Chapter 8

The Casting Process

PART 1: PREPARATION

I created a pretty brilliant schedule for the casting process and broke it down into four weeks that consisted of four categories that took place during the four weeks prior to preproduction. Our preproduction schedule was three weeks long, and there was going to be enough to do during that time. So I made a point of scheduling a full month, four weeks prior to preproduction, to handle the following:

1.  Week 7 we did our preparation, which consisted of planning the schedule with the director and line producer and getting the character breakdowns to Breakdown Services.

2.  Week 6 we did the scheduling for the auditions.

3.  Week 5 we did the auditions.

4.  Week 4 we did the callbacks and actors’ deal memos.

Let’s take it a step at a time, and you will see that once it’s broken down into each section, it is actually a lot of fun.

Casting Director – Or Not

In an ideal world, you would have a casting director, but at this budget level, you may not be able to afford one. However, there is still a chance to get some help if you’re smart about it. There are a lot of assistant casting directors who would love the chance to have a “casting director”credit and who will do it for a great price. In the low-budget world, you have to tell people what you have in the budget for them – not the other way around. If what you have is $500 or $1,000, then that’s it. No negotiating. Perhaps you can compromise and have an assistant casting director help you call the agents to set up the auditions for that amount, and then you take it from there.

For the casting of Candy Stripers, we had help from a friend who was a former casting director. However, I strongly suggest that at this budget, you try taking on the job yourself. For Séance and Portal, I managed the entire casting process. And I did it for a couple of reasons.

My previous films had far bigger budgets, and we were dealing with the major agents from agencies like ICM (International Creative Management), CAA (Creative Artists Agency), and the William Morris Endeavor agency. That was a great experience, but at these SAG ultra-low and SAG modified budgets, I knew I would be dealing with a whole different group of agents and managers. Also, because Kate and I were planning a series of this type of films, I wanted to personally get to know the agents and managers involved. And because with Séance we had a first-time director, I wanted to make sure that I was very much involved in the casting process so that I would be there for him the entire time. At this budget level, it is all extremely easy, and I am going to take you through the entire process so that if you decide you want to take it on, you can do so with ease.

Guild Actors – Or Not

As I mentioned earlier, with Candy Stripers there were 33 speaking roles – and a 150 extras – so there was no way that we could work with SAG actors. The good news is that in the United States, the Screen Actors Guild has a group of actors that are “financial core,” which allows you to access SAG actors without having to be signatory. So check in with your country’s guilds and see what alternatives they provide. In fact, even when we did go signatory on Séance and Portal, because we were in the ultra-low-budget category, we were able to have quite a large percentage of non-SAG actors.

There are certainly benefits both ways. With SAG actors, you may not have to audition as many actors because you are dealing with actors who already have proven experience. During the Candy Stripers auditions, we saw more than 500 actors! During the Séance and Portal auditions, we saw around 250 for each film – half as many.

On the other hand, with Candy Stripers, we didn’t have to be concerned with the scheduling and cost involved in overtime, or with the additional cost for the actors’ table read prior to principal photography, or with the cost of ADR (additional dialog recording) during postproduction. In addition, there is the cost of the payroll company for your SAG actors’ checks during production and the ongoing cost of the payroll company, as well as the percentages due as a result of the SAG residuals that are required with each territory sale. So don’t just jump right into becoming signatory. Give it some serious thought before making your decision.

Guild Deposit

Something to keep in mind here is that there is a SAG deposit to be made prior to production. It is not a lot, but it is money that you will eventually need for postproduction and delivery, so just be aware that this check will need to be written and will not be returned until two or three months after you’ve finished shooting and delivered your SAG delivery book containing the cast deal memos and schedules. It will be your job to remind SAG (or whatever your actors’ guild happens to be) periodically once your delivery book has been submitted to send you your money back.

Breakdown Services

If you make the decision to go with your local actor’s guild then there is a good chance that you will need to go through an authorized company to post your character breakdowns. We used a company called Breakdown Services, an online communication service that publishes detailed casting information that is used by agents and managers. Figure 8.1 shows the information page we received at the time.

FIGURE 8.1

Remember that you don’t have to submit every single character. In the case of Séance, we had only eight main characters, and they were all very distinct, so we did send in a character breakdown for each one. The character breakdown for the little girl is not listed on this page. Figure 8.2 shows what that looked like.

