Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with casting

I just wanna slappa da bass while people in clown costumes swing around me.

tylerfulltilt — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:46:57 -0800

I play bass guitar. I'm not bad at it. In fact, I'm quite good. How do I get auditions to start playing for touring musicals and the like? (and do I stand a chance?) A little backstory: My wife decided to audition for a community theater production of Rent. Which got me thinking. Why don't I try to land a spot playing bass instruments in a show? The only problem is that I have no contacts. Google searches for auditions don't turn up much. How do I get started doing this? Do I need to get representation? Do I need to just know people? I have no idea where to begin with this.

And for those of you with experience, here's a brief rundown of my abilities. Perhaps you can give it a quick look and tell me If I'm being deluded.

+ : I'm very experienced on my instrument. I've played in live situations before. I've got very good technique and a great sense of tempo and rhythm. I can play really any style. I know a little theory and I can read tab, chord charts, and sheet music. I'm mostly experienced with electric fretted and fretless bass, but I can play an acoustic upright, both pizz. and arc.

- : Never actually played in a theater production before. But everyone has to start somewhere right?

A ring....

tropikal — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:41:09 -0800

OK, I've searched all over the internet, MeFi and tons of blogs. I've learned a lot, but I haven't found what I'm looking for. I want to carve a simple ring design for my girlfriend, out of jewelers wax, then send it to a professional silversmith and have it cast. Now I could do it myself, but I neither have the space nor the equipment to do it properly. So yes I have seen and read just about every tutorial about DIY casting. So...anyone out there know where I could find an actual silversmith, only found one, they want a minimum of 25 pieces....

Determining suit size and measurements.

Unsomnambulist — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:40:20 -0800

Is there a down and dirty way to determine my suit measurements without going to see a tailor or using anything other than a normal tape measure? I'm selling my soul to Central Casting (film and TV extras casting) to help pay some bills through this unemployment lull. In addition to an ID, I9, and other documents, they want measurements for a suit. Any suggestions on how a bachelor can get these numbers (or roughly the right numbers) in the comfort of his own home?

Casting calls for hired goons?

anti social order — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:13:12 -0800

Casting calls for hired goons? Counter-intuitively, I may have a 'look' for movies/TV. Do I? If so, what do I do with it? So a random discussion with a friend who's minorly in the film industry (done stuff for film festival movies, a few commercials for local TV) a few states away led him to mention offhand "(they) never find people with your look. You'd get lots of work if you were an actor." I didn't think I had a 'look' so I ask you guys:

1) Is big guy a 'look' people want? (6'4, 280lbs, former football lineman, still carded buying beer)

2) If so, then what? would I contact some agent person locally (DC area) to let them know I exist?

Google returns nothing I can make sense of. I'm not trying to start a career in hollywood or pay for pro headshots so a lot of the advice I saw online seemed not to apply.

So what's the next move?

Sugar Casting Tips and Resources Sought

anastasiav — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:45:39 -0800

MeFi Chef Brigade: Anyone out there know anything about cast sugar (sometimes called poured sugar or sugar glass)? I'm experimenting with some historical cast sugar recipes, but could use some advice..... Because I'm dealing with a historical recipe, there aren't any exact amounts given, and I'm having trouble coming up with a sugar/water/acidic (lemon juice or vinegar) mixture that will set up truly hard when it cools. Both my attempts have ended up in sticky messes. I'm fairly sure its the mix that's the problem not the temp, but I'm open to suggestions.

Also, if you have good links on sugar casting, I'd love to see them.

I want to stream my desktop on popular sites such as Justin.tv. However I'm on a Mac. What software do I need?

spinko — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:14:32 -0800

I want to stream my desktop on popular sites such as Justin.tv. However I'm on a Mac. What software do I need? I can record my desktop through Screenflow and save as Mov, however I would like to do a live screencast of my desktop. With the latest beta of Skype I can share my desktop which is great.

