Casting Services

Celebrity Acquisition

If your production requires the attachment of celebrities to the cast, there are two principal ways I can lend valuable assistance:

 

Brainstorming Lists of Celebrities: Working in collaboration with you, I can create comprehensive lists of suggested celebrities who are the right matches for specific roles. Lists will include information on their representation, alternate channels to the talent, and assessments of feasibility.

 

Negotiating Celebrity deals: I can also provide consultation and advice regarding offers and deal structure, including offer forms and contracts. I can aid in your negotiations by leveraging my agent/talent relationships. I can provide your team with additional knowledge and expertise to assist you in securing high profile talent for each project. I can help you define exactly what is needed from the celebrities given the scope of the project. This would include defining the talent’s performance needs, marketing and promotional needs, travel considerations, considerations of special requests, and consultation regarding union restrictions and compliance, etc.

Casting

There are numerous ways a casting director can help facilitate the often arduous process of finding the right actor for a role. I have outlined the process in detail below.

 

Brainstorming Candidate Lists: Using my knowledge of the voice-over talent pool in Los Angeles, I can create comprehensive lists of actor names based on the needs of the project. In addition to these lists I can also compile hyper-links of demo reels to the most versatile and talented voice-over actors in Los Angeles.

 

Negotiating: My experience allows me to lend expert consultation and advice on deal structuring. I can also bring more value to your talent deals by leveraging my agent/talent relationships, and providing your team with additional knowledge and expertise to assist you in securing leading VO actors for any project. I will also help you define what exactly is needed from the actors given the scope of the project. This would include identifying the time-frame on performance needs, planning for multiple voices per actor, consultation on union restrictions and compliance, and securing the best possible actor for the role at the lowest possible price.

 

Audition Material Prep: Preparation of materials begins with acquiring character descriptions from the writer, and character art from either the producer or director of the project. Once I have obtained these elements, I can select audition material from the script. Elements are formatted into sides, numbered, and e-mailed to the talent and/or to their representatives. Additional copies are always brought to the studio, maximizing efficiency at the casting session.

 

Virtual Auditions: With today’s technology we have the option of handling auditions “virtually” by distributing carefully prepared audition material via email to dozens of the leading VO agencies in Los Angeles. Agents then use our project materials to audition actors at their offices. I qualify, screen and select the 10 best actors for each role, and then send them to you via a hyper-link.

 

Studio Auditions: As an alternative to holding virtual auditions, a more hands-on approach is to hold studio auditions. I can book a studio (which will be billed to you) and bring actors in, one at a time, in 10-minute intervals to audition for me. I can see 6 actors per hour and 24 actors in one day.

 

Call-backs: The call back process works similarly to the studio audition process but we add a few more people to the mix. Again, I will book a studio (which will be billed back to you) and bring the top 5 contenders back for each role. The actors come in, one at a time, in 10-minute intervals so you have a chance to better assess their range, versatility, and fit for the role. I take care of scheduling the talent and am always available to shuffle actors in and out of the studio in a quick and efficient manner. We can see approximately 6 actors per hour or 24 actors in one day.

 

Scheduling: I do all the scheduling myself for all auditions, call-backs and recording sessions. My services of course include the initial set-up of the actor, and the inevitable re-arranging of the schedule, especially for the high profile celebrities. Key to scheduling a successful session is knowing how much time, exactly, to book for each actor. Detailed consideration is given to things like line count, ADR, the voice-director’s pace, special celebrity needs, the presence of a film crew… All these details have to be considered when scheduling a session.

Production Services

I pride myself on the additional services I provide as a casting director.

 

Script Prep: I take extra precautions to have a proper script to work from at all recording sessions. This process includes breaking down and numbering the script, doing final character and line counts, formatting the scripts for recording specifications, photocopying and distribution.

 

Session Management: My role as the session manager is extremely important. It begins with greeting the talent and making them comfortable before the session even starts. This includes everything from ordering a special meal for a fussy celebrity, to getting a script copied quickly for a producer, to even trouble-shooting studio operations such as knowing the specs for ADR or knowing how the phone patch works. It also includes organizing and handling all of the actor’s SAG paperwork, ensuring they are properly executed, and making the necessary photocopies of their identification. As session manager I can also take detailed script notes, including “circle takes” (noting the best take for each line) and help optimize efficiency in the session.

 

Voice direction: I can provide voice direction services myself, or we can decide to hire another voice director for the project. If we do the latter, I will make recommendations and secure that person for you. Voice directors should not only specialize in pulling performance from actors – they should also be able to direct the dynamics of the entire room on both sides of the glass. Establishing rhythm with the engineer, maintaining proper pace, handling difficult personalities with ease… all these are essential ingredients in the quality equation. A voice director must be intuitive regarding the actor’s abilities and ego and know when to back off, and when to press. It’s also important to incorporate any notes that are coming from producers and communicate those notes to the talent effectively and accurately, in the manner that works for the actor.

 

ADR/ Pick-ups: I can consult, prep, schedule and manage the pick-up and ADR sessions. Scripts will be numbered and noted with the appropriate information, such as time codes, session dates, episode names, etc.

 

Script Notes: In every session I attend I produce script notes, including a log of take numbers and a record of preference choices. This will prove invaluable to the dialog editor.

Consultation

You should always think of your casting director as a person who has inside links to talent first, but also as a valuable consultative resource as well. Here are some more things I can help you with:

 

Recording Studios: Services include the investigation, price negotiation, scheduling and booking of the recording facilities that fit your budget, production needs and expectations. My extensive relationships with dozens of recording studios will help you get the best rate possible.

 

Audio Engineers: Services include the investigation, price negotiation, scheduling and booking of a quality recording engineer as needed. My relationships with recording engineers will help you get the best rate possible.

 

Signatory Consultation: Services include the set-up and facilitating of a preliminary meeting between you, your legal counsel and a union rep to discuss the signatory process. I can use my expertise and knowledge as a signatory to several agreements to train a coordinator to process the union paperwork for your production.

 

Voice-Directors: If you are seeking a voice director with specific credits, I am more than willing to set up meetings and introduce you to qualified candidates who are best suited for the project based on their style, their experience, their price and their availability.

 

There are many additional facets of production that my experience and knowledge can add value to. All my clients benefit from the breadth of my skills, as well as my eagerness to help in areas that typically lie outside the responsibilities typically associated with casting.