My advice is to get experienced and motivated actors. I think you'll likely be unhappy with the result if you just scout at the local mall. Acting is a skill. Yes, there are naturals but getting someone who's done something, a local play, anything, is better than someone with no experience acting.
Last Fall I shot my first indie-style film (I've done a lot of commercial/corporate/broadcast video). I needed a really talented actress to carry a very difficult monologue. I was pretty sure there was no way I was going to find someone with the skills I needed, particularly on the tight timeframe I had.
I wrote up a brief character synopsis that was really a good read. It conveyed that the role was dramatic, challenging and basically an "actor's part". I posted it on our local Craig's List which is an online forum with local outlets in a bunch of cities. In addition to that listing I also looked around online in my city (a medium sized city) for acting schools, acting troupes, dinner theaters, acting coaches and the drama departments at the local colleges (a two year City U and State). I made up an email casting call that was like my Craig's List posting but asked that it be passed around and then sent it to the ten or so email addresses I'd gotten online. I asked for emailed head shots and a description of previous work. In five days I had 35 responses including acting teachers and fairly experienced local theater folk. I think they came about half-and-half from Craig's List and the local referral sources. Total time invested in research locating places to post was an hour and total cost was zero. Several actresses wrote to us that they heard about the part from a friend of a friend of a friend who'd forwarded the casting call. We were told that it was passed around enthusiastically because it sounded like a great part in an interesting and very professional production. So spend some time making your casting call, project description and character synopsis good.
About six of the applicants seemed like they might be good for the part and we did phone call interviews. We then did in-person auditions with three.
You need to be very clear in your casting call about what you are looking for (age, ability, look, etc). You also need to be up front about your project and what the pay is (or more likely, isn't). On my project I actually offered $100 for this part because this was a personal project that I didn't intend to send around to festivals. Your actors will also want to know that you are offering "credit/copy/meals". This should be in your casting call. It means that they'll get a credit in the film, that you'll give them a finished copy of it and that you'll provide some *good* food and drink at all rehearsals and shooting.
We ended up with a phenomenal actress who nailed the part and totally made those scenes in the film. She loved being in the film and said that she would have done it for nothing because the (nicely boxed) DVD she got looked totally professional and shows her terrific performance on-camera, which most amatuer actresses really value because it helps them get more work. She was also thrilled that the crew was professional, skilled and that the end product looked like a "real" Hollywood movie.
I think you'll find that most local amatuer actors feel that being in a professional production that is highly organized, focused on quality and very collaborative is more important than upfront money. I've heard that people who've done several local indie projects can usually tell in a few minutes whether any given project they are looking at being involved with is a "bozo" project or "for real". The most talented people you audition will probably be auditioning you and your project in return. If they sense it's for real, you'll have little trouble getting them committed to the project. That's why I spent a few minutes with each actress that auditioned basically "pitching" the whole project which included not only the story but the qualifications and track record of the crew, the gear and locations we had secured and a bit about my own philosophy and approach to leading a group project like this.
--- Mark
Last Fall I shot my first indie-style film (I've done a lot of commercial/corporate/broadcast video). I needed a really talented actress to carry a very difficult monologue. I was pretty sure there was no way I was going to find someone with the skills I needed, particularly on the tight timeframe I had.
I wrote up a brief character synopsis that was really a good read. It conveyed that the role was dramatic, challenging and basically an "actor's part". I posted it on our local Craig's List which is an online forum with local outlets in a bunch of cities. In addition to that listing I also looked around online in my city (a medium sized city) for acting schools, acting troupes, dinner theaters, acting coaches and the drama departments at the local colleges (a two year City U and State). I made up an email casting call that was like my Craig's List posting but asked that it be passed around and then sent it to the ten or so email addresses I'd gotten online. I asked for emailed head shots and a description of previous work. In five days I had 35 responses including acting teachers and fairly experienced local theater folk. I think they came about half-and-half from Craig's List and the local referral sources. Total time invested in research locating places to post was an hour and total cost was zero. Several actresses wrote to us that they heard about the part from a friend of a friend of a friend who'd forwarded the casting call. We were told that it was passed around enthusiastically because it sounded like a great part in an interesting and very professional production. So spend some time making your casting call, project description and character synopsis good.
About six of the applicants seemed like they might be good for the part and we did phone call interviews. We then did in-person auditions with three.
You need to be very clear in your casting call about what you are looking for (age, ability, look, etc). You also need to be up front about your project and what the pay is (or more likely, isn't). On my project I actually offered $100 for this part because this was a personal project that I didn't intend to send around to festivals. Your actors will also want to know that you are offering "credit/copy/meals". This should be in your casting call. It means that they'll get a credit in the film, that you'll give them a finished copy of it and that you'll provide some *good* food and drink at all rehearsals and shooting.
We ended up with a phenomenal actress who nailed the part and totally made those scenes in the film. She loved being in the film and said that she would have done it for nothing because the (nicely boxed) DVD she got looked totally professional and shows her terrific performance on-camera, which most amatuer actresses really value because it helps them get more work. She was also thrilled that the crew was professional, skilled and that the end product looked like a "real" Hollywood movie.
I think you'll find that most local amatuer actors feel that being in a professional production that is highly organized, focused on quality and very collaborative is more important than upfront money. I've heard that people who've done several local indie projects can usually tell in a few minutes whether any given project they are looking at being involved with is a "bozo" project or "for real". The most talented people you audition will probably be auditioning you and your project in return. If they sense it's for real, you'll have little trouble getting them committed to the project. That's why I spent a few minutes with each actress that auditioned basically "pitching" the whole project which included not only the story but the qualifications and track record of the crew, the gear and locations we had secured and a bit about my own philosophy and approach to leading a group project like this.
--- Mark
