Q. What are you looking for when you say “nailing it?”
A. In our business, it’s all about storytelling, right? When casting, I’m trying to bring to our clients exactly what they want to see in their story. Whether that be a representation of exactly who their customer is, who their employee is, or how they envision their brand, that’s what “nailing it” is. It’s really all about pleasing the client’s vision.
Q. If a client came to you and wanted to create a video, what is the process you would go through to figure out how you’re going to do casting for that?
A. First, we figure out if it even needs casting. It is very possible that the style or the technique doesn’t require us to utilize the skills of actors. If it does require us to utilize the skills of actors, there’s a lot of logistical legwork that must happen before we really get started on the creative side. That includes asking questions like: What is the usage of the video? What is the [client’s] budget? Answers to these questions determine whether we can use union talent or not, whether we can find talent that has agent representation or if we need non-represented talent. These decisions will affect the quality of the skill and the size of the pool of people we can choose from. This can be especially challenging in Seattle. When I’ve done casting in other places like New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, the casting pool is just so much larger. Here, you need to be creative about finding people and using your networks to see who might be out there, and then evaluate how talented they are.
Q. What would you say is the best way to tap into those networks if you don’t necessarily have a strong foothold in the industry?
A. If you don’t have a strong foothold in the industry, the answer is about utilizing your personality to meet and talk to people. You’ll find very quickly that you have many connections with the skills and demographics you’re looking for. It becomes about opening your eyes, being personable and chatting with people about what you need. At this point, whenever I meet someone new, I measure whether they might be suitable for on camera acting work. So much of the commercial or industrial content made really doesn’t need someone who has a massive acting resume. The buzzword so often these days is “authenticity” so sometimes all you need is someone who can look at a phone and smile naturally. That doesn’t necessarily require an MFA from Julliard. Now sometimes your turnaround is so fast, or your needs so specific, or maybe you really need some serious acting…well then you should just talk to an agency or casting director. Call an agency around town, tell them your needs and parameters, they’ll work with you and try to find somebody great for you.
