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Casting Tips Archive

  2004

JANUARY

Casting Diversity

At one time casting diversity was like ordering from a Chinese menu: One from column A, 2 from Column B. It meant arbitrarily making a role African American, Asian or, Hispanic and considering a Female. I always felt that if I brought in the best actors, we’d have diversity. And this seemed to work, until recently. Now that local organizations are going national, and corporations are multinational, casting diversity cannot be so arbitrary.

When casting corporate employees and executives, it’s important that the cast truly reflects the true look of the corporation. If the financial analysts are mainly Caucasian men, bringing in an Asian female isn’t going to legitimize the program. You can’t use diversity in an employee situation unless it really exists. Save the diversity for the customers. Try giving your client an interracial couple or a gay couple as part of the mix. After all, it’s the real world.

I recently cast a program to help train prosecutors in handling rape cases. The creative team felt that the victim should be a Caucasian female and the prosecutor should be an Hispanic or African American female -- certainly a plausible scenario for anyone living in NYC. The shoot went well. The actors were wonderful but the program failed because the audience was national and what is acceptable in NY or on network television or in the movies doesn’t necessarily work in a training program.
The lesson learned: Always ask the question, “Who is my audience?” In this case, a majority of the audience could not identify with an African American prosecutor. However, this may not be true in 10 or 15 years from now.

Here’s an interesting article that I came across regarding the future of diversity in the workplace.
www.sptimes.com/2003/05/14/news_pf/Columns/Diversity_in_future_w.shtml

I’m anxious to hear any comments or experiences you may have had when it comes to casting diversity in corporate programs. Have you noticed a change in the last 10 years? 5 years? 2 years? Just reply to this message with a few lines about your own experience.

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FEBRUARY

Foreign Languages

Several years ago, a major corporation produced a welcome video to impress Japanese businessmen coming to the United States. They hired a native speaking Japanese actor to narrate. The only problem was that the Japanese talent spoke with an accent from Osaka and not from Tokyo -- the equivalent of a thick nasal New York accent welcoming American businessmen. Needless to say, they had the best of intentions, but the program was a tragedy or a comedy (depending upon your point of view). And it certainly didn’t serve its intended purpose.

So when it comes to casting talent for multinational programs, it is important to:
Research the culture and social mores of the people you are trying to reach.
Avoid a stereotype image of the people you are representing.
Hire native talent from the country of your audience.
Choose talent with neutral accents, free of any regionalisms.
Have a native from the foreign country evaluate the talent’s accent.
There are American actors who can speak with a perfect British accent and native-born American actors who speak neutral Spanish. But make sure they are qualified by a native “ear.”

New York is a great resource for actors from all over the world. Foreign-born actors can give us a clearer understanding of their world.... You don’t need a passport. All it takes is an open mind, and a willingness to learn.

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MARCH

New Law Regarding the Hiring of Children

Hi everyone, here’s my latest tip. Just a warning--it’s a little dry (It’s about legislation.) but important. So if you employ children under 16 years of age, read on for New York State’s labor law requirements and then, my tips about how to deal with them.

On March 28th (just around the corner), New York State’s Child Performer Education and Trust Act goes into effect. The rules below apply to all aspects of the business and have nothing to do with whether it’s a union or non union project.

How does this affect you? If you employ children under 16 years of age, you must now:

1. Obtain a Certificate of Eligibility to Employ Child Performers (valid for three years) prior to employing any child performer.
2. Be sure all child performers you employ have a valid Employment Permit for a Child Performer.
3. Keep copies of all relevant certificates and permits on file and available for inspection at the location of employment.
4. Provide a teacher, who either is certified or has credentials recognized by the State of New York, to provide required instruction whenever a child performer is not receiving instruction as required by New York State Education law due to his/her employment schedule.
5. Transfer fifteen percent (15%) of a child performer’s gross earnings for placement into a trust for the child performer established by the child performer’s parent or guardian.

How might you deal with some of these new requirements?
1.   Schedule shoots after 3pm or on a weekend(when there isn’t school).
2.   Pay your talent through a paymaster to take care of the child’s trust.
3.   Obtain a Certificate of Eligibility ahead of time. You can do this online.

For online applications and more information go to www.labor.state.ny.us and click on Child Performer Center. You’ll find it a very usable site.

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APRIL

I’ll Know it When I See it…

I consider myself fortunate; I work with creative people who have vision and can conceptualize an idea. However these same creative people are often dealing with clients who have no vision or ability to conceptualize. “I’ll know it when I see it,” they claim.

I remember when a client needed me to put an actor on tape a second time because she couldn’t visualize the actor in a gray suit. The fact that the actor was wearing a blazer with a tie for the taped audition was not close enough. They had to see him in a gray suit.

When it comes to casting, these clients often make arbitrary decisions because they really don’t know what they want.

