• ✅ Technical and creative solutions for your film.
    ✅ Screenplay formatting help, plot and story guidance.
    ✅ A respectful community of professionals and newbies.
    ✅ Network with composers, editors, cast, crew, and more!
    🎬 IndieTalk - Filmmaking and Screenwriting help site and community.
    By filmmakers, for filmmakers since 2003

First time holding auditions

Stinky Grinch

Stinky Grinch

So I'm holding auditions for the next short I'm directing. This is the first time I've held auditions. I've got a location and script samples for actors to read.

Can anyone offer any me any good tips?
 
I just held my first auditions last Saturday. Let me tell you, follow those directions in the two linked articles and you will not only have great auditions, but you will enjoy the process. I had nothing to think about the day of the auditions because of all the prep that I put into it.

I now have the two actors that I need to make my new short a real success.

BTW - Thanks Sonnyboo -
 
Get 'em in and out of there as fast as possible UNLESS they have potential to get the role. Usually 80% of them turn out NOT to fit what you thought they would be (based on their 8 X 10 submission). Often these unwanted 80% also want to read it TWICE and they THINK they are giving you a different read, but they never do. It took me a few casting sessions to realize that I was wasting LOTS of my time with unwanted actors. The key is to call MORE people and have 'em read ONCE and then thank them really fast and get them to leave!
 
Dont do what I did. We had a guy who was so bad I cracked up laughing. It was highly unproffesional but christ he was about teh worst actor I had ever seen. The advice here - prescreen!
 
mr-modern-life said:
Dont do what I did. We had a guy who was so bad I cracked up laughing. It was highly unproffesional but christ he was about teh worst actor I had ever seen. The advice here - prescreen!
Click to expand...

There was an actor who auditioned for HORRORS OF WAr that was so incredibly bad, I had blood in my mouth from biting my tongue to keep from laughing, but it would have been cruel and rude to have him know who bad he did. This actor needed to help gain confidence and get better.
 
sonnyboo said:
There was an actor who auditioned for HORRORS OF WAr that was so incredibly bad, I had blood in my mouth from biting my tongue to keep from laughing, but it would have been cruel and rude to have him know who bad he did. This actor needed to help gain confidence and get better.
Click to expand...

So is it pretty much hands-off directing during auditions? Or should one attempt to test out the director/actor relationship during an audition? Clive's quote "There are no bad actors, only bad directors" is ringing in my ears. Should directors attempt to correct stuff like this during auditions, if they see a star underneath the suck?
 
sonnyboo said:
There was an actor who auditioned for HORRORS OF WAr that was so incredibly bad, I had blood in my mouth from biting my tongue to keep from laughing, but it would have been cruel and rude to have him know who bad he did. This actor needed to help gain confidence and get better.
Click to expand...

Sonny - I tried. In the same audition we had a guy who told us his fav martial arts film was Man With A Golden Gun. Oh and then we had the guy who was so scary that I almost shat myself when he read the big speach.

That was a day and a half.
 
I held my auditions the other night.. Thanks so much for the links sonnyboo the info helped me lots! Things went great!

As far as directing during auditions this is what I did... I let the lead writer who was there give the actors some insight on the character. Then they went for it.. If I liked some of what they did I ask them to do a short part of it or all of it again after I gave the some direction. I did that just to see if they took direction well and how they responded to my direction... Some did well others did not.
 
Spatula said:
So is it pretty much hands-off directing during auditions? Or should one attempt to test out the director/actor relationship during an audition? Clive's quote "There are no bad actors, only bad directors" is ringing in my ears. Should directors attempt to correct stuff like this during auditions, if they see a star underneath the suck?
Click to expand...

I think you should see what they come in with, then see if they can take direction to make changes in their interpretation (even if they think it's a bad choice)...you could also use it to see if they are going to voice any misgivings or discuss character with you, then whether they do it your way any way having voiced their misgivings :)...

This is a job interview...you need to see if they can do the job you're hiring them for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top