Virtual Visiting Round Up: Winter 2022
As a Central Casting Background Actor, Virtual Visiting gives you an opportunity to introduce yourself, ask questions to, and learn from a panel of our Casting Directors. Reservations are limited, so we are sharing the most asked questions from these sessions for our new quarterly Virtual Visiting Round Up series.
What tips do you have for Background Actors who are just starting out?
Recently attended Talent Onboarding and wondering what to do next? One of the best ways to set yourself up for success with Central Casting is to fill out your online profile completely and accurately. For Casting Directors, having your correct sizes and current photos are especially important when determining if you’re right for a role. Your sizes are needed for a variety of reasons, like when booking doubles and when production provides wardrobe. We have easy to follow measurement tutorials if you need some help learning how to determine your sizes.
If you’re new to working as a Background Actor, some key tips are to always be on time, pay attention on set, and behave professionally. If you have questions, down time while in Holding is a great opportunity to talk with fellow Background Actors to get advice for working on set.
The Articles section of our website is a resource to get updates about Central Casting, tips for background acting, and to learn more about working in the entertainment industry. Here are some helpful guides for new Background Actors:
If I’m unavailable for a while and say no to a lot of availability inquiries, will that prevent me from getting more messages in the future?
Many Background Actors worry about saying no to availability inquiries, but rest assured responding as unavailable has no impact on future messages you may receive. Casting Directors book their shows based off your current look and use the information in your online profile to determine if you fit the requirements for a role, not responses to past messages.
In fact, responding as unavailable when you can’t work over not responding at all actually helps Casting Directors know if they need to reach out to additional Background Actors. It also shows that you are engaged and actively responding to messages.
What do Casting Directors look for in photos uploaded to our online profile?
We recommend uploading photos of your current look any time your look changes. Remember, even if you think a change is small, it may affect the types of roles you can portray.
The photos you upload to your profile should be just of you and include your face, be taken in good lighting, free of touch ups and filters, and taken against a white or solid background when possible. When uploading photos, keep in mind that if you’re booked based off a specific look, that’s how you will be expected to show up to set.
Adding additional photos to your profile is another great way to show the types of roles you can portray. Casting Directors ask that you only upload unique and distinct looks; multiple similar photos will only clutter your online profile. For example, if you have business and formal looks, you only need to upload one business and one formal photo.
I have multiple cars I want to work with, what’s the best way to add them to my online profile?
We book a variety of vehicles in all kinds of conditions; if you’re willing to work with your car on set, add that information to the Vehicles You Own section of your online profile. Be sure to include vehicle type, make, model, color, and year. We will continue to add vehicle options to our platform; if you don’t see information that matches your car, include what you can and check back for updates.
When uploading photos of your vehicle, Casting Directors find it helpful if you include text on the photo that states the make, model, and year. This helps them identify the vehicle when looking through the photos in your profile and is especially useful for older and rarer models.
Thank you to all our Background Actors who attend and participate in Virtual Visiting! If you’re interested in attending, keep an eye on your profile messages.
