That's A WrapA (very) long road to semi-stardom - Musings of a Supporting Artiste

Does Your Face Fit?

Date: 06.07.2018  |  Posted by Phillip Tolley  | 

One of the first things you have got to accept when going into film or TV work is that your face is your passport or in some cases your roadblock.

When you register with an agent they take your details including your measurements and proof of your right to work in the UK. They also take pictures of you, normally a head shot and a full length shot. There photos are then stored on the system and when your details are put forward for possible work your photos are sent to the producers or casting directors.

Whether or not your photos are sent will depend on what the production is looking for - if they are casting a historical film and they are looking for tall, bearded men then your photo will not be send forward if you are a women, short or possibly too young to shave.

Even before your photo is put forward you wil be asked if you are available for the filming date(s) and how you will get to the location. If you are not available or you rely on public transport to get to some obscure location then your photo may not be put forward.

If your photo is put forward then it is simply a case of how many of each age group are they looking for, what is the ethnicty of the background crowd being filmed and various small issues (too plain, too good looking, dyed hair, tattoos / no tattoos).

Normally photos are only taken once a year at registration or re-registration and sometimes they are not renewed for a number of years. Casting agencies increasingly rely on selfies to get an update look at you and you are advised to redo your selfies every month or even every 14 days.

On the subject of photos I would alway recommend that when you are having your main photos taken you always dress to look like you want to be cast. For instance I tend to be cast as a business man / judge / cleric or wealthy hotel guest - so I always wear a suit or classic jacket and tie for my photos. If I turned up for my photo is skinny jeans and tee shirt it would not help me get cast or be age relevant.

When is a booking not a booking

Date: 06/07/2018  |  Posted by Phillip Tolley  | 

If you are lucky and you are both available and your face fits then you may get a message from your agent to say that you have been selected/shorlisted for those dates and to ensure that you keep these dates free. This is known as a Pencil. There used to be either a light pencil or a heavy pencil - for Light and Heavy read Possible and Probable. However this is not a booking or a guarantee of work and this can be a problem if you have to arrange transport or accommodation or, if you have another job, you have to book time off.

This pencil or provisional booking can be cancelled or amended at any time by the Production team. Perhaps the filming schedule is overrunning, the cast members whose scenes you were supposed to be in is unavailable or a scene simply calls for less SAs.

If you are booked for a fitting and that fitting happens then it is likely that you will be used but the dates may still change. You can even be cancelled, known as released, as you are driving to the location to begin filming. Again if you have booked accommodation or rail fares you may find yourself out of pocket at very late notice.

Pencils and cancellations have generally got worse over the last few years and you are generally only ever 100% booked if you at at the location on the day of filming and you have signed in with the Assistant Director (AD)

Because of this increase in SAs being released they are less inclined to hold dates open, so if they get multiple availability requests for different productions on the same date they accept all of them and then see which ones actually result in a booking, if any!