Brock has relied on Casting Networks for years as her primary casting platform, securing numerous acting opportunities along the way, including collaborations with with major brands such as Snapchat and Disney. Brock kindly offered her time to share her success stories, experiences and valuable audition advice.

How did you decide to become an actor?

I’ve always been the performer of my family. I was the kind of person that was rounding up my cousins to choreograph a dance or perform a skit, and then show our parents at the end when we’re done. The love of creating and of performing followed me into adulthood, too.

How did you first discover Casting Networks?

I discovered Casting Networks because it was the first site that people told me about when I moved to Los Angeles. They said, “Get on Casting Networks and start submitting yourself. You’ll start getting auditions and then you’ll book that way. A lot of agents also use Casting Networks.” This last part is especially true — I’ve had two agents and they both emphasized using Casting Networks.

What were some of your favorite jobs that you’ve ended up booking off of Casting Networks?

That’s really hard to answer because every job I booked was impactful in some way. The first job I booked on Casting Networks was what made me continue with the service. It was a Snapchat campaign.

It was a two-day shoot, [and] I met amazing people that I’m still friends with today. They ended up using one of the pictures on the Bitmoji app store, so I’m the face of Bitmoji because of that gig. Then I was able to get representation from booking that by myself.

Photo courtesy of Mandysa Brock.

The most impactful one was when I was able to bring my mom on. It was for Royal Bank of Canada. I had to speak in English, Parisian french, and Canadian French. They needed a French translator and my mother [who helps me with speaking French and is my dialect coach] was available, so she was able to help out and be on-set. That was really awesome and I got to dance too, which was the first time I did TikTok dancing. Yes, count me in!

Tell me about your experiences with the Volvo commercial and working with Disney. What were the processes like for each?

The experience of being on Volvo was also amazing. I self taped [for the first time] and had never had a callback over Zoom either, so that was interesting to stay in the realm of the computer. When we were brought on-set, they brought us to a beach and told us that we’re just going to be relaxing. We just have to have fun and have a lot of smiles. It’s a commercial, you’re trying to sell a Volvo.

I think the best part about that was that I got to drive the Volvo with a bunch of cameras and gear around me. That was really scary because they told me five minutes before I had to do that. I’m like, “how do you know I can drive, first of all?” That was really fun.

For Disney, that was a group audition. I love group auditions because you get to use your real friends sometimes. Most of the time I use my real friends or some actor friends I met in class. You just vibe with each other during the self tape. Then when we went on-set for Disney, [and] basically it’s the same thing. You’re just friends enjoying time together and they’re just going to shoot pictures around you. It’s pretty fun. It’s really … I don’t want to say simple, because it’s complicated to get there, but it’s really fulfilling to work with your friends and be able to follow your dreams as well.

What would you say helps someone succeed on Casting Networks?

I would definitely say fill out the notes section with a lot of details every time you submit for every job and make it specific to each job, of course. I also uploaded clips for pretty much every skill that I could film, even if I’m a novice, because there’s different levels on Casting Networks sometimes. For a lot of commercials, they don’t need someone to be a pro at something, they just want you to smile and be good at it to some extent.

Have clips on your Casting Networks, fill out the notes section every time you submit and update your profile regularly—and self-submit even if you have representation, because they can miss some things.

Photo courtesy of Mandysa Brock.

What’s the best way to approach an audition, and do you have any audition tips and advice you can share?

When it comes to, for example, a commercial audition, I like to research the company that I’m auditioning for, seeing the past work that they’ve released on YouTube. You can look up Volvo’s previous commercials and you can kind of see the vibes that they are going for. Same thing with film auditions.

I basically do research on the project before I look at what I need to do. I’m kind of a perfectionist, and this might not work for most people, but I like making sure that everything’s pretty much on par and perfect. Especially for commercials—they’re really picky sometimes. With film auditions, I try not to do more than two or three takes because then I get in my head.

I would say as an audition technique, be yourself. I know that’s so cliche, but it is really true. The auditions that I’ve landed where I was literally like, “I didn’t care about my nuances, the little lip twitch that I had, that [thing] I wanted to redo because it’s so embarrassing.” They don’t notice that, they actually like that. It’s a quirk and it’s interesting, because it stands out over the hundreds of auditions they see.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Did you book a role through Casting Networks? Tell us about it for a chance to be featured in an upcoming article.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

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The post Success Story: How Mandysa Brock’s Casting Networks Discovery Led to Booking Gigs With Volvo, Disney and Snapchat first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Success Story: How Mandysa Brock’s Casting Networks Discovery Led to Booking Gigs With Volvo, Disney and Snapchat appeared first on Casting Networks.

