logistics - actors

ACTORS

• the effective crewing of a production, whether it's an industrially sized blockbuster, a more modest independent or a student shoot, is crucial to the overall success of the film.
• a well crewed production will run on time, secure all the required footage and stay within budget.
• a poorly managed production will run over time, not manage to secure all the required shots and go over the budget.

working with a medium/larger film budget, most of the time, means they will have more key roles that need to be filled. casting directors will usually be hired to find the right people to fit these roles. they will pick and choose exactly who they think is best and will be fairly brutal within the audition process. in some cases, the casting process is bypassed. certain scripts are written for specific actors rather than a generalised idea of a character. for example, the Disney movie 'Moana' features a well known character by the name of maui. Disney spoke out about this role and admitted that the role was made for the actor 'the rock' to play. the character himself is both based off of the look and parts of his personality.

what makes a good actor?
skills that most actors will need...

• memorisation

memorisation is key when you're in the acting business. this will particularly help when it comes to remembering your script and possible stage directions. if an actor is unable to memorise their lines, their are two main things that could potentially happen. the first is that they might be replaced by someone who can fulfil the role better. the second is that it will slow down the production of the film majorly, which can cause huge problems in finance and the publicity of the film.

• creativity

part of being an actor in the first place is being able to be creative. this can be a huge influence in events all the way from an original audition to improvising a scene in a film. creativity is the root to everything within film. an example would be one of the last scenes in the recent avengers films, 'avengers endgame'. in this scene the actor tom holland improvised some of his lines and they made it into the final cut of the film. without creativity, there isn't much of a film. creativity spans from how you read the script to things like facial expressions and how characters interact with each other. actors may sometimes suggest changes to the script of directions in their scenes. in simpler terms, directors may end up changing certain scenes based off of actors suggestions.

• reading

reading is a big part of acting, especially in the reading of scripts. being able to read, understand, and interpret scripts is a major part in production. this includes be able to understand stage directions and how you have to be for the role you are given. this also raises the problem of being able to keep up with the other actors, cast members, and the crew members requests or directions.

• speaking 

whatever roles you take on as an actor, the likelihood is that there will be a very large verbal aspect of it. remembering to adapt your voice to the certain role you're given is a difficult skill to grasp. this is also the section of production where extra crew members like dialect coaches are brought in for the actors. 

• teamwork

teamwork is so important within a group of actors. regardless of everything else, if there's no sense of teamwork among the cast and crew the the production is likely to fail or end in a poor result. imagine a set where you have people bickering left, right, and centre and trying to get them ready for a scene.

• improvisation

actors have to have certain traits and skills to be successful in the industry. a respected skill within this is improvisation. improvisation is the ability to be able to spontaneously complete something without any planning prior to it. during auditions, some directors may ask you to improvise a scene or part of a scene to test things like your creativity and ability to take on a role and make it your own. it also lets them know how well you deal with being put on the spot. for example, say an actor is in the middle of a scene and forgets their lines, they could begin to improvise the rest instead of restarting. this has happened many times in some recognisable films and tv shows. 

• commitment

this skill/trait isn't just aimed at the actors, it's also very much aimed at everyone including the cast and the crew. during a production, most of your time will be taken up by it. each person needs to keep up with their roles for the process to work. this means they have to be fully committed to the project for it to work. failure is inevitable in anything, this means that you will make mistakes but if you're completely committed, you will be reliant and keep moving forwards with what you need to do. 

• physical stamina

being involved in productions will have its drawbacks and will cause you to make some changes to your lifestyle. this could include anything from being able to work longer hours and being up and ready whenever the director needs you for a scene. whether this is on set or at a separate location, you need to be able to keep on top of where you need to be and be able to get there for the right time. filming a scene itself can become very challenging in terms of having the right stamina for it. the atmosphere of a scene plays a huge part in this. for example, if a scene involves two people sitting down having a cup of tea together, you won't need a lot of stamina for it. however, if the scene involves high levels of stress like arguments or physical activity of any kind, naturally you will need more stamina to keep the scene going until it's finished.

• organisation 

being organised for an actor means being able to balance the responsibilities of the job as well as learning lines at home and having your life outside the production. acting takes up a great amount of a persons time, this means they have to be extremely organised and committed to the project. it also means that when they're not working on the film, that they still organise events or days to have separate in their personal lives. it also means knowing where you're needed and when. 

• adaptation 

adaptation is something all actors will have to come to grips with during their career. some films start with one original idea and stick to it throughout the entire production. however, most films end up changing and evolving along the way to production and the release of the film. this means that an actor has to be able to adapt to the changing conditions of each scene they film. 

• good listener

actors are constantly being given directions in the overall production process. as a whole, due to this, they will need to be willing to listen to the people giving those directions. being able to listen to feedback as an actor can mean you can go away and improve on what the director, or whatever member of the crew it is, has critiqued them on. whilst a team of good listeners would be ideal for any production, sometimes that's not the reality. a team with people who aren't willing to listen will become a problem for the whole production and could very quickly cause it to go downhill. another consequence of having a member of the team not listen to others is that they might cause the whole process to slow down majorly and end up giving the film a poorer end result.


the casting process:

• the casting process is a key part of pre-production. it's the section that allows the director and producer to select people they think will fit the roles they are trying to fill. this could be actors, dancers, etc. 

stages of the casting process:

• the director and the producer will create the role descriptions.
• after this, the role descriptions are sent out to various agents. 
• if the talents fit the descriptions, the agent will send over. headshot and certain info about the client.
• once this is received by the director and producer, the talent will be called in for an audition.

some roles are written for specific actors, so this means that the info will be sent straight to the actor's manager or a member of their team to review with them to see if they are available and want to take the role on. in theses cases, the casting process isn't necessary unless the actor becomes unavailable for the role.