FIGURE 8.2

Portal had sixteen characters, so we wrote up a breakdown for eight of them, knowing that during the audition process we would be able to cast a number of the smaller roles based on the auditions we were holding for the main roles.

Because this stage occurs in the first week of soft prep, this would be the time to submit your film’s character breakdown to your local breakdown service. You want to start scheduling actors at the beginning of week 6 (three weeks before preproduction), so get your paperwork in by Thursday or Friday of week 7 (four weeks before preproduction).

With Candy Stripers, we were not going to be SAG signatory, so we chose to post our character breakdowns on an online site called LA Casting because they did not require a signatory number. So depending on whether you choose to use the actors’ guild in your territory, look into the various companies you can use to post your breakdowns.

Plan Casting Process With Your Director

Be in constant communication with your director. Review the storyboard with the director frequently and make sure that he or she is available for whatever casting process you have planned. With Séance, our director – Mark L. Smith – lived in North Carolina, so we decided that when I started getting the online head shots for the characters we submitted on Séance, I would send them to him directly.

Mark and I set up a daily schedule in which I would email him the head shots that had been submitted for each character and he would review them, sending them back to me and noting the actors he wanted to see by 4:00 p.m. each day. It worked perfectly. Also, because he was a first-time director, Kate and I made a point of going over the submitted head shots and picked out any actors that we thought might be worth auditing as well.

In some cases, if you have a casting director, you may choose to have him or her handle this initial stage and then you and your director can join the casting director during the callbacks. However, I wanted Mark, as a first-time director, to see the types of actors we were getting and to have the level of involvement that comes with seeing the audition process from the beginning. I also personally wanted to meet the agents or managers as well as the actors who would be coming into audition for us at this budget level so that I could also develop those relationships.

PART 2: SCHEDULING

Scheduling Auditions

With Séance, the director and I worked out a very clear schedule for working together. I would send him the headshots that I received each morning, and he would get his choices to me by 4:00 p.m. every day. I would then call the agents between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. and book their clients to come in for an audition. To make it really easy, when I made the calls on Monday, I booked the following Monday. When I made my Tuesday calls, I booked the following Tuesday.

I also decided to try as much as possible to book the auditions in groups. Mark was a new director and I wanted him to see the contrast in the quality of the actors. So I booked back-to-back auditions for a number of actors who were coming for the lead role of Lauren. I did the same for the other roles as well. It really gave him a good sense of the talent and ability that the actors possessed.

Another little tip I figured out after a couple of days was to organize the actors’ calls by the people who represented them. It took me quite a few calls to catch on that there had to be an easier way to do the scheduling. For example, I was making a call to book an actor for the role of Lauren, who was represented by an agent at Bobby Ball’s company, and then twenty minutes later I was booking an actor for the role of Grant who happened to have an agent at the same company. It was a waste of time and I was all about being extremely efficient with regard to the entire audition process. So, by day 2, when I got the list from Mark, I would check to see where each person was represented and then I would organize them into calls based on that information.

Mark, Kate, and I discussed at length our ideas for each character and what we felt they would or could look like. We focused on the headshots as our main source for finding our actors, and we decided not to review actors’ reels or any other materials. However, when colleagues called with suggestions and referrals of talented actors, we made certain to fit them into our auditions. And of course Kate and I had a list of actors that we had gotten to know over the years and who we felt may fit some of the roles, so we booked them as well.

How to Schedule

Before I explain the process, I want to point out how important it is to put at least one name actor in your film. I know we are talking about really low budgets here, but regardless, you will still need to sell your film and name talent will help tremendously when that time comes. In fact, sales agents will tell you that a $100,000 film requires a marketable name to ensure sales. Also, with the digital camera allowing so many of us to produce our films, there is now a glut of films on the market. Add to that the downturn in the economy and the increase in film pirating around the world, and territory sales are far more difficult. So having at least one name actor gives you an edge.

With Séance, we wanted a name for our killer ghost, and we knew that we could shoot him out in five or six days, so we made a point of setting aside a certain amount of money for a marketable name that would help sales agents sell our film. We wanted Adrian Paul, and we went through the proper channels to get him attached. My husband had actually worked as a writer/producer on the Highlander TV series (the series in which Adrian was the lead). So an email was sent to Adrian in advance, telling him that Kate and I would be contacting his agent about the role in Séance, and when I called his agent, I made a point of mentioning that relationship. Even with that existing relationship, I still think it’s important to go through the proper channels and handle the paperwork with the talent’s agent/manager/attorney.

