How to Write Attractive Casting Call Descriptions

Famous American filmmaker John Frankenheimer once said that casting is 65% of directing. Here at allcasting, we also believe that posting a neat casting notice is 50% of the job done. With accurate casting call descriptions, you can avoid receiving tons of unmatching talent and make your casting notice more appealing to talent as no one wants to apply to boring gigs.

Based on multiple casting professionals’ experience, including our own, we have summarized the main criteria to consider before posting your next casting notice.

1. Casting Notice Details

It’s the core part of your casting notice — the summarization of your upcoming production. Trust us, you want to have it right — based on how appealing the details are, potential talents will decide to carry on to role description or not.

Here are the main components of the casting call details:

1. Title. The first thing potential talents will see in the casting call list — make them click on it. If you’re casting for a famous brand, mention it in the title to attract more talent. Good example: ‘GAP Casting Models for Spring Collection’. Bad example: ‘Model Casting Call’.
2. Category. Allcasting offers nine categories to choose from — be sure to select the correct one based on the roles you’re looking for. Going with the wrong category might not be visible to the talent you are actually looking for.
3. Zip Code. Let the people know where the audition will take place. If you’re not casting nationwide, it will also limit applications from different states.
4. Brief Description. You have 1,000 characters to describe your production and interest talent. If relevant, to make it more appealing, mention famous actors, directors, and models working on this production. Shortly note what you are looking for and how many roles are available. Keep it clean, and don’t go into too much detail about what roles you are looking for, as you’ll do it in the next steps. If you don’t have an exact date of production yet, mention an approximate one, for example, ‘Shooting at the end of March, exact dates TBA’.
5. Online audition. Demand for online auditions is only rising due to the pandemic — it’s a crucial aspect to consider. Online auditions are not just about safety measures, they can save you tons of time and money. If you have decided to have an online audition, be sure to tick the relevant box.
6. Expiration date. When the expiration date arrives, talent won’t be able to apply to your casting notice. However, if you’re still unsure about the right talent, you are welcome to prolong your casting notice.
7. Payment. If you have a legal right to post the payment, we encourage you to do so — as it can be another critical motivator for talent to apply. Add the expected rate and pay close attention to pricing period (per hour, project, day, week, month).

2. Role Requirements

The job of a casting director is important and busy. You have to have a clear mind in this frenzy of thousands of applications, and the last thing you want to see is submissions from people who don’t match the role. What if we told you that you could decrease the number of unmatching submissions by giving precise role requirements?

1. Role title. Don’t overthink it; give the name of the role you need to fill. If you’re casting for a similar role, there’s no need to advertise for both. Keep it simple, for example, if you are looking for numerous dancers with the same requirements, name the role ‘dancers.’ However, if you need different types of dancers, then create a position for each — ‘ Blonde Dancer,’ ‘Lead Dancer,’ ‘Background Dancer,’ etc.
2. Role Description. Describing specific requirements here is a must. Such specifics as gender, age, and ethnicity you’ll be able to choose in the next steps, so don’t focus on that here. If relevant, summarize the requirement of personality, height, body type, special skills, eye color, hair type, etc. The more detail you go into, the higher your chances of finding your next superstar.
3. Gender, age, ethnicity. Be sure that you have applied the matching ones when posting the needed role. Avoid changing these parts for the role after posting — it will create additional confusion.

The talent you are looking for might be a few clicks away! Make sure that you are following our golden rules and cast people without a headache. If you need additional assistance regarding your casting call or have any questions, please contact danny@allcasting.com or dorothy@allacting.com. Level up your casting experience today!