An Overview of the Options

Right now, electronic casting is expanding on two tiers. Independent, Internet-based casting companies such as Castnet offer to include any actor with a headshot and a resume in their database for an annual fee. While some view this as one more form of exploitation aimed at the industry`s most vulnerable--or desperate--aspirants, others see it as an opportunity for getting new faces in front of casting directors--especially those oriented towards commercials--quickly and cheaply.

At the other end of the spectrum is Starcaster, a company that offers its services exclusively to union actors and is primarily used for casting feature films. Rather than distribute information about talent over the Internet, Starcaster has installed computer hard drives and databases at studios and casting companies around the country that it updates by remote.

Starcaster`s hardware-intensive approach means the system is not dependent upon the Internet or subject to slow downloads, which is especially useful for providing high quality video for demo reels. However, the system is only available to union affiliated talent who pay an annual fee of $75 to appear in the Academy Players Directory and currently the system serves only a relatively narrow sector of the industry.

The future of online casting is still the subject of hot debate in the industry, where only a relatively small percentage--probably in the neighborhood of 20 percent--of casting directors regularly go online to find talent. But this number is growing steadily as the industry gets wired and learns to embrace the benefits--and overcome the fears--of new technologies.

Actors and Agents Use Casting Sites

Angelo Sourmelis is an aspiring actor who joined Castnet two months ago at the urging of his agent. Although he had heard mixed reports about online casting, Sourmelis was drawn in as much by the auxiliary resources offered by Castnet as the site`s ability to circulate his headshot and resume to casting directors online.

"For me," explains the actor, "the main incentive was that they offer audition sides [advance script pages which are used for auditions] at no additional cost." According to Sourmelis, getting the audition sides, which normally cost actors about $5 apiece, easily offset the $49 annual fee at Castnet. Some online casting services also offer other member services including listings of upcoming productions and casting calls, as well as workshops and other services designed for actors.

Agent Sid Levein sometimes encourages his clients to use online casting services in order to keep their edge in an increasingly competitive acting market. "Speed is what counts!" he exclaims. "The person who gets the attention first gets the interview!"

For Levein, however, online casting has not yet overtaken more conventional modes of communication. "You don`t want to lose the human touch that you get with one-on-one interaction. Speed is one thing, but the human element is also important."

Don`t Forget the Human Connection

Gary Marsh is the founder of Breakdown Services, one of the industry`s primary sources of information on casting needs. Although his company is actively involved in developing their online casting resource, The Link, in partnership with the Academy, he warns that many unscrupulous online casting companies view actors as easy targets for exploitation. "I think it holds marvelous promise and real viability for the future but also terrible pitfalls. Right now, the actor should not have to pay for this experiment."

In recent years, Marsh`s company formed an affiliation with Starcaster, combining talent information from the Academy Players Directory with production information from Breakdown Services. As Marsh says, "It`s not just about putting up a Web site and signing up actors. It`s about making connections between people."

Casting director Ricki Maslar, whose company has gone to all-electronic casting for certain projects, is currently in the process of casting a feature film set in Dallas using the Starcaster system. "I just received 200 submissions online this morning and I was able to do cuts and send them out by 5 o`clock. There were no FedEx charges, no trees were killed!"

At Maslar`s company, online casting is slowly proving its benefits in terms of speed and volume against decades of industry inertia and tradition. Maslar notes, "We`re not ready to replace the old system yet--we still need head shots for producers and directors. But as younger, more computer literate generations make their way into the industry, resistance is going to diminish."

According to Maslar, the future of electronic casting depends upon an industry that is often slow to embrace new technologies. "I`m one of the ones who fought it, but now I`m totally thrilled with the system!"