Know exactly where you stand

Submitting to roles shouldn’t feel like throwing your resume into a black hole. Introducing transparency to the life of your Casting Billboard^® submissions helps you know where you stand and gain insights that can help you shape and refine your submission strategy.

Role Tracker displays critical information about your submissions including Project and Role Information, Submission Status, Submission Date, and the Date of Last Update. Submission statuses you’ll see include Submitted, Selected and Under Consideration.

Learn more: What is Role Tracker?

More new features at Casting Networks

Along with Role Tracker, we’ve also launched a pair of exciting new features that Premium members can take advantage of immediately.

Swappable media storage

Premium members now have 3.5 GB (currently unrestricted) of swappable media storage. No longer limited by the number of files, you can update photos, audio and videos as needed, ensuring your profile remains fresh and engaging, with the right media always on hand.

With swappable media, you can monitor media storage usage, including how much space your media uses, how much is used by different types of files, and the total amount of media storage available.

Any new media, whether added by you or your talent representative, counts towards your allocated storage capacity. However, swapping media is simple – just archive the files you no longer need to free up more space. Media is eligible for archiving 21 days after it is uploaded.

Learn more: Managing Your Media

Create reels on the go

Meeting tight submission deadlines just got easier. Brand new in the Casting Networks iOS app, all talent with a monthly or annual paid membership now can create and submit reels directly from the app, wherever and whenever you need them.

Check out Role Tracker now!

Go to Your Insights to find Role Tracker in your account. If you’re not yet a Premium member, we invite you to give Premium a try to take advantage of these new features and more.

The post Introducing Role Tracker, Exclusively for Premium Members first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Introducing Role Tracker, Exclusively for Premium Members appeared first on Casting Networks.

An Essential membership is anything but basic. When you choose Essential, you’ll get access to industry-leading features designed to showcase you and your acting career for $9.99 per month USD*, making it easier than ever to find and submit yourself to the perfect role.

* For international pricing, please see our support article: How much does Casting Networks cost?

Dive right in with unlimited submissions.

Submit yourself for any role, anytime. As an Essential member, you can see and apply to every role on Casting Billboard^® with no limits.

Perfect your profile with swappable media.

The Essential membership comes with 1 GB of swappable media storage for photo, video and audio files, enhancing your ability to continuously update photos and other media, ensuring your profile remains fresh and engaging.

You can monitor media storage usage, including how much space each file uses, how much is used by different types of files, and the total amount of media storage used.

Any new media, whether added by you or your talent representative, counts towards your allocated storage capacity. However, swapping media is simple – just archive the files you no longer need to free up more space. Media is eligible for archiving 21 days after it is uploaded. You can learn more about media management here.

Find representation with Talent Scout^®.

Essential members get access to our popular Talent Scout^® feature. When you opt into Talent Scout^®, your profile will be visible to talent agents and managers who are looking for fresh talent for their rosters.

Create reels on the go.

Away from home when a tight deadline hits your inbox? No problem. Now you can create, upload and submit reels from wherever you happen to be with the Casting Networks app for iOS. Don’t have the app yet? You can download it here.

Play on a level field.

Casting Networks is committed to enabling an equitable casting experience for all. Every performer who submits or auditions gets the same shot, regardless of their membership type.

Take control of your acting career.

If that all sounds right for you, we invite you to unlock Essential now.

To learn more about our new Essential membership, please visit our pricing and support pages.

The post Submit to Unlimited Casting Calls for Less with Casting Networks’ New Essential Membership first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Submit to Unlimited Casting Calls for Less with Casting Networks’ New Essential Membership appeared first on Casting Networks.

What is the best kind of media to request for my project?

When to ask for photos

When physical appearance is the most important criteria for your project, ask for photos. Some examples of projects for which photos are best include modeling, print or close-ups of a physical attribute such as hands. Sometimes, all you really need to see is a selfie. 

When to ask for videos

If the role you are casting has sides to read, or if a special skill is required, that’s when you should ask for videos. For example, If you need a figure skater, then you probably need to get a sense of their skills and requesting a video makes sense. Likewise for any speaking roles. 

When to ask for audio

Requesting audio is ideal when the sound of someone’s voice is the primary attribute that you need. Examples of suitable audio projects include voiceovers for commercials or casting for the voice of an animated character.

One final note for this section: If your project requires talent to sign a non-disclosure agreement, a PDF will be the best medium for it. 

