How Technology Has Changed Casting

How Technology Has Changed Casting
by Jan Glaser, CSA


Forty movies a year:  that was the yearly average amount of films I cast between 1994 and 1999 while working for Roger Corman.  We managed to be very productive without all the technology. 


And before that, I did television:  “In the Heat of the Night”, “Hart to Hart”, “Starsky and Hutch.”  And before that, I did soap operas like “Capitol.”  All this without e-mail, pdf scripts, internet photos.  It’s more efficient now, but I miss the good old days. 


When I started out, I became good friends with the agents, the managers and their assistants.  We met after work for dinner, the theater or comedy clubs.  And I’ve kept those friendships to this day. 


My past few assistants do not have those relationships.  They never meet the people on the other end of the phone.  I blame e-mail.  It is way too impersonal.  However, I do get answers from the agents on an actor’s availability or interest much faster that I would by phone.  Things move faster.  More gets done. 


In those days, I would view an actor’s scenes in a screening room with a projectionist and mark the best scenes by “paper”.  I loved getting out of the office and sitting in the dark screening room.  That changed when demo reels were delivered on video cassettes.  More efficient but not as much fun.  And now we have DVDs which take up less space.


Today, I get my scripts in pdf form, attached to e-mail.  No more waiting for the messenger to arrive.  As my grandparents told me about the quaint Western Union man who delivered telegrams, and probably their grandparents told them about the delivery of messages by the skillful clicking of Morse Code, now I think back to those sweet days when the messenger delivered a hot script, still warm, and bound beautifully.  It was like a gift from Tiffany. 


Auditions were a group experience, with laughter, winks, nods and shrugs.  The producer and director were there in the room and we all had opinions.  Nowadays, the director and producers are there less often.  They might be on location so I record the auditions and send them a DVD. 


Now actors have a webpage with their photos posted.  But I still like the feel of an 8 x 10 glossy.  Holding that shiny headshot in my hand gets my focus much better than surfing the net.  It’s a tangible feeling.  So if any of you actors want to score extra points with me,  bring a picture and resume.   


I’ve been forced kicking and screaming into this brave new word.  But alas, I had to cave in to efficiency.  The business will not stand still to please my nostalgia.  I wonder where the future of casting will be.  What?  No actors. 


Jan Glaser, CSA

5 Comments:

1. Jan,

   Does this mean that you can’t tailor your business to mix the old with the new? In other words, use e-mail strictly for fast communication and a paper (ok, cyber) trail but insist upon hard copies of head shots and scripts? I think I could make allowances for many things, but I owuld draw the line ata pdf scrip. I can’t read an extended document on a screen.

   Randini

   Posted by Randini on 08/12 at 03:16 PM

2. Hi Mark,

   I know you’re in the midst of a movie right now—but I wonder if you or a friend could comment on using SAG actors in a “No budget” feature, based on your no-budget feature approach.  The bottom SAG indie agreement still mandates $100/8 hour day for SAG actors for any budget up to $200K, including a host of other things that make it difficult like proper payroll, pension and health payments, advance salary deposits, lien on the film type legal stuff.  Are “no budget” films destined to only use Non-union actors?  What if I want to shoot every Saturday for six months to paste a feature together?  SAG doesn’t have a place for me, but there are plenty of SAG actors that would still jump at the chance to work hard for nothing, if they believe in the project and the person.

   Best,
   Andrew

   Posted by Andrew Wahlquist on 09/01 at 09:47 PM

3. So glad to hear Jan Glaser point this out.
   It seems the internet has taken the personal contact between agents and CDs out of the picture,
   I know myself, in the past my agent might talk to the CD and pitch me a little to get me in on an audition. Now most CDs just look at a one inch thumb nail picture, it’s made it less likely (for me at least) to get in unless I look exactly like what they are thinking a role looks like in their head.

   http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9223136338097565119

   Posted by Sean Sweeney on 09/04 at 12:56 PM

4. Very good question and good description.Look forward to reading more on you blog.

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   Posted by project server solutions on 11/20 at 02:53 AM

5. This is a nice little look into the effects of the web on the filmmaking industry from a production standpoint. Our “I want it yesterday” mentality really shows through this example, because I think relationships are strengthened by tactile sensation. It’s part of being human that makes hearing a voice or seeing a face or touching a hand hold weight in our memory.

   -Jay
   Indie Filmmaking.com

   Posted by Jay on 01/14 at 07:57 AM