Hi, i'm about to start auditioning actors for a short film, and I wanted to know how other people audition their actors. Where do you audition them (rent a space, at your house, at a bar)? My previous films have been with actors I didn't need to audition because the parts were written specifically for actors I knew already. This is the first production that I plan on paying actors too... i'd like it to be as professional as possible, but not extremely expensive! Anyone who has ideas, please let me know. Thanks.
Nick
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At a bar, man. Go there on an off night (say, Tuesday) and start a tab. That'll keep the bartender happy, and they'll leave you alone....
Just a thought. :)
Renting a space is a very good idea. And video tape everything, of course. My friend has a good method. He puts adds in local papers (some will do it for free), then when people phone, he meets them at a bar, or restaurant or some public place. If they're on the level, he gives them the audition time. It seems to work pretty well, because you get to meet them out of the pressure situation first, one on one. Then you hear them read in a (semi)professional environment when they come to the place you've rented. Our local film co-op rented us a perfect room (pre-lit, and everything) for $25 (canadian) a day. So that's like $1 American :)
Make sure you have a clean couch and a camcorder... :)
Post info in papers and at local theatres.. also.. ask the theatres if you can use their space for these auditions.. some may allow you to for free or a nominal fee..
Usually having them prepare a 2 minute monologue should be good enough.. and maybe a cold reading from the script.. But yes deffinatly tape record the auditions.
Im just waking up so i may think of other things in a bit.
If your state has a film commission, you can announce your project on their website. That's what I did and I got over a thousand headshots (for a nonpaying short -- if you're paying, you'll get even more). Then you can call them based on their headshot/resume and set up the audition.
I'd rent a space. I got to use a friends' conference room for free, but another film I worked on rented a room at the local recreation center, and that worked just as well. It only cost about 35 dollars.
Videotaping is definitely a good idea, although I actually ended up not using the footage as much as I thought I would have. Have sides printed up for them to read, but asking them to prepare a monologue is also great, since it's always nice to hear them perform something that isn't a cold reading.
I auditioned actors for four days, ten hours a day. It's fun at first, but then it gets tedious. And then there's the callbacks....
I once did an audition at a friend's apartment. (We were doing the film together.) So, we're auditioning the first actress, when suddenly, his roomate walks into the room wearing nothing but a towel -- going to take a shower. Imagine the look on the actress' face.
So, yeah, that was pretty uncomfortable...
As a total tangent, anybody ever get the casting couch working? I mean on a no/low budget indie, with a genuinely HOT actress (which means that a decent majority of other people found her attractive)? Extra bonus points if she had a boyfriend. Super extra bonus points if he also acted in the movie.
Sadly, this has never happened to me. Actually, out of the 5 female parts I have cast for my two shorts, I've only been able to stand 2 of them, and actually continued to speak to them after the shoot. A good no budget shoot means grudges with most of the cast afterwards, and complete banishment from all locations used. :oops: :)
QuoteA good no budget shoot means grudges with most of the cast afterwards, and complete banishment from all locations used.
Sad. Sad. Sad. Mostly true. Sad.
My web series was a total low/no budget shoot - and I am actually speaking to most of the cast, though as our upcoming DVD will show, we recast about 4 roles after shooting had commenced (in one case on the last day of this actors call he up and quit over creative differences, it caused us to lose 1 actor, lose a major location and have to reshoot a total of 6 scenes - all for the better, still...)
Anyway, I hope my next film doesn't get me banned from the location, there is only one, Alcatraz Island and I'd like to be able to go back after we're done. :wink: