First Auditions - several questions

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baoliun

Member
2 weeks ago an opportunity came up to make s short film, winner gets screening at Sundance.
in 2 weeks I am holding my first auditions ever and in another week shooting a short.

Pretty excited that this whole project is actually happening under quite tight deadlines.


My questions are - do actors need to sign release form before auditions or only before the shoot?

What quick/easy exercise except for prepared speech/perfomance could I ask of my applicants?

How much time should I spend on 1 actor? 10mins? 30mins?

Are there any FULL audiiton tapes on the web?

Any other tips/hints?

Thanks a lot !!! ;p
 
My 0,02 € would be:

An audition is as much a process for the director to learn who the actors is as the other way round. Try to get in a working situation. See how he/she handles a short improvisation about a theme - nothing too complicated - that may or may not have a relation to the story. Type of "convince your mother in law that today is the day you want to stop her peeling your boiled egg at breakfast while not making her too upset". Small but complicated situations.

Find out if the actor has fantasy enough to add to a situation and not just is a puppet seeking a puppeteer. And tell him that you do not expect him to show perfection no but rather creative "band with". Give yourself 30 minutes and enough time that - if possible - he/she does not bump into the other applicants. This is rather a matter courtesy than anything else.

Don't let them know they have 30 minutes because if an actor is terrible you often know that after five minutes and stopping then is much less embarrassing for both him/her and you.

And remember: The actor who is wrong for this part may be perfect for your third film to come. So keep the tapes and the address.
 
Thanks a lot! Great idea about not telling them he time they have.
So in improvisation should they do monologue? Or audition 2 actors at the same time?
 
A technique Rob Zombie used was not even being present during the auditions and just watching the tapes later. He felt that often when the "almighty director" was around actors were not as much at ease or themselves... perhaps it was not the actors who would have issues :happy: but still I found it an interesting way to find the perfect talent for your short.

Pop in a tape and see who captures you at that moment, they "are the one".
 
baoliun said:
Thanks a lot! Great idea about not telling them he time they have.
So in improvisation should they do monologue? Or audition 2 actors at the same time?
Click to expand...

Depends. In auditions there is no "right or wrong" method imho. Others may disagree. If you have / find / invent a fitting situation and/or take one or two from the script, do it with two actors. If not, not. For instance if you do an audition for a quirky tit-for-tat comedy and you want to find out if an actress/actor is a good team-player, it's good to have two playing on the same "tennis-court" together. See how they handle sharp shot screw-balls from the other actor, if they actually do get better with a partner, if they can cope if the partner sucks.

If you have the time - have them performing something on their own and have a short "duel" with another actor. If you do a Hamlet-like tragedy it's obvious you need to see if an actor has the span to attract an audience when he is alone in front of the camera.

Don't do it just once. There are actors who get better with, say, three or four rehearsals, others not so much. It all depends on your ability to see the qualities you are looking for and this may be a feeling only (given their basic craft is okay).

And, never forget: It is you who has to work with them - so you should also in a way audition yourself. Is there an understanding between you and an actor. And are you clear enough, how do you perform as a director, will you be more the inviting type or the lion tamer (try the first one, really) and... and... and...

Good luck. And trust you intuition. And love your actors - but never ever fall in love with one before or while shooting .... or the gates of hell will open.... you may kiss the talent only at the wrap-party .... ;-)
 
My main piece of advice would be that if you are liking them, make sure to try out some improv, just to make sure they are able to take direction and be spontaneous. If you have a prepared part for the auditions, someone might be able to nail that, but is incapable of changing it up take to take. While that is not necessarily a deal breaker, it is definitely something that needs to be considered.
 
There are audition tapes on YouTube that can be very enlightening.

Here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XfUUYK7Gkg

And another:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfkTC8T5pM8

You do not need release forms prior to an audition. Let the actors know that they'll be put on tape. That's enough.

Will it be under a SAG contract? If so, most of that is standardized.

The main question is, do you have a script?

My personal experience, as an actor that has been to hundreds of casting calls, is sides from the script are most common. I'd say maybe once in a hundred am I asked to improv and even then, it's usually for theater, not film/TV. Improvisation is a technique in and of itself and many talented, well trained actors are not very adept at it. I would recommend this approach only if you're shooting the film without a script. Henry Jaglom makes these kinds of films. Mockumentary films, too, where the actors create the dialogue from the situation that the director dictates.

My preference is to have a script and the sides required for the audition to prepare from at least a day in advance. An actor should be able to prepare with a known quantity, like a script, which should show the director how well the actor understands the character and the situation. Any director worth his salt will be able to give an on the spot direction to see how well the actor handles the change and to gain some insight as to what working with that actor might be like. It matters little if the added direction doesn't even make sense within the context of the scene. It's strictly a litmus test and can reveal allot about the personality behind the actor.

Audition the actors individually and have someone there to read the other character(s) dialogue. Pairing actors at the audition is mostly done for commercials.

Spend whatever time you think is necessary and get everything on tape (preferably with someone else running the camera) but keep in mind that staying on schedule is important. Nothing's worse than being at an audition and waiting 20-30 minutes to be seen. It saps your energy and can really be aggravating. Plus, you can always (and probably should) schedule callbacks. That's your opportunity to make sure you're making the right choice.
 
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