Archive for category: Casting Jargon

First, Second, Third AD, Oh My where will it all end. Knowing who is who is pretty important when you are on set as an actor or background extra.

The first Assistant Director (First AD) reports to the director of the production and is there to “keep the production on schedule throughout the day, communicate to the entire crew, and to maintain the safety and security of the staff and shot itself”

Depending upon the size of the production, there may be a Second AD and /or a Third AD. The Second AD will report to the First AD and “serves as the backstage manager, liaising with actors, putting cast through make-up and wardrobe, which relieves the first of these duties”

If there is a Third AD, they are normally responsible for crowd scenes, getting extras to and from set at the correct time.

So, depending upon your role in the production (Actor or Extra) and the size of the production your main point of contact could be any one of these people. That’s the person who will let you know when you can go on set and leave set. That’s the person who will usually arrange for sign in and sign out sheets.

More details on Wikipedia

If you like the TV Shirt.

What is the difference between a Body Double and a Stand-In?

A body double takes the place of a main performer for certain shots in a scene where the main performer is not able to. It might be for a stunt or for a scene involving nudity. Sometimes, it is for a closeup on a hand or foot.

A stand-in is quite different. Stand-ins rarely make t into the final production. Stand-ins are usually similar height and complexion to the main performer. They are used in scene rehearsals to get the lighting and sound right before the main performer does their scene. Increasingly, stand-ins are being used for reality productions where the crew need time to calibrate their cameras and sound equipment prior to the action taking place.

When a Casting Consultant Sends a Brief to a talent agent like MCTV, we will respond by submitting talent suggestions for the particular role. We will select talent who match the brief and send them to the Casting Consultant.

In the early days of MCTV this involved sending an urgent courier with a package of photographs and talent profiles, but these days we send our Submissions by email or through the various casting databases we use. Our internal MCTV database will send each talent an email whenever their profile is submitted keeping them informed about the jobs they have been submitted for.

A casting consultant or casting director works with the director of a production to identify the actors that are needed for each scene of a movie or TV Series. The casting consultant will perform a script breakdown which involves separating the script into the different roles. Once they have identified the roles they will then create the briefs to send to the talent agents like MCTV.

The casting consultant may be given authority to select talent directly or work with the director to select talent for the roles. Usually, the casting consultant receives a large number of suggestions from the talent agents and it is up to the casting consultant to narrow those suggestions down to the ones that will work best for the production.