If you find yourself with such a client, here’s what you can do to expedite the casting process

  • Let the casting director know that you are dealing with a visual client.
  • Try and get an idea of what the client thinks they want.
  • Find out what particular things bother this client: i.e. short people, bald men, red headed woman, the color blue……any clue is helpful and pass them on to the casting director.
  • Then you and the casting director can conceptualize together knowing where the client is coming from.


By allowing the casting director to cast a wide net with many appropriate options, you avoid confusion, wasted time and a redoing of the job.

However don’t try to educate your client by showing talent that is totally wrong.

You will be guaranteed that’s the talent they will chose.

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MAY

When is an Extra Really an Extra?

A client called me with a request to cast a few extras for a corporate video.
No lines, just some simple action. I told him that it sounded more like a “silent bit” but I needed to see the script to be sure. In reading the script it became clear that these “extras” were really principle players. Fortunately this was realized before any misunderstandings became costly.

The popular definition of an “extra” role is one where an actor doesn’t speak.
There are, however, several categories where an actor may not utter a sound but the fee for his/her silence varies. Therefore, it’s important that a producer understands these categories before budgeting a job.

1. GENERAL EXTRA: The actor is in the background doing ordinary business. In films they are called atmosphere. The basic union fee for a general extra is $110.00.
2. SPECIAL ABILITY EXTRA: The actor is basically a general extra but is asked to exhibit some special ability i.e. riding a horse or playing a sport. This would also include Stand-in and Photo Double work. The actor’s basic fee for this is $121.00.
3. SILENT BIT: The actor is directed in an action that portrays a point essential to the staging of the scene. This basic fee would be $206.00.
4. UNRECORDED SILENT PART: The actor may be:
a. Singled out in close shots in a specific role that follows the action of the story.
b. The actor may appear in two or more scenes illustrating the story line.
c. The actor is playing an individual character identified by narration or identified with the product.
The actor’s basic rate for an unrecorded silent part is the same as for a principle role - $440.00 for category 1 and $547.00 for category 2.

Since you can’t audition union extras without paying them for the audition, the easiest and cheapest way to cast extras is by head shots. Having a Casting Director who knows the talent can be most helpful in the process.

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JUNE

International Production on The Local Level

Hi Everyone. I just returned from Atlanta where Corinna Sager and I had the pleasure of presenting a program on International Production for the Media Communication Association International (MCA-I). My portion of the program concentrated on international production within the United States. I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some tips on this topic.

Ideally when asked to shoot for overseas everyone would love to be able to go abroad and shoot on location, however, often the budgets and time don’t allow you this luxury. But we are lucky because we live in a multi cultural nation with people from many countries and a topography that reflects anywhere in the world. How, then, do you create a feeling of a foreign country here in the United States?

1. Educate Yourself on the culture, customs and terrain of the place you are depicting. Thanks to the Internet, a lot of the answers are just a click away. Local resources like foreign community newspapers, foreign community television and radio stations, embassies, universities, and the yellow pages are wonderful resources. Here are some links to help you in your research.
www.learnaboutcultures.com, www.culturebriefings.com, www.newsdirectory.com

2. Hire a native from the country you are “virtually” creating to help you with specific customs and mores, as well as using their “ear” to qualify the talent.

3. Hire an experienced translator who speaks both English and the foreign language and whose strength is in translating from English to the country you are depicting. Remember the question for the translator is not “How do you say this in (blank)?” but rather “How would it have been said if it were said originally in (blank)?”

For more information on hiring foreign local talent, check out my tip called “Foreign Languages” in the archive section on my website.

JULY

Casting a Wide Net

One of the things I love about casting are the challenging requests that require me to go outside my traditional resources to find the right talent for a project. Two recent examples are:

1. A pharmaceutical sales meeting needed a post menopausal, folk singer, who had breast cancer and could sing “Let the River Run.”.

2. An exhibit for The State Department needed a female college student with plans for graduate school involved in community volunteerism and whose parents emigrated from a South Asian country (Japan, Korea and China were out) . She also had to have a theatrical flair.

These kinds of situations require imagination, resourcefulness, and the ability to think outside the box. The usual suspects-- agents, managers, show lists (current and former), casting files, and Back Stage-- are limited in what they can offer.

If you find yourself with “unconventional casting needs,” you can always call me, but if you want to do it yourself, try these resources:

1. The Non Traditional Casting Project located at 165 West 46th Street offers a national data base of minority actors and actors with disabilities, etc. www.NTCP.org

2. Craig’s list. One of the world's most successful online neighborhood bulletin boards www.craiglist.org

3. Of course the search engine www.google.com can open up a whole world i.e. when you’re looking for folk singers, breast cancer organizations, South Asian communities in New York or everything else for that matter.

4. Another terrific resource is the contacts on your email list. People you know personally and professionally may have resources and ideas to help you in your search. Just make sure you do it individually so that it’s not mistaken for spam.

Good luck in your search.

Enjoy the Summer.