With the rest of the roles, here’s what I did: I called the actor’s agent and basically said, “I would like to see your client, Tory White, for the role of Melina on our film Séance, next Monday morning at 10:00.” Then I would give the agent the office address and the information on where to get the sides. Sides are something that you have prepared in advance of the auditions. They are scenes that you have pulled from the screenplay. When I was making the call, if I got an answering machine, I would leave the same message and add that if there were any problems to please let me know, but that I was going to assume everything was fine unless I heard otherwise.

Also, I had a special sheet made up for these calls. It looked like this:

So, if one of the actors that your director really wants to see doesn’t show up for his or her scheduled time, you will have their agent’s phone number right in front of you. If you don’t have the agent’s number on your sheet, it means you’ll have to go look for it – and believe me, you don’t what to be bothered with time-wasting problems like this during your auditions.

Once again, you don’t have to do any of this. You can always have an assistant casting director on board to do this scheduling for you. It was only a couple of hours a day and, like I said, I wanted to know the process and to meet the agents and managers with whom I would be dealing on these low-budget films. Decide what matters most to you.

How Much Time to Allow for Auditions

During the auditions for Candy Stripers, we allowed three to five minutes because we knew we would be seeing more than 500 actors, the majority of whom were non-SAG, with a few who were SAG financial core. For the most part, it was extremely obvious within the first 30 seconds whether we wanted them to do a second read or wanted them to try different sides.

However, with Séance and Portal, the majority of actors we were seeing were SAG, and we knew that we might need time to have them do a couple of reads and perhaps a couple of scenes. Also, because we had a new director, I wanted to make sure that he had time to discuss an actor’s possible callback with us after a great audition. So we allowed ten minutes. Fifty percent of the time, it only took a couple of minutes, but it was great to know we had the extra time if we needed it.

Book Your Readers

This step is easy. Most actors would kill for the chance to read opposite the actors during the auditions. They get to be with you for hours and get to meet and get to know the director and producers (and casting director, if you are using one). Plus, they get to hear the discussions that take place after the actors leave – invaluable! Once again, this is something you can delegate to an assistant, intern, or an actor friend.

Be sure that you have a number of them booked because it’s a demanding job and you want to have quite a few on your team. Also, be sure they are people who can be counted on to be on time.

Choosing the Sides

What scenes should you choose for your auditions? I was lucky, in that Kate had studied acting and had been involved in theatre for years. She had a great idea: for each of the roles, we chose two very different types of scenes from the script, making sure that one of the sides was a more difficult, emotionally challenging scene.

The scenes you choose – the sides – are something you send in to SAG and to Breakdown Services (or whatever company you choose to use), so the agents/managers and their actors can download them. Because the agents and managers want to send their clients in to read for the lead roles, we ended up with quite a few actors coming in to audition for a role that they were really not right for at that time. So make sure you have a lot of extra sides available because you will most likely be asking some actors if they would be interested in reading for another role.

When actors agreed to read for another role, we gave them the new sides, and they would go outside and take as much time as they needed to get ready for that audition. We just continued auditions, and they would let our outside assistant know when they were ready to come back in to audition for the other role.

In the case of Portal, we had only posted half of the roles on Breakdown Services because we didn’t want to be auditioning for all 16 roles, knowing that we would find some excellent talent from the actors we were already seeing.

Also, keep in mind that some actors will forget to bring their sides with them, so it is important to have extras available.

Typed Sign-In Sheets

Another thing to prepare for at this time is your sign-in sheets. I knew we wanted to start at 10:00 a.m. and end at around 5:00 p.m. each day. Our goal was to book around 45 actors a day. So I had sign-in sheets ready for each day, and they were posted on the door. It was pretty simple, with just three columns:

SIGN-IN SHEET
Name (please print)	Time Scheduled	Time Arrived

Okay, so the following week is fully booked, you’ve got your readers scheduled, your audition schedule sheet completely filled out, and your sign-in sheets ready. It’s time to move on to part 3: auditions!

PART 3: AUDITIONS AND CALLBACKS

Auditions

I had booked auditions starting at 10:00 a.m., so I set up four chairs outside the office and posted the sign-in sheets on the door. My first reader of the day showed up nice and early, and the director, Kate, and I – along with one of our executive producers – had met even earlier to discuss the day and to be sure we were all on the same page with regard to what we were looking for with each role.