• each audition takes place and they are all filmed to be reviewed later by the team when they're choosing who they want to fill the role.
• after the original auditions, the casting director and producer will select the people they ant to have a callback and contact their agents to notify them of it.

a callback is a request for an individual to return for a second audition.

• the process is repeated however many time they deem necessary until all roles are cast with the people they think are right to fill them.

casting director:

• the job of the casting director is to assist the current team in selecting the right people to fill the roles within their production.
• they follow along with reading the script and figure out what type of actor they're looking for.
• the directors will have a sense of what they'd like both the appearance and personality of the actor to be like. the casting director just helps to find that person in the most efficient time.
• depending on the director, they may have little preferences or they could be very picky about what they want to see from the actors.
• casting directors will often attend theatre events to get more of a feel for the talent that's out in certain areas.
• they organise things like headshots, demos and reels.

if the team don't allocate a certain amount of time to the casting process, there could be countless consequences for the production as a whole. it is vital that there is enough time to complete this process efficiently to make sure that, not only are the right people cast, but to make sure its the most cost efficient for the production.

if the casting process doesn't start early enough within pre-production, again it's a matter of trying not to rush the process or the people involved into making what could be one of many wrong casting decisions. hiring a casting director with little experience can be either a big problem or not one at all depending on the size of the production. a smaller production can probably risk hiring a non-experienced casting director. it may risk the production quality but it might be the most cost efficient solution. however, with a large scale production, the risk of poor quality will have a much more severe consequences. without casting the casting net wide enough, you might miss the type of people you are specifically targeting for these roles.

extras...

• a background actor or extra is a performer in a film, who appears in a nonspeaking or consigning capacity, in the background. on a film, background actors are usually referred to as junior artists, atmosphere, background talent, background performers, background artists, background cast members, or simply, background. the term 'extra' is rarely used. casting criteria  for background actors depends on the production. it is not entirely true that background cast members require little or no acting experience. punctuality, reliability and the ability to take direction also figure prominently for these cast members. background actors are often selected on short notice, after all other preparations of the shoot have been finalised. 

https://www.castingcollective.co.uk - notes

• they're recognised as one of the best UK background casting agencies. 
• with over 40,000 supporting artistes available across the UK, productions can search online by age, vital statistics, skill and type of look. 
• during (and outside) office hours, a booker will be dedicated to your production.
• all their artistes are pre-checked so you don't have to worry. they do individual background checks to ensure that they are all legal to work within the UK. 
• they check and scan: national insurance number, passport photo ID, ad work permits, biometric residence permit or residence card.
• their team of 10 bookers are supported by their office support including quick and efficient finance. 
• they've been quoted saying "we know how important it is to only provide supporting artistes who are safe to work on set."
• all disclosure and barring certificates from artistes are individually checked. working alongside PACT and equity to safeguard all under 18's onset no artistes with convictions contained within the sexual offences Act 2003 or any serious unspent convictions will be provided. 

contributors...

types: specialists, experts, talent and public. 

specialists

• specialists are people with advanced skill sets in particular areas.
• they're often hired for: highly technical operations overseas, to train and learn the skills needed in a short amount of time, or to undertake key production roles.
• if there isn't enough of a budget to hire these people, it can run the risk of making your production look less professional.

technical specialists

• they have a very specific skillset. for example: if there was a scene with an arial dogfight involving two fighter planes, there would be two specialist pilots hired to fly the planes. 
• it's not as safe or easy to create certain scenarios in films without having at least one technical specialist.

specialist trainers

• these are the people who train the specialists. for example, if there was a dance sequence in a film, the specialist trainer would teach the actors the routine and moves until they're right for the film. 
• they're needed to make sure that the actors know what they're doing in scenes with any form of routine or steps that need following so without them, it would look messy and unprofessional.

production specialists

• these are even more specific specialists such as someone flying a drone for aerial views in a film.
• a budget needs to be allocated to hire these people so that you can film your production the best it can be. aerial views shot on drones could be an essential part of a film, without someone to fly it, it could hinder the project as a whole and create a bad review.

experts 

• during the research and development stages of a project, many producers will recruit experts in particular fields to make sure that representations of individuals, types, groups, places, activities, or events are constructed in a way that is authentic and accurate. for example: in a war film, the producer or director will hire a research expert to make sure that the events are near enough what happened in real life to avoid making a mockery of past events.
• implications of not having the right budget to hire these experts could lead to a huge backlash on your production. you run the risk of not only getting significant events wrong, but then offending anyone who feels strongly about the subjects should they think you've made a mockery of it.

talent 

• talent in films refers to the specialist performers... actors, singers, and dancers.
• the word talent is usually used to refer to A list celebrities and those actors who have been cast in principle roles.
• their achievements naturally stem from having developed, highly specialist performance skills.
• without the correct budget to hire the talent, you have to rely on actors you already know which would be of a lower standard. this doesn't necessarily mean your production will be worse but it runs the risk of not reaching its full potential.

public

• occasionally, the public bodies and the public itself will be invited to play a key role in a production. 
• a city may enable production by allowing or supporting filming in particular locations within its limits.
• the public may be asked to congregate for crowd scenes.
• without them, the scenes won't look as real and authentic as they could without hiring out loads of extras.

contributor biographies 

• a contributor biography is as it sounds.
• experts, specialists and A list talent who undertake key roles or perform key roles on a production will usually be represented by a bio in any marketing for a film, such as press kits. 
• key above the line production personnel will also be given biographies in a press folder:
• these people are: producer, director, screenwriter, and principal actors.