Aside from the game itself, Super Bowl commercials are the star of the event, providing us with some of the most creative advertising campaigns you’ll see all year. And finding the right cast plays a huge part. We wanted to congratulate commercial casting directors on their hard work and creative vision on their commercials. Super Bowl commercials are so celebrated, the day is possibly the only time where people look forward to them.

Speaking of which, did you know that some of your favorites were cast on Casting Networks?

From Uber Eats to Verizon, we’re bringing a collection of some of the many Super Bowl commercials showcasing actors on our platform.

If you were cast in one of this year’s Super Bowl commercials, let us know by sharing your success story !

Honorable Mention — State Farm: Like a Good Neighbaaa (feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito)

While shooting an action movie for State Farm, Arnold Schwarzenegger has trouble with his lines due to his accent. Danny DeVito shows up to correct him and give us the Twins reunion we didn’t know we needed. Why is this spot an honorable mention? It was cast on our sister site, Casting Frontier.

Cast by: Ryan Bernstein of RMB Casting and Beth Melsky of Beth Melsky Casting

Opendoor: Halftime Showing LIVE Conclusion

In a bold live commercial spot, the Couch family scores a touchdown of their own when they get their final offer on their house just in time to watch the rest of the game.

Cast by: Erica Henderson of Sharkbait Casting

Pizza Hut: Sweet Meats Heat: Pizza Hut’s Hottest New Power Couple

New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito and Antonia Gentry blow up the sports world and social media when the two are spotted walking into a limo with Pizza Hut. Gentry and Devito comment on the situation as “sweet and heat” and “hot honey,” which only adds to the frenzy as the truth isn’t as saucy as it seems.

Cast by: Brad Davis of Marquee Entertainment Casting / Brad Davis Casting

He Gets Us: Who is My Neighbor?

This quick spot showcases various images of people we see daily. It may be just 15 seconds, but it highlights an important life lesson.

Cast by: Rina Bale of Cast-O-Matic

Verizon: Can’t B Broken

In a quest to break Verizon, Beyonce achieves a cacophony of wild goals. Can she break Verizon, or will she have to settle for just breaking the internet?

Cast by: Kirkland Moody & Bobby Bolton of Clockwork Casting

Reese’s: Reese’s Cups Big Game Commercial 2024 | Yes!

A group of friends goes to the extremes when it comes to Reese’s caramel cups. Mixed signals from the narrator creates a world of chaos inside this house on game day.

Cast by: Kirkland Moody & Bobby Bolton of Clockwork Casting

Bud Light: Easy Night Out | Easy to Drink Easy to Enjoy

If you reached into your fridge for a Bud Light and a genie popped out, what would you wish for? This group of friends don’t waste any time on their desires and have an epic time, making more outrageous wishes along the way.

Cast by: Kirkland Moody & Bobby Bolton of Clockwork Casting

Carl’s Jr.: Jets | The Big Game | Free Burger Day

In a spot that screams Top Gun, two jet pilots are on a mission when one gets a craving for burgers. When he can’t help himself, he goes rogue in stunning fashion.

Cast by: Kirkland Moody & Bobby Bolton of Clockwork Casting

Doritos: Dina & Mita

A man gets more than he bargained for when he grabs the last bag of Doritos Dinamita, drawing the ire of Wednesday star Jenna Ortega’s abuelas, Dina and Mita. The poor guy gets sucked into an action movie as he’s hunted down for the explosive snack.

Cast by: Dan Bell of Dan Bell Casting and Liz Lewis and Aika Greenidge (assoc) of Liz Lewis Casting Partners

Uber Eats: Don’t Forget Uber Eats

Jennifer Aniston, Jelly Roll and a host of others invoke words of questionable wisdom to ensure they remember Uber Eats, leading to varying levels of awkward moments.