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SEPTEMBER

Technology Makes Casting Better

I just had a unique experience. I was able to preview a program I cast on my client's website. The look, sound and quality of the piece was excellent. Seeing this work on my computer got me thinking about new technology and how it helps in the casting process. Here are some technological options to make your casting sessions time and cost effective. It will also impress your client.

1. You can record on camera auditions on digital video and put your edited choices online so that your clients can download them onto their PC. The cost for such a service is $250-350 depending upon the size of the files.

2. You can post your completed voice over session or edited choices online as well so your clients can immediately hear the talent. The cost is about $20.00. Click on Casting Tips and Voice Over Casting, October 2003.

3. You can cast an actor for a non speaking principal role by viewing the talent on line. A digital camera can make all the difference. You get a clear and current image which can be shared with your client(s).

4. You can email scripts to actors along with last minute instructions. (Most actors have email.) .

5. You can have direct contact with your talent by having his/her cell phone number and giving them yours.

We've come a long way with technological advances; however, the human element is still at the core.

I hope you had an enjoyable Summer and are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

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OCTOBER

Don't Be Afraid Of The Union

Many people have asked me how I come up with these Casting Tips every month and I tell them it comes from the source…YOU!

Recently I received a frantic call from a producer who was given my name and needed to redo a shoot immediately. This was a very important client and the shoot was a disaster in Los Angeles. Now that they were back in New York, they needed 8 roles cast and they needed to shoot in 3 days. So I went into high gear.

I asked whether this was a union job and they said no because they weren’t a signatory of SAG or AFTRA. They used up most of their budget. doing the Los Angeles shoot, and they didn’t need the paperwork and rules. Fortunately, I was able to convince them that considering the time frame, the importance of the client, and the amount of roles they needed to cast, they would be wise to go union. Going union would cost a little bit more then they wanted to pay the actors but in the long run they would save money on the shoot and keep a client. They were desperate and they listened.

The Paymaster took care of all the paperwork and they had a pool of experienced and wonderful talent to choose from. Needless to say they and their client were delighted with the results.

There are times when using non-union talent can be the right choice. Read next month’s casting tip and learn where, when and why.

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NOVEMBER

As promised this month’s casting tip deals with non-union talent. Most of you know that I’m a strong proponent in using experienced, union talent. But there are times when casting non- union talent is necessary. Here are a few examples taken from several Selective Casting projects:

1. How Babies Grow...a video sponsored by Pampers freely distributed to parents demonstrating how children develop from ages 0-3 months to 18 months. We hired 29 babies and their parents. Clearly a non union job since the focus was on the babies, and there were so many babies, and babies are not required to be in the union.

2. A character spokesperson for a series of syndicated news promos that would be played on small, local non-union stations around the country. There would be no way to get signatory status for these stations, therefore, in order to do the project, it had to be non union.

3. A series of dramatic videos with foreign talent who still speak with an accent. And are legal to work in the States. Most actors with strong accents are probably not union unless they are from English speaking countries or Europe.

In all these cases I was given enough time to look for the talent and the results were successful.

Sometimes it’s not the talent requirements but the budget that dictates the need to go non-union. The following should be taken under consideration, if you want a successful non-union casting

1. Time to really search for the talent
2. A younger demographic: 20’s-early 30’s *
3. A minimum of copy or no copy

* If the program is just a look, any demographic is possible.
.
One important thing to keep in mind, even if a job is non-union; the talent deserves to be properly paid. . The best guide for payment is the scale union wage. SAG and AFTRA Industrial/ Educational /Non-Broadcast Rates (PDF)

If you have any questions regarding union or non-union talent or casting in general, please feel free to email me.

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DECEMBER

If you happen to find yourself walking down Central Park West and see a huge block-long ten-dollar bill hanging from a building on Central Park West, you’ll know that you’ve arrived at the New York Historical Society. The Historical Society, now under new management, has taken a rather dramatic step. From September 10, 2004 - February 28, 2005, The New York Historical Society is featuring a rather impressive exhibit on Alexander Hamilton. The exhibit ends or begins in the theatre with a production of In Worlds Unknown; a forty minute multi media play about Hamilton ‘s life and the people surrounding him.

I had the honor of casting this show. It consists of 2 live actors and 9-filmed actors interacting together to tell the life story of Alexander Hamilton. In itself it is a new kind of theatre. And certainly a very interesting undertaking for a museum or any entertainment or educational venue. The 9 actors were filmed in 2 days and the live actors rehearsed for a week. The filmed actors were paid under a SAG Educational/Industrial Contract and the live actors are paid under a TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences Contract namely because there are 3 performances on Saturday)

I highly recommend you take some time this holiday season to wee the show which is performed pm Tues.-Friday and 12, 2, & pm on Saturdays and 2&4 on Sundays through February 28, 2005 (General Admission to the Museum is $10.00 and children under 12 are free).

It is, historically and creatively, a very special experience. I had no idea during the casting process how the play would come together. You can find more info here: http://www.nyhistory.org/.

Have a joyous holiday and all the best for the New Year!

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