Some of the actors may not understand the short film I am casting for.

H

harmonica44

I took the advice on here before and currently have been doing casting calls for a scene from a feature. I was told to do a scene from a feature I wrote, as practice. But when I do the casting call, I haven't gotten hardly any responses, and I think the actors may not understand the intention.

One of them said they did not see the point to just one scene, as oppose to a whole movie. So should I explain that it's for a feature, and it's just practice to work on our craft, or how should I advertise it? Cause I want to put up some more calls, to get more people interested.

Thanks.
 
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That's true, but I can still hopefully use the agency to act and get parts later on, can I? What's the best way to go about this, since I found an agency? It looks like a good agency since it managed to get an actor four leads in features before.

I am low on money in my audio budget, I still have money for casting and location budget, to be more specific. I could have thrown it to the audio budget, but I do not want to right now.
 
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harmonica44 said:
I met the actor first, who told me about the agent. I have the agents number, but would also like to use the agency myself to find other actors, and to get my foot in the door, since I want to act as well. What's the best way to go about this, just call and email and ask? Would it be inappropriate to ask the agency for anything, since the actor is interested in possibly doing my short film?
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Be careful that you don't come across poorly, which I suspect will happen if you try this approach.

Appropriate or not though, there is no harm in politely asking.

Again, an agency does not work for free. I doubt they'll be willing to provide free actors to you.
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I know an agent that is willing to work for free, and on top of that, provide free actors to help her newer, less experienced clients get some experience. It's a rarity, but they do exist.
 
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Sweetie said:
I know an agent that is willing to work for free, and on top of that, provide free actors to help her newer, less experienced clients get some experience. It's a rarity, but they do exist.
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Fair enough, there are exceptions to most things but H44 has virtually no filming experience and no director showreel hence I doubt any would be prepared to help. Now approaching the actors directly, that's a different story...
 
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Yeah whatever I can do. I thought maybe I can get an agent and just concentrate on acting. I might be able to get this short done after all. I found a couple of actors. If they get back to me that they like the script enough, and if I can get someone do sound on set, then hopefully yes, it will happen soon. I don't have a place to secure auditions for them so I will have to find out if they are good enough in other ways. Hopefully they have something they can show me or something.
 
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Keep the agent in mind.
First you need something to show that's good.
An agent wants to see potential. Probably he/she gets enough emails from 'dreamers who don't do', so you need to stand out with your first impression.

Focus on the now.
And now you need to make short stuf to get experience and a portfolio.
 
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H44 has virtually no filming experience and no director showreel hence I doubt any would be prepared to help.
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I came across this agent on my first producing gig which was on a 10 part web series, where the director's experience was 1 short, and almost everyone was a nobody. Sometimes people just attract the right luck. /wink

If they get back to me
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Holy batman... tell me you're not serious. What you say is "If they get back to me"... what I hear, "I don't want any control over my future and am more than happy to lets others control whether or not I have success due to their interest in calling you back."

Next thing I'll hear a story from you... "I cannot shoot my short! I'm sitting by the phone. The investor said, don't call me, I'll call you... so I'm waiting."
 
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harmonica44 said:
I don't have a place to secure auditions for them so I will have to find out if they are good enough in other ways.
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Come on H44 that's an excuse. There must be some place or room you can hire for a few bucks an hour near where you live or the largest local town. Community center etc.
ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
A computer. A camera and mic. Friends.

You have those H44. Do something with them.
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He did say though ChimpPhobiaFilms, in a previous thread, that his friends were not keen to help, some didn't turn up etc. But yeah maybe downsize the cast and only use two friends who will turn up.
 
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IndiePaul said:
He did say though ChimpPhobiaFilms, in a previous thread, that his friends were not keen to help, some didn't turn up etc. But yeah maybe downsize the cast and only use two friends who will turn up.
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Fair enough. Like you, me, and others have mentioned - shoot nature footage, film an event, or go Herzog style.

Or H44 could shoot a film just starring himself.

It can't be that hard to get a friend for an hour or so. You could do a cell phone monologue, an experimental piece, someone locked in a house, home alone, stuck in basement during a zombie apocalypse, etc. It could be something really simple too.
 
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ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
Fair enough. Like you, me, and others have mentioned - shoot nature footage, film an event, or go Herzog style.

Or H44 could shoot a film just starring himself.

It can't be that hard to get a friend for an hour or so. You could do a cell phone monologue, an experimental piece, someone locked in a house, home alone, stuck in basement during a zombie apocalypse, etc. It could be something really simple too.
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Agreed. My partner and I bought something like this ($120):

400082.jpg


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...SMS7650_SM7650_Hex_Base_Microphone_Stand.html

...to boom in our mic. We shot a feature and two shorts - all with just two people (cast and crew): her and I.