What are the file requirements for each type of media?

Casting Networks accepts uploads that meet the following criteria:

Best practices for media requests

Now that you have a handle on the basics of what types of media to request and when, let’s take a look at some best practices for media requests.

Give clear, concise directions

When sending a media request, be specific about what you need to see. For video and audio files, suggest a clip length. Going back to the figure skating example above, requesting a 1-2 minute video that includes two jumps and two spins is more clear and direct than simply saying you want to see two minutes of ice skating.

Only ask for what you need 

Don’t ask for a video when a photo or audio clip will suffice, and limit your directions only to what you need for casting. Cutting down on the fluff you don’t need or want to see is both more efficient for you and more respectful of talent’s time. It’s a win-win.

Reiterate acceptable file types and size requirements

It’s always a good idea to give some direction on what types of files you prefer to see. Using photos as an example, you can ask for PNG or JPG, specify the photo orientation (portrait or landscape) and minimum/maximum dimensions like 800 x 1000.

If you have any additional questions, please visit our support page for more information.

Ready to get started? Log in to your project creator account to send a perfect media request today.

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The post How to Create Media Requests That Get Results first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post How to Create Media Requests That Get Results appeared first on Casting Networks.

Why did the team choose to develop Saved Search Notifications?

Saved Search Notifications was a high-priority feature because it provides a huge benefit to the entire Casting Networks ecosystem, especially to talent. This feature provides talent with full control over which roles they are notified about and the frequency of the notifications. This ensures that talent are connected to the right roles in the most efficient manner, along with providing casting directors with the most relevant submissions.

What were some of the challenges talent faced which prompted this effort?

Previous talent role notification options did not provide the flexibility for talent to be notified about roles outside of their profile specifications, nor did it allow for talent to indicate how often they were notified. We know role notification preferences and frequency are not one-size-fits-all and we wanted to build a tool that was flexible enough to accommodate many talent workflows.

What existing features do Saved Search Notifications complement and improve upon?

In September 2022, we launched the ability for talent to create Saved Searches on Casting Billboard®. This feature saves talent time as they can apply any saved search with just one click to see relevant roles and indicate a Saved Search as their Casting Billboard default. Saved Search Notifications builds on that feature by allowing talent to opt into notifications for the saved searches they create.

Can you tell us more about the opt-in feature and how talent can control the frequency of receiving Saved Search Notifications?

When creating or editing a Saved Search, talent can now opt-in to notifications for that saved search and determine how often the notifications are sent. Talent can choose to be notified as roles matching their saved search are published or can choose daily or weekly digests.

Talent can change their notification preferences for each saved search at any time and even choose not to be notified about roles for a particular saved search.

How will talent can benefit from using this feature, and how does it help them to see more targeted roles?

This feature gives talent full control over the role notifications they receive. They can set specific filter parameters matching criteria relevant to their profile, career goals and interests – and ensure they are notified about these roles in a way that best suits their personal workflow and schedule. Some talent may wish to be notified about roles the moment they’re published so they can submit immediately, while others prefer to review all relevant roles each morning and submit accordingly. Saved Search Notifications provide this flexibility and more.

Now that you know a little more about our process when it comes to creating new features, it’s time to test it out. Log into Casting Networks to start using Saved Search Notifications today!

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The post Behind the Feature: Saved Search Notifications first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Behind the Feature: Saved Search Notifications appeared first on Casting Networks.

Kurt, thank you so much for being with us, and it is such a feat you have accomplished of being in all four iterations of NCIS.

Really quickly — [pulls prosthetic leg into frame] — you should probably use “foot” not “feat.” [Laughs] I’m just messing with you. This is going to be a tough interview — I’m sorry.

[Laughs] I love it. And can you give us a little overview of your characters on the first three iterations of NCIS that you’ve been on so far ahead of this most recent one?

In NCIS — the first one — I played Freddie Lin, a guy who was injured overseas. I came parachuting into the scene, and it looks so real because I was dropped in on a 60-foot crane. That was really fun. Then for NCIS: LA, I was two characters [over five episodes]. I played Sullivan and Ferris. First, I was a good guy who was in a rehab center, ingratiating myself to the character Kensi. It made a little bit of an internet wave since Kensi and Deeks were really becoming an item, but they were having struggles. And then I pop up. I’m like, “Well, hello [Kensi], how are you doing? Would you like to have some beer and hang out afterwards?” And there were a lot of euphemisms about big trucks and big things. [Laughs] So, I had a really good arc.

