Four Casting Tips for When the Pickings are Slim

“I am thirteen years old, and film-making is my hobby.

As you say in your book, actors are 85% of directing a film, and I love telling stories with my movies, so I feel like I need actors. But because I’m 13, I have to use the actors in my neighborhood.

How do I make great video without ideal actors?

–C”

Casting is a challenge at 13—but it’s also a challenge if you’re doing a marketing video inside a company, or working with a new recording artist on a music video, or on a tight budget or otherwise locked into a small pool of actors.

I guess what I’m saying is that casting is a challenge. But it’s the director’s job to match the needs of the video with the abilities of the actor.

Whether you’re a 13-year old working in the neighborhood or a marketer casting from inside the company, let me suggest a couple of casting tips for when, as the saying goes, “the pickings are slim.”

Audition everyone: You can’t tell what actors can do until you try them out. Give them the script, put them in front of a camera (zoom is fine!) and see how they look doing it. Have someone else do the other parts if there are any. Record what happens. Give your actor a little direction to see how well they get what you’re trying to do and how versatile they are, and let them do it again while you record.

While nobody likes to be rejected, remember that the worst thing you can do to someone is give them a part they’re wrong for. Because they’ll suck. And when themselves suck on video that other people can also watch, they’ll hate you more than they would have if you hadn’t cast them.

By Any Other Name: For middle school (or corporate) politics reasons, you may not want to call these auditions. Instead, you can say you want people to read so you can “put them in the right parts.” True, right? For some the “right part” will be a lead, for others it will be Customer #2 at a table way in the back of the restaurant. Either way, you get to match your available actors to their abilities.

Widen the Pool: Even if you’re making a feature film, there are always limits to your casting pool—budget, availability, budget or budget to name a few. So why should a middle school video be different?

If you’ve got a videos you’ve already made, use them to recruit. Everyone wants to be in a video if they think it will be good! Try showing your work to your music/drama teacher and see who they know. If you need adult talent try a local college or your parents’ friends.

In a corporate setting, become your own publicist. You can put out company-wide memos, pitch your video at a managers’ meeting, put up signs in the break room—anything to get more bodies to audition.

Rope the Goat: If you’ve auditioned all the people you can find and you’re still short of talent, it’s time to rope the goat.

I shot a commercial with an amateur goat for the late (and possibly future) Anchor Brewing Company—no budget for a lot of training, but all we wanted the goat to do was walk a few steps across the frame. Unfortunately, the goat couldn’t do it. So we put a rope on the goat, gave a brewery employee a carrot, and the goat now had a friend that he walked around with. It wasn’t what we’ve planned, but it worked fine.

If actors can’t remember long speeches, shoot them in tiny bits and cut them together. If they’re wrong for the character you wrote, rewrite a character that fits them. The one thing you can’t do: Throw up your hands and go “Oh well!” Remember that your audience will only see the result—they won’t know you thought an untrained goat could take direction.