On Justin.tv, I've seen people live streaming their desktop live. What applications do I need to do this on a Mac?

Casting About

pxe2000 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:19:15 -0800

I'm making a short film in Boston that requires two leads -- a man and a woman -- in their mid-20s who can dance ballroom. Where should I post a casting notice? I've been trying to go through the ballroom dance teams at the colleges and have come up somewhat empty-handed -- of the ten or so emails I've sent out to the teams, I've received two emails. On the other hand, the listing I posted on Craigslist has attracted several composers and costume designers, but no actors. I'm a little nervous about attending ballroom dances without having an in, since approaching someone blind can have some unfortunate casting-couch connotations.

(By the way, if this helps any, I'm in Boston and making this as part of a Super-8 derby. It's completely volunteer-run, non-paid, but I do offer similar fringe benefits that every student-level film has.)

Is there a message board for New England ballroom dance that I should be posting to? What other resources should I be aware of? Is there any other advice I should heed?

Moving company overseas, any software to help with online communication like Video & live Screen casting for online meetings.

spinko — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:15:20 -0800

Moving company overseas, any software to help with online communication like Video & live Screen casting for online meetings. I'm moving out of the UK in a few months, got rid of the staff and office to save money. Moving to Spain...

I have a few concerns regarding communication. Anyone know any professional software to ensure great communication for both me and my customers.

Phone numbers:
All going into Skype Pro

Video conferencing:
Video chat in Skype seems very clear for 1 to 1 video meetings. Anything else?

Screen casting live:
Im a designer, would like to show customers in real time if we are talking about tweaking a design. So far VNC, give them access to my screen when im working.

Anyone suggest anything else or better software. Will pay if needed as it needs to be professional.

Oh yeah, im on a Mac.

And...scene?

paperlanterns — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:52:08 -0800

MeFi actors/casting directors/people who have been extras before... any tips for what I should do at an "extras casting call"? They are having a casting call for the movie "State of Play" with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck this weekend. I have no link or connection to the acting field, but I thought it would be fun to try out for an extra. The casting notice really gave no direction for what kinds of extras they are looking for, other than "bring a pen and a small photo." Should I get dressed up? How dressed up? (i.e. Washingtonian-esque? the movie is about some congressman having an affair and his mistress turns up dead... or something like that). Or will they just be looking at my face and I should just keep it simple.... again, this is for fun, but it would be a kinda sweet experience to have if I'm chosen as some background extra. I've googled the topic, but I wanted to get some real-life anecdotes if anyone has them! thanks

Good space for a casting call?

names are hard — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:03:15 -0800

I'm trying to host an open casting call for actors/models in NYC. Any ideas for somewhere professional, yet cheap or free? We are expecting a large number of people to try out for our show. It is legit, but we don't have a lot of money yet so would rather not pay a lot. Is this the type of thing people rent an office for a day for?

Any other ideas?

Narrative/fiction movies with unexpected moments of "reality" or fourth wall-breaking or other interesting metaness?

lorimer — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:08:01 -0800

Narrative/fiction movies with unexpected elements of "reality" or fourth wall breaking or other interesting metaness? Illustrative examples inside (without spoilers): Sling Blade, Bamboozled, Shortbus, Timecode, South Park, etc. I'm less interested here in pervasively-meta movies (like Adaptation or Being John Malkovich) and more interested in traditional narrative movies that have unexpected real/meta moments or elements. Some examples, of various kinds:

A) UNUSUALLY EXPLICIT INVOLVEMENT OF THE VIEWER
• in Sling Blade: Billy Bob Thornton's long look into the camera during his walk around town (which he's called a purposeful fourth wall break, meant to remind the viewer he's spinning a tale).
• in Bamboozled: the real reactions of shock and confusion we see from the studio audience during the filming of the TV pilot (apparently the extras playing the audience were told they'd be filmed as a studio audience, but were not told what they'd see onstage), which adds an interesting element to the end viewer's own reactions/shock.

