5 Things to Remember When Using Friends as Actors

Visual Typist

Visual Typist

To find more helpful filmmaking articles please visit my website at www.behindfilm.com

1. Release Forms!

Even if you are simply making a short film for fun it’s still important to get your friends to sign a piece of paper that says something like “I give you my permission to use my performance, and I will not charge you.” There are several free examples of actor release forms on the net. If you ever want to use what you’ve filmed to submit to festivals or in a demo reel you must get your friends written permission or they can take it down in the future. Get them signed!

2. Schedule Carefully

Let’s be frank, you’re using friends so you’re probably not gonna pay them. They’ve gotta make money somehow so they’re gonna have jobs. Without the incentive of cold cash your friends will be quick to ditch you for something more fun. It’s important to schedule in advance. Get a list of social activities, work schedules, and school classes from your friends so that you can shoot your film around those events.

3. Feed your Friends!

Again, since your friends are not being paid provide whatever incentives and rewards that you can afford. Sometimes that can be as simple as buying a large pizza and a large bottle of pop. If they’re fed your friends will see helping you as something fun, and will show up next time.

4. Transportation

Do not just leave your friends at a location without a way home. At the end of the day make sure everyone gets home safely….even if it means taking an hour out of your day to drive them.

5. Be Nice

Don’t be a dictator. You may be trying to make your film at all costs but your friends are just there because they care about you. If you start being nasty to them or demand unreasonable levels of work they will leave. Be nice, and at the end of each shoot remember to say “Thank-You.”
 
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Oh I believe very much in hiring friends. Visual Typist has
his list of the 7 deadly sins for beginning filmmakers and
one of them is hiring friends as actors. Which is why I was
curious about this new list helping filmmakers break one of
his deadly sins.
 
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What is this "friend" you speak of. I have real reservations about using my friends. There's only one

of them I would consider, and that's only because he writes and does his own stuff. So he's into it.

And this crazy guy started a band and actually got to play some gigs, so he follows through when

he starts something. But all my other friends, no-way!!
 
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Yeah, friends are lame! They can all go to hell! ;)

I suppose I should back-track, and state the FACT
that I would not be where I am right now, filmmaking-wise,
if not for friends volunteering on my early (and current) projects.
I am truly grateful for that time and support they offered.

That being said, unless you happen to already be friends with
awesome actors (and most of us aren't), eventually, you need to
start looking for people who aren't just giving themselves to your
project because they're your friend and they believe in you. Kudos
to those friends -- we should all be so blessed to have them. But
I think for most of us, your acting is going to be greatly improved
when you seek out people who are actively working on their craft,
and who give themselves to your project for the passion of the art,
not because they give a shit about you.
 
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Working with friends is such a mixed bag of success - it's highly dependent on their own personality. Doing it for free and because they want to be a part of it will go so far but I find that many of them end up falling off the wagon, because we all have friends who don't finish what they've started!

I'm still at a stage where my performers are mostly friends, my crew has become more knowledgeable and driven since beginning my degree. I will be moving onto hiring actors for my degree films and any dialogue driven pieces from now on. I find that using friends for films devoid of dialogue, where the cinematography and editing are the main ways of getting a point across usually tends to be fine. A lot of my friends can successfully execute what I need for short pieces like that.

It is worth noting that some friends are worth keeping far into the future if they're driven and promising. I have a friend who does nothing but amateur theatre in her spare time, and she is fantastic at her craft. She is definitely a keeper, and helped me out just for free. If you have any friends like that, always bear those in mind.
 
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For context:
Visual Typist posted a list; The 7 Deadly Sins New Filmmakers Make
in which he listed as number 2, “Hiring Friends”. He said his list
was specifically targeted at beginning filmmakers.

There comes a stage in many filmmakers progress where they move
from “beginning” to “dedicated amateur” (for lack of a better
term). That’s when I feel a filmmaker should expand outside of
their friends and work with other dedicated amateurs - or even
professionals - on both sides of the camera. And if a filmmakers
friends are also moving to "dedicated amateur" all the better!

But in the context of “new” and “beginning” filmmakers, working
with friends is usually the only option. And it’s a very good
option. Which is why I’m asking Visual Typist about his opinions.
A new/beginning filmmaker hiring friends is either a deadly sin or
something to do remembering these five points. It can’t be both.

Or can it?
 
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But in the context of “new” and “beginning” filmmakers, working
with friends is usually the only option. And it’s a very good
option. Which is why I’m asking Visual Typist about his opinions.
A new/beginning filmmaker hiring friends is either a deadly sin or
something to do remembering these five points. It can’t be both.
Click to expand...

I've already posted above that I should have geared that article more towards new filmmakers who are trying to make stuff they can then sell. It was a mistake and I apologize for any confusion. I might modify that article in the future.

Cheers! :)
 
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Cheers!

No offense intended. I'm just a curious person and
interested in what my fellow filmmakers have to say.
You're posts seem at opposite ends from each other.
Which brings up questions. Again, not meant to offend;
I'm curious about your opinion.

In your previously posted article "The 7 Deadly Sins
New Filmmakers Make " you say new filmmakers not
making a film to sell shouldn't use friends. Are you
saying that once a new filmmaker is trying to make a film
to sell they should use friends as long as they follow these
five points?
 
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