NCIS: New Orleans was awesome because it had the second-highest amount of disabled people in a singular episode of television in television history. And I was the lead guy of that particular episode. It was written by Katherine Beattie, and I got to work with Daryl Chill Mitchell, who’s amazing and a wheelchair user who was injured in a motorcycle accident similar to mine. I also got to work with LeVar Burton, who directed that episode. And now getting to NCIS: Hawai’i season two — Chris Silber and Jan Nash are our showrunners, and I worked with some amazing people. And LeVar Burton is directing me again in this episode.

And you’ve said in the past that CBS is really doing disability representation right. Can you expand on that?

It’s a long process, right? We’ve still got a long way to go, but they’re really pushing [for it]. Claudia Lyon, for instance — she’s crushing it overseeing the [CBS] casting department by showing that people with disabilities can play non-disabled characters. In NCIS: Hawai’i, I’m a non-disabled character — the role has nothing to do with a prosthetic leg. And in NCIS: New Orleans, I played a disabled character, but it wasn’t a story about his disability. NCIS: LA was using the disability of the character so he could kind of sneak his way in [for story purposes]. And then before that, the [NCIS] character was all about his disability. So, you can see the progression in storytelling methodology to where disability is becoming normalized.

Characters are just now getting closer to who I am. I lost my leg in a motorcycle accident and then [did rehab and] relearned how to do backflips on bikes. And so [at CBS], they’re pushing for people with disabilities to be in all roles [including athletic ones]. I’ve met with the CBS president, Amy [Reisenbach], the studio executives and network executives, all of whom were lovely. They’ve all taken time to talk to me and talk to different organizations, trying to figure out where the problems are and how they can be an [active] ally — not just in tone but also in word and deed. They’re actively trying to incorporate the value of disabilities and disabled stories in a non-charity way. It doesn’t have to be [virtue-signaling] like, “We’re doing good.” Rather, they can be like, “That’s an interesting way to tell this story.” People with disabilities have a very unique experience. For example, what you learn from either being born with a disability or becoming disabled. What’s the value that comes from it? And I think [exploring] that is what CBS is driving at right now. Pretty cool — you know?

So cool! And now, I would love to hear before we wrap how you think your work across this series and its different iterations has impacted your career so far.

From the first show — NCIS — I met some really cool people, including Jason Kennedy, who’s amazing. And I think how it’s affected my career is that I got to meet more people and work with more people. They see that you can show up and do well. Working with repeated directors and repeated showrunners and repeated writers tells other filmmakers that I’m a guy you can rely on who does a great job. Then that propagates the next level of things. Now, maybe there is room to figure out storylines for me inside of a larger tentpole show as a [series] regular. Maybe that’s the next stage [in my career]. But you know, they say it takes you 10 to 15 years to become an overnight success. And they ain’t lying!

Yaeger’s episode of NCIS: Hawai’i airs April 10 on CBS, and those interested in keeping up with the actor’s career journey can find him on Instagram, where he frequently posts about work.

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This interview has been edited and condensed.

Ready to kick off your acting career? Join Casting Networks today to find your next role. 

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The post Kurt Yaeger Talks His Different Roles on All Four ‘NCIS’ Shows first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Kurt Yaeger Talks His Different Roles on All Four ‘NCIS’ Shows appeared first on Casting Networks.

It’s great to virtually meet you, Richard, and I’d love to kick things off with the beginning of your career journey. When was the moment you knew that casting was the job for you?

There were a couple of moments, and I’ll share two. The first is from when I was an actor. I started being a reader for auditions and loved that — I was still getting to act, but it wasn’t my butt on the line. [Laughs] I was often self-conscious as an actor, but when the focus was on somebody else, it was a whole different experience. Anyway, I had that moment of realizing I really enjoyed being a part of the audition process. I loved being in the room when the casting directors were discussing the differences between everyone and figuring out which direction they wanted to go. Casting allows me to use more of myself more of the time than acting did. In other words, it utilizes both the creative and technical sides of my brain since a big part of casting is also figuring out how to problem-solve and get things done efficiently. 

That makes sense. And what about the other moment?

