Introduction

Casting is one of those pieces of filmmaking that indie filmmakers neglect either out of ignorance or budget prioritization. Pick the wrong actors though and your project is doomed from the beginning.

So here’s a roundup of what a casting director does, the processes involved, and how to execute a successful casting session.

As always, RocketJump provides down-to-earth, practical details about organization, forms, scheduling and general procedure.

Casting session walkthrough

… and then there are the guys from Film Riot. Skip the first 2:45 of idle banter. Later on in the piece they step through a casting session “simulation” broken down with blow-by-blow commentary. Also covered: where to find actors on no budget, where to find actors with a budget.

Casting By: The Movie

Yes, there’s even a movie about casting directors. More specifically a documentary on Marion Dougherty, arguably the most famous casting director in Hollywood. This is well worth the rental for an insight into this unseen side of the industry and gives a very intimate picture of the people and process involved.

What does a casting director do?

Another great concise overview of the casting process:

Casting director roundtable

Here’s a great roundtable of known casting directors discussing their craft

Larry Jordan on Casting -What producers and directors need to know

Larry Jordan gives his typically thorough treatment of the subject in two parts: one for actors looking to land a part and the other for directors looking to find the right actors. They’re tight, informative segments, so it’s probably watching both, starting with the “What producers and directors need to know” segment.

Larry Jordan on Casting - What actors need to know about casting

Casting Dos and Don'ts for Actors

Casting Director Insights

Amy Hubbard – major casting director in the UK for Lord of the Rings to the latest incarnation of Little Women and dozens of features and episodics in between. It’s a little dated (2012) and questions asked aren’t particularly deep (and this is a quasi-marketing piece for the Spotlight casting service) but Amy gives a few unique insights.

How the casting process works, typical day for a casting director (2:58), industry changes (3:45), global changes (5:50), adapting to industry changes (6:35), has there been a change in relationship between casting director and agent (8:15 – spoiler, “No.”), Most enjoyable aspect (9:35), Use of social media (11:35), prognostications (12:30)