Hey guys, I have a short I wanna shoot. I have a camera, mic, digital recorder, shooting all in day time, but no available actors. I have friends who say they'd be down but they usually wind up flaking out, or they get stoned. How should I go about getting new people to act? I wouldn't be paying anyone, it'd be kind of just a fun thing to do during a nice sunny day. Should I do craigslist or facebook, or just remain hopeful that my peeps will turn around? Thanks in advance
Getting actors?
- Thread starter CHamburger
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I know exactly how you feel man. Been in that situation before. Use craigslist and try to make it as professional as possible. Make sure there are no misspellings or grammar errors and what not and send out and open casting call. Or use other sites like that. Other social networking sites. Do you live near a bigger city? Or near any universities? Those also seem to be good places to set up (again professional) flyers and ask around. Go to their theater department. Talk to people man. You gotta go out their and network and eventually if you're not a douche to people and act yourself in a professional manner you'll be overrun by people who want to help...But by professional I don't mean act like a stiff. Have fun man.
Ms Divine lives nearby.
http://www.indietalk.com/member.php?u=20468
http://www.indietalk.com/member.php?u=20468
She doesn't strike me as the "boss around" type.
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I'm actually in NYC. I was hoping I could get my friends to do it because I kinda just wanted to boss them around lol. Seriously though, universities are a good shot? My old college has a tv and theater dept. might check there. I'm thinking of going to craigslist/facebook route though. Is it a problem for actors if you can't pay them? Can I get like pizza for people or something? Maybe some donuts? Have you ever filmed with people from craigslist?
You ought to be able to find many actors who are willing to work for food/copy/credit.
They might be actors starting out and looking to build up a reel, or they might have more experience and are looking for an interesting gig on the side. You can find them via Craigslist, or local theaters, or film schools, or college drama clubs/depts, or college a/v media depts, or word of mouth/recommendation.
You'll want to be upfront about how little (if anything) the pay is. If you want serious replies from serious actors, don't describe it as just "a fun thing to do a Saturday" or as an excuse to boss a few people around. Your cast & crew will only take it as seriously as you treat the project.
Make an effort to at least cover gas/toll expenses. If it's pizza for lunch, for the love of god please don't let it be Little Caesers. Read up on crafty essentials. It doesn't have to be that expensive, and beats the hell out of a box of donuts.
Have fun casting!