I had booked the actors ten minutes apart, and we knew that there would be some who would be early, some late, and some who would not show up at all. So be flexible. Also, because you will have some of your actors trying out for other roles, your timing will change slightly throughout the day.

One of the actors who came in for the lead role of Gibbs in Portal was Alex Martin – an amazing actor, but not how the director saw that role. However, he was absolutely perfect for the lead’s sidekick, so we asked him if he would mind reading for that role. We gave him the sides for the role and he went outside and rehearsed, came back in, and did an incredible audition. We knew in a second that he had the part.

As I started to get to know the agents and managers and as they got to know a little more about what we were looking for, I began getting calls from them during auditions recommending certain actors who they thought would be important for us to see. Whenever possible, we made time to audition them.

When each actor arrived for their audition, he or she brought a couple of headshots, one of which I gave to the director so that he could make notes on the back. On Portal, our director, Geoff Schaff, had a ratings system. Each director has his or her own personal style that works for that director.

I kept a copy of each headshot as well, and as soon as we knew that a particular actor was coming in for a callback audition, I would set that headshot aside to call his or her agent a little later in the week to schedule the callback.

Lunch Break and Atmosphere

Don’t worry about your lunch break. There will be enough flexibility with actors coming early and late, and no shows, that you will find ten minutes for lunch. The important thing is to not eat in front of actors during an audition. I know that seems like common sense, but I have heard horror stories from actors. They have told me that producers, directors, and even casting directors have had lunch during their auditions, have talked during entire auditions, and in some cases have been outright rude. If you want your production to run professionally, it starts by respecting the actors during the audition process.

When Kate and I would welcome each actor and thank them for coming in and then thank them again at the end of the audition, they would be shocked and tell us that this was unusual. They were sincerely moved by our politeness. I think politeness should be the norm, not an exception to the rule. It only takes a second and it really puts people at ease and means so much.

Scheduling Callbacks

Toward the end of the week, we got together and discussed callbacks. On each of the films, we ended up with around 40 callbacks. So on Thursday and Friday, I booked the following Monday. I really tried to fit them all in to the one day if the actors were available. And once again, I tried to book them in groups according to the role so that we could really see the differences in style and talent between the actors and therefore have a better chance of making an informed decision. If an actor was not available then I would book him or her for Tuesday morning, but I was really holding that time for the chemistry callbacks if they were needed.

We did not videotape the auditions. I know that some people do that and also videotape the callbacks as well. At this budget level, and in the interest of time, we never bothered to film the auditions. I truly don’t think it s necessary. You can get such a great feel for the quality of talent and the genuine personality of the person during an audition and during their callback audition that I don’t think you need to worry about filming them at this time. However, it is entirely up to you and your director. If your director feels comfortable having the auditions on tape, then in the interest of time, I suggest that you recommend limiting the filming to callbacks only.

Callbacks

Week four of soft prep means that just one week later my line producer, his production coordinator and his assistant will be moving into my office. So, my goal during this week is to finish up the entire casting process: callbacks and deal memos.

It’s Monday, and I have booked more than 40 actors for callbacks. This is one of the best days in the process. You are going to be seeing all your favorite actors come in to audition. You will be pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to distinguish which one is perfect for the role. This result always surprises me. However, keep track of your second- and third-favorite actors for each role, just in case your first choice is unavailable or – in the worst-case scenario – you need to recast.

Here is an example of one of these situations. On the first day of shooting Candy Stripers, I went into the office to pick up some papers before heading up to the hospital where we were shooting. Thank goodness I did. I checked the answering machine and there was a message from an agent who represented one of the main actors. It was 9:00 a.m. and he was to be on set at 1:00 p.m. She apologized and said that he was in Mexico because he had been offered a role at the last minute in a bigger film. Crazy! As the producer, I don’t have the time to get upset, so I grabbed the headshots that I had set aside for each of our second and third choices and called their agents. Within 15 minutes, I had one of them in a car on his way to the set. It was easy. But it could have been a real problem if we had not had the foresight to keep in mind a couple more actors for each important role.

There had been a red flag a few days before and I missed it. When I was double-checking the cast deal memos, I noticed that his was not in the file. I called his agent and she said not to worry, that he would bring it with him to the table read the next day (the table read was on Friday and we were shooting on Monday). He showed up the next day at the table read with no deal memo and said he had thought his agent was sending it in. I actually believed him and went ahead with the table read. He lied and his agent lied. It was that simple.

