Casting director top tips for agents suggesting clients for commercial projects on Spotlight.
Kate Evans and Rowena Pointer from Kate and Lou (and Ro) Casting joined us for a Tagmin Coffee Club session where they shared their top tips for agents when it comes to suggesting clients for commercial projects.
Here’s what they shared:
1. Always Read the Brief
Please don’t send off-brief suggestions, it’s just a waste of everyone’s time. If the breakdown says ‘female’, there will be a good reason for it as research would’ve been done by the client about the target audience of the product in the commercial. A female-presenting trans performer would be okay to suggest. If no gender is stated then any can be submitted.
2. Suggestions Are about Quality Not Quantity
If you suggest six actors who are bang on brief, you’re more likely to be called in than suggesting 20 actors who don’t quite fit.
3. Don’t Submit the Same Performer for Multiple Roles
The casting director will be thinking about all the roles they’re casting for a project, so if an actor gets called in to audition for a particular role, they will be considered for another part if they’d be a better fit for it than the one they’re auditioning for.
4. Deadlines Are There for a Reason
There is no advantage to sending a tape early as all submissions will be watched. However, shortly after the deadline time has passed, the link will be sent to the client to watch the tapes, so any self-tapes that come after that deadline won’t be seen.
5. Be Transparent About Your Client’s Availability
Commercial clients aren’t keen on recalls, so be transparent about a performer’s availability. Casting directors understand that performers have shoot dates, etc., so let’s work together to find an audition time.
Where do you Click on a Spotlight Profile?
When it comes to Spotlight profiles, it can be helpful to know which parts a commercial casting director finds particularly useful. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of what Kate and Rowena tend to look at on your client’s profile:
- Headshot – so really consider which headshot you select.
- Playing age – a wide playing age range is unrealistic and off-putting. Being specific about the age of characters your client can play and having a smaller range is more useful for casting directors.
- Skills and accents – you can also use the Spotlight comment box to highlight your client’s specific skills that are related to the brief.
- Commercial experience
- Showreels – a commercial showreel is good but a casting director will happily watch a dramatic reel if one is available.
- Credits
- Agent contact details – you absolutely need to include a phone number as commercials often have quick turnaround times and it’s quicker to make arrangements over the phone.
Tagmin – our dedicated agency solution – runs Coffee Club sessions for all Spotlight agents throughout the year – on a range of topics to support agents. To find out more about Tagmin visit www.tagmin.com or request an online demo.
