Casting For Your Film

photo credit: andy z via photo pin cc

Choosing the right cast is the best thing you can do for your production. Nothing else is more important than who you decide to play each role you have created. Of course everything else is important as well such as set designing, lights, sound amongst the many aspects you will need to organize. It is important to know the person you are choosing to fit your roles.

You will need to know their temperament, behavior, their mannerisms and professionalism as apart of due diligence you must partake before making your final decision as the person you choose can either make or break your production.

You may need to look into more than one candidate for any given role and don’t feel you need to cast the first person you auditioned but when you do find someone you feel fits everything you are looking for make sure you do not hastily cast them; as a good audition may not transpire into a good performance later on.

You will need to look for a true professional who will not only grow into a given role but someone who will also provide ideas and insights and develop good relationships with other cast and crew members. You should also cast accordingly taking into consideration each character traits and matching them with the right person.

You need to make sure your actors are comfortable at all times during the initial audition as they are keeping a close eye on your reception as much as you are evaluating them. As long as they are assured you know your craft and you are efficient and can easily communicate with them it will all flow smoothly.

Don’t expect too much though as an audition is not a good platform to judge an actors final’s performance or ability. It is however important for you not to lead them on or make promises before you reach your final decision and make sure to thank them for their time and effort. It would be best not to participate in the audition with your actors and to just observe as this will give you a better idea of their abilities and help you decide later on.

During the first read through it would be best not to start with a long speech as the actors may be too nervous to fully grasp your speech. Start off with the basics such as set rehearsal times or performance.  Explain your vision of the play to the actors and you can help them to join in your vision by showing them the designs and ideas you have envisioned.

Let your actors know that even though it’s the first reading you want them to do it with gusto and passion as if their life depended that that one role. Don’t allow anyone to just read through impassively. After that you can provide feedback while it’s all still fresh and get the actors to participate in discussions to smooth out any confusion or problems.

Make sure your actors understand the role they need to portray for example the correct accents, the correct mannerisms the correct action and reaction to situations in accordance to the script and story and discuss this with them as well as important aspects of the story so that everyone understands what is required of them and that every part can come together in perfect harmony to create your masterpiece.

About Serge Kozak 
Serge Kozak is the founder and CEO of Edictive. Edictive is an online project management software for film and TV production application.