A few years into casting, I was doing Curb Your Enthusiasm, and we were looking for an actor to play Larry David’s dad on the series. Shelley Berman came into the room, low-key as could be, which is notable considering he was one of America’s best improvisers. So, Shelley and Larry sit down — Larry would audition with everybody — and they just started improvising. One line after the other, they went back and forth, two masters of their craft at work right in front of us. It was incredible to watch, and I just felt so lucky to be in the room.

It sounds like it! Now jumping to present day and the recent release of ROAR, I have to ask how you assembled such an incredible cast for it. What can you tell us about the process, including how you found the right people for an anthology series that includes genres ranging all the way from horror to Western?

Let me start by saying that David Rubin and I cast this together. And our showrunners, Liz [Flahive] and Carly [Mensch], have this voice that served as a throughline between all the episodes. It’s this powerful, female-centered, and passionate voice that has a lot of anger and a lot of humor to it. And before David and I even came on the project, Nicole Kidman — who also executive produces the series — was already slated to star in one of the episodes. And I think that created an understanding of the quality level of the production, which in turn attracted others to the project. We needed actors with star power who could deal with complex material featuring magical realism and do it with a drive and energy that compelled you to watch. It’s a particular group of people who can do that, and for most of the parts, we aimed high. We wanted to see how high we could get, and we got some great ones!

With names like Cynthia Erivo, Issa Rae, Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Merritt Wever and Meera Syal on the ROAR cast list, I’d say you did!

But for the series’ Western installment, we went in the exact opposite direction of star names. That episode addresses how young women are not given a voice, and we wanted to cast people who were relatively unknown in the two main female roles. So, we opened the doors and auditioned hundreds of young actors in order to find the right people for those roles, which ended up being Fivel Stewart and Kara Hayward. That’s one thing I love about casting — you can be looking for famous Hollywood names or for actors who are not as known, but they can be just as impactful in their roles.

I love that. And now it’s time for my favorite question to ask casting. If someone made a film about your life story, which actor would you cast to play the role of Richard Hicks? Feel free to provide a few casting options.

Let’s see. I would say Ewan McGregor for his sly, self-confident charm and David Hyde Pierce for his wit and hairline. And then Ralph Fiennes is the inner me. He’s who I am on the inside. [Laughs] I mean, in my dreams, I’m the glowering, mega-star Ralph Fiennes.

Those are all fantastic choices! Switching gears here, it’s not every day that I get to talk with a former president of Casting Society. Can you share a memory from that experience with us?

Advocating for the casting community is something that’s very precious to me, which is an important part of that role. So since it connects, I’m going to share a related memory from back in 2005 when we organized casting directors in LA and New York to come together and stand up for ourselves. We were the only department heads at the time who weren’t represented by a union, even though we also deserved the healthcare, welfare, and pension benefits that come from being in a union. Producers ignored our call for change. I was a part of organizing the casting community to prepare to go on strike, which was a huge gamble for us. We have mortgages and kids and fears about paying the bills if we’re not working, just like everyone else. But, our goals were bigger than our fears. One night in January of 2004, tempers were high when the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) brushed us off yet again. Our negotiators let them know that they had to get back to the table or we were going to go on strike that very night. We’d successfully planned for that moment, and it took them by surprise. The producers came back to negotiate, and we worked out an agreement that allowed us to unionize.

Wow. That sounds like quite a moment!

There was this big meeting later that night with all the casting directors and associates in LA. We walked into the room and said to our colleagues, “There will be no strike.” There was 10 minutes of cheering, clapping, and crying because we’d done something everyone thought was impossible. Impossible — but we did it!  Our community was able to unionize because of who we are and who we see ourselves to be when we stick together. It was beautiful.

Thank you for sharing such an impactful story, Richard. And before we wrap, I have to ask a fun, last get-to-know-you question. I’ll start by saying that you obviously have a passion for what you do and have seen much success as a casting director. But in a hypothetical situation in which you had to choose a different career, what would it be?

The answer to that question has changed over the years. Now, I would say that if I weren’t in casting, I would be a teacher or a politician or do something spiritual. I’ll say that as I’ve gotten older, I need less things and what matters more to me is what I’m going to leave behind.

From Hicks’ passion for his work to his passion for effecting positive change — and everything in between — this has been a window into the person behind all the casting credits. Those interested in learning more about the stacked list of film and TV titles on his resume can find them listed on IMDb.

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This interview has been edited and condensed. 

The post Get To Know the Casting Director: Richard Hicks  first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Get To Know the Casting Director: Richard Hicks  appeared first on Casting Networks.