Spotlight\u2019s latest Summer Session saw casting directors from across the UK answering your burning questions about film and TV casting, including Lauren Evans (London), Anna Dawson (Scotland) and Emma Stafford (Manchester). Here are the highlights of what was discussed:<\/p>\n
Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0We look everywhere. The majority of our job is research, and everyone has access to all the agencies, so it\u2019s up to us to look beyond those means. For\u00a0Game of Thrones, we had to look for someone who was 7ft 5, so we looked at Strongest Man contests, etc. We\u2019ve been up and down motorways going to schools, and not just performing arts schools. We look anywhere and everywhere.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0Agreed. Each project comes with its own parameters, and it\u2019s up to us to push them wide and leave no stone unturned to find the right cast for the right project.<\/p>\n Anna:<\/strong>\u00a0I contact agencies linked to schools in Scotland. When I send out breakdowns, I have my lists of agents already CCed in. It\u2019s a smaller pool up here, so it\u2019s easier to contact people directly.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0Parents can also keep an eye on social media, as we look there for niche briefs. Keep an eye on credits at the end of programmes that will be casting again soon to see who the one doing the casting is.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s about finding the right talent, not where they\u2019re based. For me, it isn\u2019t an issue where you\u2019re based. What\u2019s happened (in the last 18 months) has made the process easier, because now we can see people on self-tapes and Zoom, and people don\u2019t need to travel. So it\u2019s cost effective from a production point of view.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0Generally, if you\u2019re right for the part then it doesn\u2019t matter where you\u2019re based. Sometimes when budgets are tighter, or they need to satisfy funding, they may need to look at people who are local to the production. But generally we don\u2019t care \u2013 we just want to see you and what you can do. When you self-tape we don\u2019t know where you\u2019re based, which is great!<\/p>\n Anna:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s a project-by-project basis. For the majority, you can consider everyone. But sometimes people have to be based in a certain area because there isn\u2019t the budget for travel and to accommodate them. But it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s London-centric. Lots of Scottish kids are getting more parts in the rest of the UK because of self-tapes.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0I don\u2019t mind it. Being a parent myself, I get the need and desire to support your child. I just feel that the best point of contact is always the agent, because you don\u2019t know what other projects the agent is submitting your child for. The agent will know what we\u2019re doing. We would all love to reply back to every email actors send us, but it\u2019s physically impossible.<\/p>\n Anna:<\/strong>\u00a0The agents are doing their job. I would actively encourage people based in Scotland who are not represented to write to me, because I need kids in Scotland. You will go straight into a file because that\u2019s my niche. If someone is based in London, you\u2019re less likely to get a response from me.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s good to hear from people who aren\u2019t represented, especially if they have particular skillsets alongside acting. Some skilled people don\u2019t realise they can act until they try it.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0Over a thousand, especially if it\u2019s a general role.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0We don\u2019t have enough time to see everyone, so if parents know there\u2019s a thousand, and the child gets an audition, that\u2019s an amazing thing! Being invited to do a self-tape is a fantastic achievement. Each step you take is a learning process. You\u2019re taking a step closer to what you want. It\u2019s about providing a supportive place for children, so they know that even if they\u2019re not right for that project, they\u2019re on a database for next time. We always remember somehow.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0I like to see a nice clean headshot that\u2019s been taken professionally. If they have a showreel, that\u2019s great. It\u2019s not as important for young performers as adults to see credits and other projects they\u2019ve been in. If they\u2019ve worked with a director or producer I know, I\u2019ve phoned and spoken to them about them to get a feel, but it\u2019s more about photos and location. Any special skills are important, but that\u2019s project dependent. Too many photos is not a good thing. Two or three is fine \u2013 too many is confusing.<\/p>\n Anna:<\/strong>\u00a0I don\u2019t love it when there\u2019s too much stuff. I would never expect an under 16 year old to have a showreel unless they\u2019re working all the time. I\u2019ve seen people with lots of different clips and it\u2019s a bit too much and has put me off seeing someone. I\u2019d rather have a clean slate and want to bring you in to see you than be put off by seeing something.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0If you do have a specialist skill, it\u2019s handy to have some footage of that. Your agent can have it on file and ready to send.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0But make sure you can definitely do that skill!<\/p>\n Anna:<\/strong>\u00a0I quite like it if it\u2019s relevant. I advised a little girl I worked with to put in her About Me that she\u2019s an award-winning ice-skater, just in case, because you never know. The agent would send me a clip of this if I needed it.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0I think it\u2019s interesting if they\u2019ve done a summer school somewhere. It doesn\u2019t harm them by putting it in there.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0But if you haven\u2019t done them, please don\u2019t feel like you need to go off and start buying courses at places.<\/p>\n Emma:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s just easier to see the performance and what their level is capable of hitting, rather than it being a script read. I think it\u2019s more helpful for the actor as well. They\u2019re not hampered by the page. It allows the actor to drop down into the emotion fully to engage with the scene if they\u2019re off book. I feel you don\u2019t have that chance if you\u2019re reading off a script.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0When it comes to younger children reading, less is more. It should probably come from the parent as well, because of course you should have them in the space so they can say, \u2018That was lovely. Let\u2019s try it again. Let\u2019s try a different version where it\u2019s quieter, or strip it back a little bit so it\u2019s more appropriate for TV,\u2019 which can be hard to verbalise, especially when the child is younger. So it\u2019s just the parent recognising that when it comes to a screen performance, we don\u2019t want a child who seems really confident and loud in volume. It still needs to feel quite naturalistic.<\/p>\n Anna:<\/strong>\u00a0America loves them. If I wanted an ident, I would say in the email.<\/p>\n Lauren:<\/strong>\u00a0They should let you know either way, but we ask for an ident so at least we have it and it\u2019s there on file if we need it. We usually do name, agent, height and then full length shot. We send it separately because we can always add them on, which is easier than separating them. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask any questions if you don\u2019t understand the brief, if you need more time, etc. We\u2019re there to arm you to do the best self-tape possible. We\u2019re not there to trip you up.<\/p>\n Thank you everyone for your useful insights! You can find more useful information about\u00a0self-tapes<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0casting<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0our website<\/a>. As always, feel free to contact\u00a0questions@spotlight.com<\/a>\u00a0if you have any further questions.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Casting directors Lauren Evans, Anna Dawson and Emma Stafford share their best advice for both parents and young performers on self-taping, the casting process, and how to be found through Spotlight. Spotlight\u2019s latest Summer Session saw casting directors from across the UK answering your burning questions about film and TV casting, including Lauren Evans (London), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[64,49,90,71,50,70],"class_list":["post-1307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-young-performers","tag-casting-directors","tag-film","tag-natasha-raymond","tag-self-taping","tag-television","tag-young-performers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nQ: Does where you\u2019re based have an impact on casting? Is London still the ideal base for an actor?<\/h4>\n
Q: Do you have parents and actors contacting you directly? Would you encourage that?<\/h4>\n
Q: How many submissions are you likely to receive for a single role?<\/h4>\n
Q: What should appear on a young performer\u2019s Spotlight profile? What do you look for?<\/h4>\n
Q: Do you find the About Me and Training sections useful for young performers?<\/h4>\n
Q: Do self-tapes always have to be off book?<\/h4>\n
Q: Do you have any tips for self-taping?<\/h4>\n
Q: Is an ident required for a self-tape?<\/h4>\n