The Assistant Casting Agent is responsible for helping the casting director select the proper talent for commercials. Actors, actresses, models, and announcers must be chosen for television commercials. Depending on the agency, the Assistant Casting Agent might be responsible for assisting in the selection of models for print media ads, too. Duties vary for people in this position depending on the size of the casting department and the experience of the individual. In small agencies that have casting departments, the functions of the individual are broader. In larger agencies, responsibilities might be more specific.
Assistant Casting Agents with little experience are often responsible for a lot of the clerical duties in the department. They will be required to write and type memos and letters to talent agents and managers regarding casting for specific commercials. They also have to phone agents about casting calls and auditions or to have talent come back for additional interviews.
The assistant may be responsible for creating, mailing, or delivering display or classified advertisements to newspapers or the trades announcing casting requirements for specific commercials. The Assistant Casting Agent is required to keep records on all talent who audition as well as actors, actresses, models, and announcers who send in résumés with photographs. He or she may keep information on file cards or may input the data into a computer. This information could include an actress’s or actor’s name, address, phone number, agent affiliation, and professional acting credits. It might also contain data about the individual’s hair color, eyes, height, weight, age, personality type, and skills. If the talent had along with any comments offered by the casting director. This information is used by the casting department when searching for a certain type of “face,” look, or personality for a commercial.
The Assistant Casting Agent or casting assistant, as he or she might be known, may be responsible for arranging or running preliminary casting calls or auditions. Casting calls are events where many actors and actresses come in with a résumé and photograph (commonly known in the business as an 8 × 10 glossy). During a preliminary casting call the Assistant Casting Agent will eliminate people who don’t fit the look the casting director is seeking to play the specific role. People may be unsuitable for a particular commercial for any reason from being the wrong age to having the wrong hair color, body type, or accent.
The assistant takes résumés and photos from all applicants and file information for future casting of commercials. He or she gives the résumés and photos of the possible suitable applicants to the casting director. After the casting director reviews them and decides whom he or she wants to see, the assistant is responsible for calling the actors, actresses, or talent agents representing these people back for another audition or interview. The Assistant Casting Agent may or may not participate in advanced auditions depending on the structure of the particular casting department and the duties of the individual. Being present at the auditions helps the individual learn more about choosing the correct personality, face, look, and voice for commercials.
He or she is responsible for calling or notifying the account executive responsible for the ad as well as the producer and any other necessary agency staff as to when the auditions are scheduled. He or she also sees to it that the actors and actresses receive scripts before auditions. Once the talent is chosen, the Assistant Casting Agent may be responsible for seeing that it is booked through the proper talent agency. Other duties of the individual may include typing contracts with the correct dates, times, payments, and conditions. He or she is responsible for delivering the finished contracts and any other material to the talent or the talent agent and getting the contracts signed and returned. If the actor or actress is a union member, the individual may have to obtain a union membership number and take care of any other union-related business.
The Assistant Casting Agent is often on hand when the commercial is being filmed. The individual is responsible for checking many of the details involved in the casting procedure. Even after the commercial is cast, filmed, and finished, he or she may be required to check to be sure payments were made to talent, correct information was sent to the unions, and everything was handled correctly. The Assistant Casting Agent is responsible to the casting director. He or she usually works long hours. The individual may go out after hours to actively search for new talent with the casting director. He or she may also work long into the night auditioning talent or at the filming of a commercial.
There is a lot of stress and pressure in this job. However, those in this particular field often get a great deal of gratification after a commercial is completed, broadcast on television or radio, and successful in the world of advertising.
Salaries can range from only $24,000 for individuals who have limited experience and duties to $45,000 plus for those who have more extensive experience and responsibility. Assistant Casting Agents working in New York City and Los Angeles usually earn more than individuals employed in other cities.
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