{"id":2027,"date":"2017-03-14T16:04:43","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T16:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2026-03-04T10:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T10:37:48","slug":"top-tips-from-leading-commercial-casting-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/getting-work\/top-tips-from-leading-commercial-casting-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Tips from Leading Commercial Casting Director"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We recently spoke to leading casting director Martin Gibbons, as part of the Spotlight Graduate Programme. Held in Manchester, the events were tailored to students graduating from drama school in the North West.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.martingibbons.com\/\">Martin Gibbons Casting<\/a>\u00a0is an independent casting company experienced in casting TV commercials, television, theatre and film. \u00a0Martin has been a casting director on hundreds of commercials for major international and UK companies, as well as working on award winning TV and film projects. \u00a0Here are his top tips for students graduating from drama school in 2017.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you look for in graduates at showcases?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"imgRight\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-replace hoverZoomLink\" src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_800,c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1464\/martingibbons.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/spotlightuk\/image\/fetch\/w_{width},c_limit\/https:\/\/spotlight-cmsmedia.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/1464\/martingibbons.jpg\" \/><\/span><\/strong>It\u2019s a tough one as what I\u2019m really looking for is someone who\u2019s really good! I know that\u2019s obvious, but it\u2019s true. I guess, specifically, I\u2019m looking for an actor who is doing a piece that is quite close to who they are, in terms of accent, etc. I remember seeing a piece years ago with two lovely young Scouse lads I knew already, and they did a duologue where they played middle-aged posh banker boys, and I thought, &#8220;WHY?&#8221; I would have much preferred they had done something young and yes, maybe Scouse! I understand that showing a range is something actors want to do, but in my opinion a showcase is a chance for you to show who you are as an actor and what parts you are likely to be cast in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there any audition etiquette that those new to the industry should be aware of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not really, and certainly nothing to worry about. What we want is people who are nice, friendly, confident, but not arrogant, and who listen. We\u2019ll give you all the information you need (that\u2019s our job), and then we need the actors to use their talent and bring it to life. Simple.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes a great self-tape audition?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think this is very basic, but can we see you? Think about the lighting. Can we hear you? Think about the sound. Then just make sure there is nothing distracting in the background and do what you do best &#8211; the acting bit!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What stands out to you in a good showreel?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have very specific thoughts on showreels and not necessarily what others might think. In my mind, showreels only work if you have the footage to warrant one. Don\u2019t run before you can walk. I\u2019m not a fan of showreel-specific footage. I\u2019d rather see one piece of footage from a TV appearance or a very good short film, rather than lots of amateur footage of actors crying, shouting, or waving guns around!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you prefer black and white or coloured headshots?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Colour. Black and white headshots, like black and white TV, are from the past.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Should graduates ever approach casting directors with their Spotlight profile or showreel?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course, why not. I\u2019ll be honest, we read every email that arrives but unfortunately we don\u2019t reply to all as we don\u2019t have the time, so if you don\u2019t mind that we may not reply, carry on!<\/p>\n<p><strong>If a graduate is unrepresented, would you still consider seeing them for a role?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Again, definitely! The only problem with being unrepresented is that you sometimes might not see the briefs we send out. Once we have applications, who suggested the actor (be it themselves or an agent) doesn\u2019t matter at all!<\/p>\n<p><em>Spotlight&#8217;s next week of free events will be open to all members and held in our London studios from 3rd to 7th April. Keep an eye on\u00a0<a title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpotlightUK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and your inbox for updates!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently spoke to leading casting director Martin Gibbons, as part of the Spotlight Graduate Programme. Held in Manchester, the events were tailored to students graduating from drama school in the North West. Martin Gibbons Casting\u00a0is an independent casting company experienced in casting TV commercials, television, theatre and film. \u00a0Martin has been a casting director [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[72,64,80,51,95,74],"class_list":["post-2027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-getting-work","tag-auditions","tag-casting-directors","tag-commercials","tag-headshots","tag-interview","tag-showreels"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Top Tips from Leading Commercial Casting Director | Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Commercial casting director Martin Gibbons 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