shortlisted and when they will be finalised. Also, post finalising the cast a good casting director also informs the other actors who were part of the shortlist that they did not make it. A smart actor will know and use this information to maximize their chances of getting work.




For the answer to the previous question see
Q3: Sex of the character? - Male or female or...

Read on for the next question
Q5: Is there a budget individually or totally? 


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

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Casting Brief - Q3: Sex? - Male or Female OR...

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

Question 3: Sex? - Male or Female, OR...

Most people will wonder that it is obvious that male or female has already been answered while reading the script, so what is the reason I put the question OR?

While the casting of a character where the actor is partially seen like has a mask on like a joker, or a burnt face or a face which is painted through the role, or a deformity, etc. Therefore in such cases, at the time of casting the actor should be informed of the requirement, and then they can have a choice to give the audition or not.

It's not just masks and paints that hold onto this requirement if the character has to play a crossdresser, a eunuch, or just a panzy. Again informing the actor of this at the audition helps them to decide if they are up to the challenge or this role does not suit them. It helps in reducing the no of people even before casting gets to the shortlist stage and thus saves everyone's time.

Lastly don't forget the OR? also stands for casting for stand-in's, duplicates, as well as for animals that are featured in the film. Yes, the casting of animals does happen. In case of stand in's the requirements would generally be the same height, size, length of hair and sink color. In case of duplicates, it's the case of the closest looking to the person in question.

So while in most cases this question is not asked at all, there are times when this has to be asked.



For the answer to the previous question see
Casting Brief Q2 - Age of the characters

Read on for the next question
Question 4: Dates for shoot and shortlist?

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




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Casting Brief - Q2: Age of the characters?

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

Question 2: Age of the Character?

What is the age of each of the characters in question? Why would a casting director ask such a question when most of the characters age is defined in the script itself. Well, this is true only for some times, but mostly the age is not described, either because there are a lot of characters, or in cases like where the character is only just described e.g. as a mother or young teenager, there is no clarity of age. Therefore the casting director needs to ask this question, also even if its mentioned in the script it's better to clear that what is written in the script is the same as what the director has in mind.      

The age could be specific, like a just born therefore 5 - 10 days old, or a 1-year-old. But in most cases the age that would be given will be within a range, like between 40 - 45, or 20 - 25, etc. the reason a range is given is for the most obvious reason that not all people look their age, so while in actuality the person could be 30 yrs old but on camera might look 26 - 28 yrs. Makeup and costume do play a very important role in the casting process, eg a simple thing like wearing spectacles might make some people look a lot older than they are, same way hair open and hair tied up makes a difference to age that women look. The same goes for costumes, what is worn at the auditions, therefore, becomes very important.

So when actors go for auditions they should get the brief very clearly before they start.  The way you look even before you act will be judged upfront. Remember when the shortlisting process is taking place, there are a lot of people who have auditioned for the same role and you don't want to be rejected basis on first appearance's. Also if your a 40-year-old don't go for an audition which is for a 20 yr old and waste everyone's time and then wonder why you don't get shortlisted.

To the casting director, this question also gets very important when the same person has to play more than one character in the same film, like if the same person has to play a teenager and also play the mother later in the film. While casting of such a character one would try to find a person who could pull off being a teen as well as a lady of course with the help of makeup and costume, but the hunt would be someone who can pull both off.

Lastly, the importance of age is also in relation to the other characters, e.g. so while the brief might be for a 20 - 25-year-old girl who would be dating a 22 - 28-year-old boy, there may be a problem if the girl looks older than the guy especially if she is a junior in his college. Same with all roles characters will be judges not only on solo performances but also how they look with/against each other.



For the answer to the previous question see
Casting Brief Q1 - Casting Of How Many Characters?


Read on for the next question
Question 3: Sex of the character? - Male or female or...

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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