As we made our decisions, choosing our favorite actors, we had to keep in mind the importance of the chemistry that would be needed for some of the roles. Actors don’t play in a void; they need to click with the other actors. So it was important to have our second and third choices in mind for that reason as well.

Chemistry Callbacks

If your film has roles that have best friends like we did in Candy Stripers, roommates like we did in Séance, and couples as we did in both those films and in Portal, then you will have to take into account the chemistry between the actors. I had scheduled Tuesday morning for our chemistry callbacks and I didn’t realize how important they were until I saw it with my own eyes.

At the end of the callback day on Candy Stripers, we had picked our five actors and we were certain, 100 percent certain, that we had chosen the perfect five. However, because the roles were boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister, and best friends, we needed to see our first, second, and third choices on Tuesday morning to have them audition with each other.

I was absolutely amazed during the chemistry callbacks to discover, as they auditioned with each other, how certain actors that we thought were perfect for the role just didn’t work as the lead’s best friend or the female lead’s brother, and so on. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I don’t know that I would be recommending it so strongly. We ended up with a completely different group; three of the five actors that were initially our first choice didn t end up getting the part.

Final Decisions

After all the callbacks were complete and the chemistry callbacks were over, we took a good part of Tuesday afternoon to just sit and talk about the lead actors we were going to hire as well as making our final decisions on all the supporting roles as well. In the case of the leads, the callbacks and chemistry callbacks had made our decisions effortless. However, with the supporting roles, especially in the case of the numerous supporting roles on Portal, we spread out the headshots of our choices on the floor; it was difficult, because in some cases our top two or three choices were equally excellent.

In some cases, we made choices based on the fact that one of us had a relationship with a particular actor and we knew that he or she would be great to have on set. Also, in some cases when actors were equally talented, we chose a percentage of non-SAG. At this budget level, we were permitted a percentage of non-SAG actors, and although we were paying them the same salary, we did not have to use a payroll company or worry about overtime restrictions or ongoing residuals.

As we made our decisions, one by one I pinned the actors’ headshots on the door of the office with the role they would be playing attached to the bottom of each headshot. This whole process took a while, but it was one of the most important aspects of the film. What has a low-budget film stand out as bad – what screams “low budget” – is the quality of the acting. I see producers cutting corners here and rushing through this process thinking that it is just not important. I truly don’t know why this happens. There are so many talented brilliant actors who are dying to do what they do best: act. You are offering an opportunity to actors here. You don’t have to settle. Not ever. There is too much great talent out there for you not to take full advantage of that fact and have it be a win/win for both your film and for the actor. Taking your time here and really putting effort into the audition process will make all the difference in the quality of your film. Just watch Séance. We had to see a couple of hundred actors to choose our five college-age stars. Believe me, it was well worth the time.

PART 4: DEAL MEMOS

When you’re dealing with contracts such as actor’s deal memos, always have an attorney look them over. At this low budget level, I couldn’t afford to have an attorney start from scratch, and I don’t believe you need to. There are tons of books and online sources with great templates. In fact, I’m going to give you the one that was used on Candy Stripers, Séance, and Portal (see Figure 8.3). It’s taken from one of my earlier, bigger budget films and was written originally by a fantastic entertainment attorney. You can use this one or even use parts of it, but as I have mentioned earlier, please have an attorney look it over for you when you’re done. Of course, you want it as up to date as possible, and you should include any possible guild changes as well.

FIGURE 8.3

Number 1, Term, is pretty clear and straightforward. However, the wording will change slightly depending on whether it’s guild or nonguild. The way it’s worded in our example was for one of the lead SAG actors in Portal, so you will notice that it says “One (1) day for wardrobe fittings … plus one (1) day of post-production, including ….” However, for one of the non-SAG actors, it was worded as follows, “One (1) free day for wardrobe fittings … plus one (1) free day of post-production, including ADR.” The word “free” is not used in the deal memo for the guild actors.

Another point to be aware of in this section is this sentence “plus four (4) nonconsecutive days of principal photography acting services.” It is very important that at this budget level you use “nonconsecutive” even if it looks like your schedule is looking pretty solid by the time you send out the deal memo. Remember that this agreement is going to the agents nearly four weeks before principal photography, and a lot (a lot) can happen in that time. If things change and the actor ends up working two days and is not needed again until three days later, you don’t want to have to pay the actor for the days in between. When it comes to bigger-name actors, that changes, but at this budget level, 99 percent of your actors will be working “nonconsecutive days,” so reflect that on their deal memo even if their schedule ends up being consecutive days.

