Casting Director
This is the person who is in charge of making sure that every role in a production is played by the actor who is best for it. A lot of the time, the directors start by attaching well known actors to the production's lead roles. As soon as they're cast, open auditions are held to find the rest of the actors they need. This can range from a selected group of individuals or thousands across the country. Usually, the casting director will have the final decision on who is hired. However, they tend to use assistant casting agents to complete the task. This is because they already have a lot of responsibilities in the pre production.
Becoming a Casting Director
This link helped me find out how to become a casting director, i.e. what qualification/experience it requires.
The first step is finding an internship. Most of them are unpaid, though some pay very little. The point of the internship is to learn everything you can about the industry and about being a casting director. It's not about making the money. To get an internship, you should send your CV and cover letters to places you believe are suitable to you. People who get an internship are those who follow up and pursue their desires. Often, internships aren't structured; one day you could be on an organisation task, and another day you could be assisting a casting director. The site advises that as an intern you observe everything going on around you, talk to everyone you come across and ask as many questions as possible - this is so you learn the business from the bottom and work towards the top. After your time as an intern, the experience you've gained allows you to be one step closer to becoming a casting director, by being an associate casting director. This role gives you more responsibility, like working on small projects alone, therefore shifting you into a more active job. A good casting director ensures an associate will be given enough independence so they can learn and grow, but not so much where they may feel overwhelmed. Completing time as an associate is the final stage, and after this you can become a casting director.
Becoming a Casting Director
This link helped me find out how to become a casting director, i.e. what qualification/experience it requires.
The first step is finding an internship. Most of them are unpaid, though some pay very little. The point of the internship is to learn everything you can about the industry and about being a casting director. It's not about making the money. To get an internship, you should send your CV and cover letters to places you believe are suitable to you. People who get an internship are those who follow up and pursue their desires. Often, internships aren't structured; one day you could be on an organisation task, and another day you could be assisting a casting director. The site advises that as an intern you observe everything going on around you, talk to everyone you come across and ask as many questions as possible - this is so you learn the business from the bottom and work towards the top. After your time as an intern, the experience you've gained allows you to be one step closer to becoming a casting director, by being an associate casting director. This role gives you more responsibility, like working on small projects alone, therefore shifting you into a more active job. A good casting director ensures an associate will be given enough independence so they can learn and grow, but not so much where they may feel overwhelmed. Completing time as an associate is the final stage, and after this you can become a casting director.
To gather more information, I found an online interview with Beth Schiff. She is a casting director and has casted for many TV series, like 'Chopped' and 'Cover Shot.' From the interview I learnt there is never a typical day for a director, but consists of 4 parts:
1) Outreach/Research - this is where they let people know who and what they're looking for.
2) Sorting/Scheduling - this is where they start deciding who they think is right for the role, i.e. who they wish to call and select for an interview.
3) Auditions/Interviews - auditions take place in a studio. Typically, each person gets 10 to 15 minutes, where they have the opportunity to show their personality, and also so the director knows what they look like on camera and how they read the script.
4) Follow-Up - booking the actors for the jobs.
I discovered what are the best and worst parts of the job, the expected pay, and how the recession has effected business. According to Beth, the best part of the job is the amount of different people she gets to meet and how she can afford them with an opportunity. She said that the worst part of the job is that their time is extremely limited, to conduct research and the actual interview/audition process. As a result of the recession, business has been slower, with budgets decreasing, meaning less money and time for casting. Additionally, technology is improving which means people can take videos on their phones and simply upload it and produce their own 'shows.' Beth believes that casting directors won't cease to exist, but that people are doing it, thinking they can do it alone. The expected pay for a casting director is around £188-£315 a day. Whereas, its is around £62-£94 a day for their assistants. She makes it clear that each project and budget varies, and also how commercials usually have the highest budgets.
Lastly, Beth gave advice to those aspiring to follow the casting director path. She stresses that great communication and administrative skills are important. If you want to go down this path, you will also need to be fairly creative and be able to 'think on your feet.' Being a casting director, you need to be highly organised, diplomatic, confident with technology and keep up to date with the latest in TV, film and the internet.
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