Would I have preferred to have more crew: sure. More actors: yes. But we needed filming experience so we wrote scripts based on what we had available. We have not completed post but all the shooting is done - that's a feature and two shorts within six months so we're very happy with that and have learnt sooooo much. Obviously the folks here at IT have been great.

Later on this year, we'll be shooting another feature or short and we'll involve more actors, maybe even a boom op so we can capture sound whilst moving.

Hopefully H44 gets the idea.
 
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IndiePaul said:
Agreed. My partner and I bought something like this ($120):

400082.jpg
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Cool. I think I'll invest in one of those in the future. That will definitely come in handy for me.

We shot a feature and two shorts - all with just two people (cast and crew): her and I.
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TWO people? :eek: Wow.

Would I have preferred to have more crew: sure. More actors: yes. But we needed filming experience so we wrote scripts based on what we had available. We have not completed post but all the shooting is done - that's a feature and two shorts within six months so we're very happy with that and have learnt sooooo much. Obviously the folks here at IT have been great.
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That's really neat. I can't wait to see it.

Hopefully H44 gets the idea.
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Hopefully he does get the idea.

Filmmakers have to be resourceful and prepared when making films. You're sure to lose an actor, break a prop, or get a light stand stolen. There's a 99.99% chance that things aren't going to go exactly as you plan it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law

Anything. Not, not some things. Anything. You don't know what the h#11 could happen so you have to have back up plans and preparation for everything to fall apart. H44 has a problem: he cannot get people together to work on his projects. How do you solve that? I think we've said it 100 times.

Get reliable friends and actors.
Ask family.
Use camera, editing, and music to show emotion from inanimate objects.
Make a nature video.
Make a city video.
Make something experimental.
Make something with one actor (phone call, etc.)
Make something by yourself.
Plastic bag Herzog type thing.
Record an event.

Oh, and...

STOP MAKING EXCUSES

Or... you know....

GetOffTheInternet.gif


Also, H44, I have an idea.

ANOTHER IDEA

What if you did BTS for a friend's film? You learn more about shooting and you see how and how not to make a film.

I don't know how else to get this point across. Maybe if I spell it backwards?

.gnihtemos ekaM

Forwards?

Make something.

Backwards again?

.gnihtemos ekaM

Okay. I'm done with that.

You know an actor. YOU KNOW AN ACTOR. Use them in your film. Get that actor and make them act in your film.

I have nothing else to say.

-----------

Best of luck with your project IndiePaul! :)

And best of luck to you H44 with filmmaking.
 
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I think others are giving pretty good advice...

My opinion:

Abandon the scene you're trying to do. Abandon the feature that you want to do... for now.

Start out small.

I took a .99 cent flower pot, 3.99 worth of fake plants and flowers, a 2.99 pair of gloves and a 1.99 hot glue gun and made a short music video for a competition for the musician Moby. I made it in the finals but didn't win. Do I care? Not really as I spent less than 10 bucks and only a few hours of my time over a weekend.

Do what others are saying. Use resources that you have around you, make a proof of concept video and use that to gain interest from actors/friends or whoever to film something bigger.

I posted an advert on mandy and in 1 day I had over 50 replies interested in my short film project. You need to be assertive, you need to be confident in your project and you need to know what the hell you are talking about. The byproduct will be responses.

Here's the video I did for under 10 bucks. I gave the flower a personality. The short clip tells a story without using a single line of dialogue. It presents a situation, an issue that the flower must overcome and an outcome...

https://vimeo.com/23462979

My door is always open if you need someone to talk to.
 
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@OpusFuller: cool video, great concept!

You say exactly what a lot of us have been saying: start small.
Be creative, but start small.

It's faster: you learn more and finish more in the same time.
At the same time you risk less: if a project isn't perfect you didn't spend a year on it.
If you did something wrong, you only did it wrong on a video of 3 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

Actually, H44 could have finished at least 6 smaller projects by now.
It would have given him experience, a portfolio and easier access to people who might want to join his projects.

In his search for a shortcut, he got lost in the forest without a sense of direction...
In his fear to waste time on small projects that aren't the feature he wants to make, he's wasting time in his struggle to do so...

Maybe I should stop responding until he has something to show us?
 
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Well I have been helping others with their movies this year, but I should get back to mine. That short I am casting for currently is only 3 minutes most likely and should be no more complicated than a music video. It is a dialogue scene and definitely starting out small I would say. I got a DP who says he is on board so far, and possibly a couple of actors.
 
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