Hiring Casting Director, Rates and Experiences

[Dean Bull]

I am about to begin interviewing casting directors for my first big production. I am considering the SAG ultra low budget agreement, and I am gonna film in North California San Francisco and I am going to cast out of LA (and probably SAN FRAN)


Does anybody have any stories, tips, advice, or suggestions in regards to the subject of interviewing, and hiring a casting director.

I would be interested to hear about what rates I should anticipate paying, and also would love to hear others first hand experience dealing with casting directors in LA.

Best

Dean

 

[cyclone]

In L.A., rates go from $300/day to $700/day. That's for the typical Casting Director and their staff. To that, add studio time at the same rate, but luckily you only get charged for the studio time on the days that actors are auditioning or being called back. The Casting Director picks up 2-4 (or more, depending on the size of the job) additional days where you don't also have to pay for the studio. These are the prep days where they actually go through all the headshots and contact the talent agents and set up appointments. For what it's worth, the studio charges include the videotaping of your talents auditions.