CASTING TIPS

We asked Matthew Morgan well known Casting Director for some great points to help talent at auditions.   Here are his top 3 tips! 

1.  Always believe in yourself!  If you don’t believe you are the perfect person for the role, then how are you going to convince me?  

2.  Walk in the room with “THE 3 C’S.”  Confident, Comfortable and Charismatic.  You have be prepared and confident that you can deliver and do a  great job in your audition.  This comes with practice and working hard before you show up for the casting call.  You also have to be very comfortable performing in front of people.  You have to love “being on stage,”&  “the centre of attention;” and you should truly want to “show me what you got.”  And finally you must have some charisma.  That means making a unique impression and being MEMORABLE at the end of the day.  We have to remember you to bring you back for a callback or book you! 

3.  If in an audition, the casting director asks you to read the dialogue a 2nd time, always show us a little something different from the 1st time (unless directed to do it exactly the same as before).  We love actors who make great choices and can show us some range in an audition.

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A little about Matthew Morgan  ” Casting Director”

Matthew got his first taste of being in the industry in the fall of 1995 while working on Joel Schumacher’s A TIME TO KILL; a feature that was being filmed in his hometown of Canton, MS. This moment changed his career path, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Graduating in International Business and Foreign Languages, Matthew moved to Canada and immersed himself in the industry and the multiculturalism. He learned the casting ropes from established casting directors in Toronto before he eventually opened up his own casting company in December of 2004. Having studied in both France and Spain, Toronto was a perfect, multicultural city in which to start his casting company, Morgan Casting Inc.

Matthew specialized in casting real people, street casting and finding tough, specialty characters not always found though an agency. Nothing was impossible to find, and Matthew was known for his hard work ethic and charming people skills. After building up a real-people database, he eventually moved into casting actors and focused on commercials and TV series. Finally, Matthew returned to his home state to cast in his hometown of Canton, MS, on a William Faulkner Film, AS I LAY DYING, directed by and starring James Franco. Morgan had finally come full circle; he is doing what he loves most – casting movies! And his background in real-people casting helps him find the undiscovered actors for those hard-to-fill roles. 

Matthew has since enjoyed casting on feature films, TV series and commercials across North America, working in diverse places and truly excelling at being mobile with his work. From Arkansas to Washington State…Vancouver to Montreal … Matthew has been able to successfully set up temporary offices for every project. He truly enjoys casting on location in diverse places, staying true to his love of travel, culture, languages and challenging work. 

Matthew Morgan is proudly both Canadian & American, as well as a member of both country’s casting guilds, CDC & CSA.

The modelling industry is constantly changing.  Models can come in all shapes and sizes for commercial print.   Advertisers look for people/models that best represent their product that they are selling.   There are different areas of modelling - Fashion Models, Commercial Print Models, Hand Models, Beauty Models, Character type models.

When you see an ad, look at the ad, see what the advertiser is selling and that will answer your questions on how old, how tall, do you have to be to model.

If we are talking Fashion and Clothing there are height and size requirements.   If an advertiser is showing a new power tool, perhaps a gentleman ( Dad type) would be used to model in the ad.

You are never too old to get started in this industry.   Models today must have a great personality.  A client will book a model because of looks and personality.  Personality is the key to success in any business.  So put on your smiles, have a great attitude and get started, what have you got to loose!

WHAT CASTING DIRECTORS WANT

What Casting Directors look sometimes say
I'll know what I want when I see it."They are looking for someone who fits the part and not a scene stealer. They are looking for great chemistry. Are you a team Player or a Prima Donna, loose the Prima Donna Attitude. They Want someone who listens, is respectful of others, and can bring something to the table. You have to be able to get along and work with the other actors. You must be polite and be on time. Be Professional at all times. Acting is a business!

Modelling over the holidays

Most agencies and production houses close over the holiday season. This is the best time models and actors should take their holidays. We wish you, a very happy , and prosperous new year 2012.

Audition Techniques

Toronto Model and Talent Agencies want you to get an audition is  ATTEND THE AUDITION and DO NOT BE LATE!   Casting Directors don't have time to waste with Tardiness.


Actors and Models must be professional and arrive at least 15 minutes early for an audition and be prepared. Do not talk to other actors and models.  Learn your script or review the story board.


Make a good first impression, arrive on time, arrive early and always be prepared.

What makes a good model?

Have you ever wondered what makes a good models? A good model must always be very professional, well manered, arrive to castings and bookings on time and must have a good personality.

Clients like to work with people they like, if they don't like you they won't book you! If you are late, they won't book you again!

Models must always arrive to a booking at least 30 minutes early, you never want to have client wonder where you are! Models must arrive with their models bag to all casting, the bag should contain, your makeup, different types of undergarments, different colours of undergarments, nude or beige is best! Different shoes, hoisery, hair brush, hair spray, bobby pins, safety pins , needle and thread.

Always be prepared! A professional model is very prepared , and professional at all times! Make your agency proud of you!

REPUTABLE AGENCIES

How do they know if an agency is reputable? There are associations that agencies can belong too voluntarily. These are EIC, and TAMAC, Neither of these associations, means that an agency is reputable? These associations never visit any of the agencies to see how they run their business nor does their associations mean that agency owners run a reputable agency. All business in Ontario must be licenced by the government.

