The highs and lows of casting and pitching
Well, its been an interesting few days! At the weekend we moved pre-production up a level and began casting for Silent Terror. I put together a posting for Shooting People and submitted it to the Casting bulletin. The response was great and I have had more applicants for this film than any previously, by some distance. It was obviously great to begin looking forward to this exciting new phase of development. I then opened up the Shooting People Filmmakers bulletin yesterday morning and began reading Ben Blaine’s blog, as I often do. It was related to casting, so I thought it would be particularly relevant. I was then shocked to see that I was the source of the blog! Ben was not too impressed with my casting notice and how I had pitched the project. I certainly came down to earth with a little bump.
My filmmaking career feels like it has often been an uphill struggle so far, probably most of my own making, and I am no stranger to rejection and criticism. It’s all par for the course in such a competitive industry and you have to ride through it if you want to become successful. I can certainly understand why a lot of people give up along the way, at times it is difficult to take. If you can keep going though, each time you get knocked down, you get back up that much stronger. Anyway, this critique by Ben once again opened the door to that nagging feeling I should pack my bags and head off home. Going back into production, making another film, and an experimental one at that, I’m about to put myself right up there on the block, ready for knocking down… Still, I managed to vanquish those thoughts, again. I want to succeed in filmmaking and if my pride is at risk for that goal, then so be it.
I won’t run through exactly what Ben said, as you can read it for yourself by following the link at the bottom. The general gist however was that my casting notice left a little to be desired. I had left out some important elements and not provided sufficient detail, therefore, potentially painting the project and myself in a poor light. In many ways Ben was right and I will learn from the experience to improve how I pitch my projects in the future. I was upset at how I was portrayed to a large audience of my peers however, and this feeling was reinforced when I read some of the comments following the blog. So, I wrote a reply which hopefully set the record straight and kept my reputation intact. Ben has subsequently been very gracious and posted a message in the Shooting People Casting bulletin acknowledging my reply. He has also posted a further blog on the issue, making some good points, and he has emailed me personally. I greatly respect Ben for the manner in which he has handled himself since my reply and I thank him for clarifying the issue to his large readership and Shooting People members.
The end result of all this? The small taster of criticism has probably set me up ready to face the music when Silent Terror is finished! If you can ever be prepared for criticism that is. More importantly, some key issues have been raised as to the quality of casting and pitching a project, not just for me, but for all those looking to obtain help from unpaid collaborators, cast and crew. It is crucial to clearly show the merits of the project when asking people to collaborate with you, investing their time, effort and talent for free. It is obvious a lot of actors feel exploited by the low budget industry and if you have a project that offers them a real opportunity to contribute to something worthwhile, which they can also draw something beneficial from, then you really need to sell it to them in the right way. I have never and do not take the help offered by collaborators for granted. I have now learnt that it is essential to fully demonstrate this from the very outset. At the end of day, we are all striving for the same goal, making great films, so lets work together and make it happen.
Check out Ben’s original blog, http://shootingpeople.org/bensblog/2010/02/not-a-good-casting/, where you can also see my reply at the bottom.
His follow up blog is here, http://shootingpeople.org/bensblog/2010/02/precisely-the-point/.
It’s also worth noting that Ben’s blog has been included in MovieMaker’s 50 Best Blogs 2010 list.