B) REAL ACTS WHERE SUCH ACTS ARE USUALLY SIMULATED
• in Shortbus, Bound, Brown Bunny, Baise Moi and others: unsimulated sex, either obvious onscreen or reported by the actors involved.
[• all the movies in my actors who play their own instruments thread.]
[• all movies in which actors do either stunts or other acts you'd expect to see done by doubles (this is less interesting to me unless something about the situation overlaps other categories like A or C).]

C) INTERESTING SELF-REFERENCE
• in Timecode: film director character proposes shooting a movie using the multiscreen technique used to shoot Timecode, and other characters think this idea is pretentious.
• in South Park: four-letter words discovered to have direct, life-saving utility (movie is based on a show often criticized for "gratuitous"/useless explicit language).
• in Full Frontal: a few meta-twists for the standard "movie in a movie" idea (such as the scene from The Limey that fits into one of Full Frontal's existing scenes without any change of nesting level).
• in Dancer in the Dark, Lost in Translation and others: especially self-referential casting (famously childlike-whimsical-fanciful musician as character with same qualities; iconic aging actor as iconic aging actor; etc.).

... So which other examples should I check out? Please let me know why if possible, BUT PLEASE NO SPOILERS (no revealing plot developments/surprises). Thanks for your help!

Buddha

milarepa — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 07:23:02 -0800

I have a small but detailed necklace pendant of the buddha cast in silver. How and where can I get an exact replica cast in 24k gold or platinum in NYC? Like I said, I have a small, silver pendant (smaller than my pinky nail) but detailed (you can see the ruffles of his clothes) of the buddha.

I want to make an exact replica of it in gold, preferrably without ruining the original. (I cannot go to the original jeweler because she was in Amsterdam.)

Is this possible? Will I lose the original? Will it lose detail?

Where can I go, meaning specific jewelers? I think it will have to be a smaller jeweler because the job is pretty small. I'd also like to avoid wandering around Canal St. or 47th st looking for someone who can do the job.

Approximately how much will this cost?

Need 8 solid Gold Dancers

bleucube — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 09:49:39 -0800

Where could I post a casting call for an online web contest that involves dancing? Looking to do another 30 day project and need eight contestants to perform a dance off. Not sure where to find these eight people. Where should I post casting call?

Mold material for lost-wax casting?

Vidiot — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 19:41:29 -0800

How do you make a mold for lost-wax casting? My dad wants to cast the pawn from the Lewis Chessmen set in bronze. I picked up a reproduction pawn made out of marble dust and resin. He's intending to do this using the "lost wax" method of casting...but he's wondering what material he should use to make the initial mold of the pawn.

Anything else he should know about this process, or other insights?

How do you become a casting director?

bjork24 — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 07:20:11 -0800

How does one become a casting director? It doesn't seem like there would be classes in film school on becoming a casting director, so I'm curious as to what professional course one would take to attain this position. I have quite an eye for placing actors in roles that have yet to be cast, but I'm sure that's not all it takes. Is it all just nepotism and luck?

Credit where credit is due!

googly — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 20:50:26 -0800

[Filmfilter] Why are some people listed with their character's names and others not in film opening credits? [MI] I just watched “Alien” (again) and noticed the following about the opening credits: six of the seven cast members (Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Harry Dean Stanton, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, and Ian Holm) are listed with just their names, after which it says “and Yaphet Kotto as Parker.” Why do they have his character’s name listed? If they had wanted to give him special emphasis to make up for listing him last, wouldn’t “and Yaphet Kotto” have done just fine? I’ve seen this in other films and TV shows as well and have never been able to figure it out. (I seem to dimly recall another ask mefi question related to this but all my searches have come to naught, as has more general google-fu).

small-scale, home polycarbonate casting/fabrication

casarkos — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:44:51 -0800

Has anyone here ever done small-scale plastic (specifically polycarbonate) casting/fabrication at home? What are some good resources for getting started?