Cast People, Not Models
Every film opens on a face, a hand or a room, long before anyone hears a line. That first person on screen tells the audience what kind of story this is. We treat casting as the first decision, not the last.
Category
Casting
Date
Read time
2 min read
Author
Adrian Wells
Filed under · Casting
01 · Adrian Wells
03 · 2 min read
Real people first
We start with the people who already use the thing. Club runners for a running brand. Regulars for a bar. They know how to wear it. A professional can act like they’ve worn a jacket for ten winters. Someone who has worn it for ten winters doesn’t need to.
Audition the walk, not the headshot
Headshots tell us almost nothing. We ask people to walk in, sit down and talk about their week while the camera rolls. It takes ten minutes each, and it’s usually obvious within one who the camera likes.
Cast the hands too
Half of a product film is close-ups: a cuff being turned, a cork coming out, laces pulled tight. We cast hands the same way we cast faces. Nobody notices good hands. Everybody notices bad ones.
Fewer people, longer takes
Most briefs ask for a crowd. We usually cast three or four people and give them time. A small cast gets comfortable, and comfortable people look like they belong in the frame.
Fig. 01 · Cast People, Not Models