Finding Actors

A

arthobby

I would like suggestions and insight on finding actors for amateur projects. I feel like this will be the hardest part of making a movie.

Where do you start to look for actors? How do you compensate them for their time? Any general tips on the subject?

Thanks.
 
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You start looking for actors at any school that has a theater. At any
town that has a live theater. Where there are acting or modeling
classes. Sometimes actors can be found on acting and modeling
sites; those can create issues if you can't localize your search.

There are many actors who will work for the experience - in other
words; for no pay. Treat them professionally, treat them respectfully,
offer to pay for gas if they are traveling, find someone to do make
up so they don't have to do it themselves, don't expect them to use
their own clothes, feed them well.
 
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One thing to be careful of is if you end up casting your friends in roles. If you absolutely must cast a friend make sure you can get the best out of them that you can and get what you need in terms of shots with them as soon as possible.

In this way if one of your friends start slacking off and not turning up for filming, at least you have enough of their performance to use in editing. Take advantage of the momentum and excitement within the first few days of shooting.

Another good thing is to explain to your friend before giving them the role about what you require of them and let them know that it will involve many moments of waiting around for camera setups before they get to stand in front of the camera and act. If they are serious about being in your movie then they will be good to cast.

So basically leave casting a friend as the very last option. Try the suggestions directorik has offered.
 
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directorik said:
You start looking for actors at any school that has a theater. At any
town that has a live theater. Where there are acting or modeling
classes. Sometimes actors can be found on acting and modeling
sites; those can create issues if you can't localize your search.

There are many actors who will work for the experience - in other
words; for no pay. Treat them professionally, treat them respectfully,
offer to pay for gas if they are traveling, find someone to do make
up so they don't have to do it themselves, don't expect them to use
their own clothes, feed them well.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It sounds like a good idea. Have you done this before? If so, how did it turn out?
 
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PhantomScreenwriter said:
One thing to be careful of is if you end up casting your friends in roles. If you absolutely must cast a friend make sure you can get the best out of them that you can and get what you need in terms of shots with them as soon as possible.

In this way if one of your friends start slacking off and not turning up for filming, at least you have enough of their performance to use in editing. Take advantage of the momentum and excitement within the first few days of shooting.

Another good thing is to explain to your friend before giving them the role about what you require of them and let them know that it will involve many moments of waiting around for camera setups before they get to stand in front of the camera and act. If they are serious about being in your movie then they will be good to cast.

So basically leave casting a friend as the very last option. Try the suggestions directorik has offered.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think my friends would be very enthusiastic about being in a movie. I would like to find some other people that would think it would be fun and would be excited to spend time making a movie.

Thank you.
 
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One thing I'm worried about is that actors I find might not think the movie is fun or funny.

How do you go about making sure the actors know what kind of movie your making and role they'll be playing?
 
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arthobby said:
Thanks. It sounds like a good idea. Have you done this before? If so, how did it turn out?
Click to expand...
When I was 16 I got four kids from a local kids community
theater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLQy3CXFAk

All my un-paid projects were cast that way - school theater
departments, acting classes, community theater.

arthobby said:
One thing I'm worried about is that actors I find might not think the movie is fun or funny.
Click to expand...
That might happen.

arthobby said:
How do you go about making sure the actors know what kind of movie your making and role they'll be playing?
Click to expand...
You make sure the actors know what kind of movie you're
making and role they'll be playing by showing them the script.
As the director you talk to them about your movie and direct
them towards your vision.
 
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directorik said:
When I was 16 I got four kids from a local kids community
theater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLQy3CXFAk

All my un-paid projects were cast that way - school theater
departments, acting classes, community theater.


That might happen.


You make sure the actors know what kind of movie you're
making and role they'll be playing by showing them the script.
As the director you talk to them about your movie and direct
them towards your vision.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
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Hey there. I was an actor/director in theater including some film for over 15 years in a major city. I feel i'm a bit of an expert on this subject. So let me try to offer some guidance. Most large cities have a performance arts publication. I think it's "Backstage" in NYC. This is where you get all the experienced and professional actors. If you don't need that type of talent, you could try posting in Craigslist in your city. Another option is the old fashioned way of posting a notice at grocery stores etc.

Here is what should be in the posting:

specify what experience level you are seeking (SAG,equity, non-equity, amateur, no experience necessary, college, pro, etc)

explain briefly what the project is and what you are looking for (e.g. need 4 male and 2 female adult actors actors age range 25-50, for original film noir short film written by the director, etc)
specify how long you will need them for. Is this a 2 day shoot? 1 month? etc
specify whether you will have auditions and what they will be like (monologues, read sides etc)

specify compensation (it is completely fine to state "There is no pay". Most beginning or amateur actors do not expect to be paid. But put it in the posting so the potential actors can make that decision. Some will want to work for some pay. they just won't respond. )

Let me know if you any other questions.
 
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Where are you? If you're in New York, LA, or in other acting hot spots there are a TON of actors looking for interesting roles (paid, unpaid, commercial, music video, short, feature, anything).

I live in NY, so I'm pretty lucky in that regard. For my new movie Sleepwalkers I used the websites castingnetworks and nyccastings. Castingnetworks operates outside of NYC as well, nyccastings - shockingly - does not. But you can definitely look up casting sites like these and see if one exists for wherever you are. Neither of the sites I used charged me a penny, and I was able to find amazing actors willing to work within my budget. If you're curious about how the movie came out, check out our Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasmerrin/sleepwalkers-feature-film

Good luck!
 
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I agree with a lot of what has been said here.

Just to add to the casting notice tips.

Make sure you make your film sound as compelling as you can. If you make it sound like a film people will definitely want to see, you will have no trouble attracting talented people who want to be in the film.

Also, in your character breakdowns make the characters sound interesting.

Also, remember, if you are open to any ethnicity, make sure you specifically mention that for each of the roles for which this is true.

If your budget can afford any sort of pay, or even, as some have suggested, gas money, etc., you will increase your pool of interested actors by tenfold.
 
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