There are many agencies that are very reputable that choose not to be a member of these associations. There is also a list Actra has, called a no cheque list.Actra is a UNION for performers, not agents, they should not recommend any agency whatsoever.They do not govern agencies or policies within agencies. There are also agencies that are just modelling agencies, that have nothing to do with Actra.

There are a lot of very reputable agencies on that list and some agencies who are not that reputable. You must do your research and feel comfortable with the agency that will represent you. The best thing you can do is when seeking out an agency, referrals are good, visit their office.

Reputable agencies should be open for business Monday thru Friday as this is when most of the castings take place. If an agency is closed on Fridays, or only open through the week for short hours, beware!

The best way to tell if an agency is reputable is to view work that their talent have done, call casting directors to see if they audition their talent. Agencies that have been in business for many years are serious about the industry and they have maintained to represent their talent fairly and honestly.

They are in the industry because of their valued knowledge in the industry and their hard work and dedication towards their talent and clients. There are some other associations that agencies might be members of such as the Better Business Bureau , Canadian Film and Television Association, also The Canadian Federation of Independent Business. There are so many assoications. Being a member of any assoication does not determine the state or reputablity of an agency.

Agencies should follow guidelines such as:
Representing Talent honestly and Fairly to their best of their ability
Should have a full time Accountant or bookeeper ( this means their agency is busy paying models or actors)and should pay the talent when they get paid from their clients the models should be paid.
Should offer the talent manuals or documents on the agency policies and procedures in the industry.Should be familiar with all casting services and be a registered agency with all casting services. Agencies cannot apply or receive castings if they do not have a good reputation.

Some agencies do offer workshops , which is a valued asset to models or new actors, to help them get going in the industry. Don't expect to just walk in the door, and expect the agency to pay for everything for you. There is no business that will PAY for you!

Some agencies will suggest photographers that they are comfortable working with to help the model or actor achieve the best look to present to their clients.

European Agencies have their own graphic and printing capability within the agency. which allows the agency to adjust models comps accordingly to their clients requirments.

Some agencies will make comps or 8 x 10's that can be changed on a daily or monthly basis to help the model or actor stay up to date with their look and clients demands. Ask if they have the ability to do that!

Photoshoots for models can range from 200 - 600 approx, depending on the photographer, very few photographers will hand out CD;s of images as they are like negatives and are copywright of the photographer. Then agencies will either make comps or 8 x 10's can cost anywhere from 1.00 to 2.00 per comp, depending on images etc.

Most agencies today ,because of the high cost of doing business do charge administration charges. These charges can be anywhere from 10.00 per month to a maximum of $20.00 per month. Some agencies will charge this monthly or yearly depending on their policies.

BEWARE of agencies that say we will do your photos for FREE, do comp cards for FREE and represent you for FREE. Beware of FREE workshops. Nothing is free in this world. You are your own business, and having your own business, there are costs involved. If an agency does comp you, you do have to PAY IT BACK.! These policies are worldwide! Agencies also charge commission from the client and to the model.Most commissions are 20% to the client , and 20% from the model.

Please remember Talent Agencies and Modelling Agencies are different!
Some agencies do both and are a full service agency. In order for you to get the most work in the business, you should be represented by a full service agency especially in these economic times.

Full service mean, they do all ages, commercial and lifestly print, fashion, tv commercials, Film , Theatre, Principle, models, backgrounde.

Remember if you are just starting out, you need to gain as much experience possible.

Posing for the Camera

So many photographers today, complain that models are not trained, and have no idea how to pose in front of the camera. Models must do there research and look at magazines to see what professionals models are doing. A good training tool is to tear out photos you like from magazines, and practice those poses.

A lot of photographers complain models do not have a spirit or there eyes are like there is nothing there " deer in the headlights" Models need to practice, take some workshops, do homework to be the best model possible.

Photographers are busy, with lights and setting up the shot. It is the models responsiblity to bring ideas to the set and be professional. A photographer will guide the model through a shoot slightly. A photographers job is adjusting lighting, cropping, composition, they have lots of things to think about when photographing the model.

However if a model is getting paid for the shoot, the model must be professional and know how to pose. No client will pay 150.00 an hour for an untrained , unprofessional model.

Do you have a great look! Want to be a model?

Models must have a great personality and somewhat of a flexible schedule.
There is commercial print which is all ages and sizes\
Fashion Models, male and female.
kids, all ages, must have a great personality and good parents.

How to I know if an agency is a good agency.

There are lots of agencies . It is very important to send a small jpeg image by email. Agencies are very busy. They are selective. Models represent the agency when they go out to clients. There fore if an agency feels that you are right for their market , they will take you on.
Agencies that have been in business for many years and have a solid track record in the industry is a good start. You can also check with the Better Business bureaur on their rating. Agencies cannot just register with the BBB. They must be up to date in their business practices and run an excellent business.

Check out their website! If they don't have a website and you can't find them on the web, if they do not have a good online presence that how will clients find them to book you.

Types of Modelling

Types of Modelling, there are a variety of types of modelling. Basically anbody can model.

Fashion Modelling - Females must be 5'8 at minimum to 5'11

Fashion Modelling Males must be 5'11 to 6'2

Lifestyle - Any age or Size mostly product must have good personality

Kids- must have a great personality and does not make strange.

Models must be available and have a flexible schedule. As you can get called the same day or one day notice to do a job.