Number 2, Guaranteed Compensation, is pretty black and white as well: $100.00 (one hundred dollars) per day for four days. Both the SAG and non-SAG wording is identical here, except for the fact that on the non-SAG version, I exclude the last sentence. It’s up to you if you want to include non-guild actors at a day rate, should they be required during the pickup day(s).

In item number 3, Billing, there are a few items to note. First of all, the wording is not just about whether the actor is guild or nonguild but refers to which actors are your leads and which will receive top billing. Usually, it s pretty obvious because it refers to the leads in your film, but may also be given to a supporting actor who has a name. In all of our low-budget films, there were between six and eight names in the main titles. Also, just in case you decide not to have main titles, it’s important to make reference to that at this stage and include it in the deal memo. You don’t want to promise something, sign off on it, and then change your mind and try to convince the agent or manager that you want to alter the deal – not a good business practice.

So, it reads, “On a separate card in the main titles (provided main titled credits are used and other cast member credits appear therein).” It also states that the artist will be included in all paid advertising where the billing block appears. Once again, your actor may not be affiliated with any guild but may be one of the leads or one of the main supporting roles, so you are including him or her in the main titles and wherever the billing block appears.

In addition, you may have plenty of guild actors on your film who have supporting or minor roles, and you will not be including them in the main titles. So here is how that would be worded in their deal memo: “3. Billing: Billing in the end titles only.”

The deal memo is clear and concise and covers all the main areas, including something as basic as number 10, “Making of” Films. I noticed that some deal memos didn’t have this section, so make sure to add it to yours. You want the actors to sign off on this item and agree that they are willing to be part of the “Making of” footage, even if you never use them or ever do a “Making of” film. Always cover your butt.

When you are doing the deal memo for your name actors, their agents may very well ask for a few additional items that are not listed here. For example, in Séance, Adrian Paul’s deal memo included items such as a private office/dressing area while on location, approval of his still photographs, exclusive ground transportation and driver to and from the sets, back-end participation, and other things. There may be a few other items that you will need to add or alter when negotiating the deal memos for your name actors. However, you can always start with the basic deal memo and use it as your template, then make any additions. It is usually in a section that reads as follows: “MISCELLANEOUS: Artist shall be provided with the following ….”

FIGURE 8.4

As I have mentioned earlier, I am not a lawyer, so if you choose to use any portion of the example deal memo, you do so at your own risk. Please use your own counsel for anything contractual.

There are a couple of other agreements that you will need to deal with as well. If you are using a stunt performer, then you will be using a separate contract. Call your local actors’ guild or go online and pull down the agreement for stunt performers. They are not $100 per day like the SAG ultra-low-budget actors. In fact, they are quite expensive, so be sure to keep their days to a minimum.

Also, if you have nudity in your film, you will have to keep that in mind when doing the deal memo for that actor. On the SAG ultra-low-budget agreement, the cost per day when we were shooting was $250. When we were shooting our films, part of the SAG ruling was that a SAG actor had the right to refuse to do the nude scene – even if he or she had originally agreed to do it. So please check and double-check the rules and regulations to be prepared for this type of situation.

In addition to the deal memo for your actors, if you are using SAG actors there is another agreement that needs to be signed before you begin principal photography. It is included in the SAG package, and although your line producer is responsible for making sure this is signed, I strongly suggest that you oversee this aspect.

On Séance, I asked Mike to bring all the agreements to the actors’ table read, knowing that all the actors on the film were going to be there. Any agreements that were not yet signed were handled right there on the spot. Your line producer will need those when he or she creates the delivery book for SAG when the film is complete, and you really don’t want to be dealing with any unsigned agreements at that time. In fact, I always double-check (just to be really sure) when the actor shows up for his or her first day on the set. Figure 8.4 shows a copy of the form.

Extras

There is a good chance that you will be using extras in your film. In our case, the investors and their families had a great time being extras. It was really a win/win situation because we didn’t have to go searching for them. In the case of Candy Stripers, we had well over 100 extras, so that took some work. A friend of ours took on the job of getting the extras for us and set about calling the actors who didn’t get cast in our film. In every case, they were thrilled. They knew they wouldn’t be getting paid to be an extra in Candy Stripers, but they were thrilled to do it regardless. And why not? It’s a great way to meet people, do some networking, and have a bit of fun at the same time. Figure 8.5 shows the simple release form that was used on our films.

FIGURE 8.5