Hi Everyone,

Want to save money? Join the club. Given today’s frightening financial situation, saving money is on everyone’s mind— but that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to be cheap—it just means you have to do it right.

What does it mean to do it right in our business? It means talking to your trusted professionals —writers, directors and producers—to work with you and your budgetary constraints. And if there is talent involved, consult with your casting director. A good one will know that inexpensive does not mean cheap. Rather, it means knowing where to cut the corners and still make the project work.

Since the value of talent is hard to quantify it is therefore not that important—and a good place to cut corners.

Think again.

Not long ago, I was at trade show and watched a video introducing a fantastic new technology. The graphics were amazing, the lighting and camera work spectacular—but the voice over was barely audible and the talent was clearly non-professional. The whole video began to feel amateurish. So how effective is this in selling the product?

Recently we’ve had several calls from producers who were in panic mode. They tried to save money by using company employees or amateur talent and it didn’t work. Their client was not happy. And now they have to pay to fix it which will drive up the production cost and may leave the producer liable for the cost overrun.

Our advice in this very unsettling economic climate is don’t think cheap. Think economical and trust the relationships you have and do things right. When selecting talent the choice is between using professional union actors, professional non-union actors or amateurs. If you want the project to look amateur, than the last option is obviously your choice.

Professional union actors are always the best. Clients, however, may shy away from them thinking that the cost will be higher and, yes, it will. The fees for union and non-union should be comparable. The difference lies in Pension and Welfare contributions, taxes and payroll service. We should point out that typically union professionals will get the job done faster, with fewer retakes, which is certainly a budget consideration.

However if the budget is really tight and dictates the need to go non-union, the following should be taken into consideration:
1. Take time to really search for the talent and do use a casting director to help in that process.
2. Talented Non-union actors are typically a younger demographic, from their 20’s to early 30’s. You won’t find very many more mature non-union actors. That means you also have to be more flexible in your casting of mature actors.
3. Scripts should have a minimum of copy and preferably no copy to be memorized, particularly in casting older people.

4. Be more flexible in the age, gender, ethnicity of your talent selection. There are few
non-union ethnic minorities, particularly among older actors.

A look is easier to cast than an actor….so if you can rely on looks with a voice over, go for it.
One important factor to keep in mind, even if a job is non-union; the talent deserves to be properly paid. Offering fair pay for a day’s work will result in a better selection of more qualified talent.

Hope this helps in this uneasy time. We are all in this together!

Best,
Carol Nadell & Lena Kaminsky
212-757-1510
www.selectivecasting.com

Selective Casting/Internationally Speaking specializes in casting professional union and non-union talent (on-camera, voice-over, stage) for museum exhibits, trade shows, Web casting, corporate and educational video and corporate events. For more info: http://www.selectivecasting.com

Selectivecasting/Internationally Speaking
435 West 57th Street
New York, NY, New York 10019