Cast by: Ross Lacy of Ross Lacy Casting
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Volkswagen: Big Game Commercial 2024

Volkswagen takes us through the car company’s 75 year history, providing a highlight reel of iconic moments in TV and film along the way as Neil Diamond’s “I Am, I Said” ties it all together.

Cast by: Dan Bell of Dan Bell Casting

Congratulations to all the casting directors and actors for all the hard work and dedication that went into making these spots happen!

Were you cast in a Super Bowl commercial? Share your success story with us today!

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The post 10 Super Bowl Commercials Cast on Casting Networks first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post 10 Super Bowl Commercials Cast on Casting Networks appeared first on Casting Networks.

It’s important to protect the industry from the danger of creating a culture of compromised situations that take advantage of actors’ time, terms of agreement and general treatment.

A lack of knowledge regarding how actors can protect themselves can lower industry standards. However, there are ways that an actor can take control and boost up the industry as opposed to being part of a disempowering trend.

All while striving to become union.

Here are points to consider regarding how much you are being paid before accepting a job. If you are doing a non-union spot, make well-thought-out decisions based on the following components of a spot.

Weigh the pros and cons.

Sometimes there are reasons to accept lower-paying jobs. For example, the role might be a great introduction to other opportunities. It could also be the type of role you don’t ordinarily do while wanting to expand your image. A third reason might be if you think it would be a great piece of film for your reel.

Don’t accept a job for low pay just because you are thrilled someone wants you.

Understand the usage of a spot.

Look and understand how the spot is being used. It could run regional, national, spot, foreign, internet, print or billboards. Find out so that you can determine if you are being paid a fair rate for your work.

Know the length of time the spot is being used.

The client may be using the commercial for weeks, months, years or in perpetuity.

Never accept anything in perpetuity. “In perpetuity” means they can use your image in this spot forever without having to compensate you for it.
In other words, when it comes to in perpetuity, you will only be paid to do the job. There are no residuals. In perpetuity can also create conflicts and potentially lock you out of other work forever.

Are they asking for conflicts?

A conflict means you cannot have another spot running with a conflicting product type. Some product conflicts include fast food, toothpaste, soft drinks, banks and shampoos.

For instance, if you’re doing a shampoo spot, be careful that you don’t agree to all hair products. Another example: if you’re doing a commercial for toothpaste without a whitener, don’t agree to toothpaste, whiteners and mouthwashes without being compensated for more than one product.

If you are doing a soft drink, you don’t want to agree to all drinks, as you would be cutting yourself out of milk and juices; that’s a triple conflict.

Be careful of the no-conflicts trap.

Another trap you could fall into is accepting a spot that is not asking for conflicts and thinking you are conflict-free.
Here’s the reality: even though that fast food restaurant commercial you have running is not asking you to hold a conflict, the other fast food restaurant would consider you as having a conflict.

Know how many hours you are being hired to shoot.

If the number of hours is not specified, you could be stuck at that shoot for as long as it takes — this could mean 12 hours or longer — with no overtime pay.
A typical payment for a non-union shoot covers 10 hours. Please note that non-union shoots usually push the boundaries of what they are asking for in relation to how much they are paying you. A union shoot day is eight hours and covers overtime.

Check that your contract matches the original terms of agreement.

Before you start shooting, you should see the deal memo or contract. Make sure it matches the original terms of agreement that you accepted at the time of the booking.

If you have an agent, they will see the contract the day before and check it over. If you don’t, you are handed the agreement the morning of the shoot.

As the talent, you will be putting yourself in a precarious situation by negotiating any fine points, as well as being the talent on the set.

Have agent protection.

It’s best to have an agent who will protect you and oversee your deals, as well as guide you as to when you are selling yourself short and downgrading the industry. Don’t go rogue on your agents by accepting and working on jobs without telling them.

Generally, accepting jobs with lower pay just to work can only lower industry standards, making it very hard for talent and agents to make a living. Be aware of union standards, and know the worth of your work while you are working towards union status.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover people like you. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

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The post How to Not Compromise the Commercial Acting Industry first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post How to Not Compromise the Commercial Acting Industry appeared first on Casting Networks.

The actor virtually sat down with Casting Networks to share how she managed to put together a self tape for the new Alfa Insurance® spot while on vacation in Joshua Tree, California.

“I play a photographer who specializes in dog photography,” Gonzalez Biziou told us when describing her role in the commercial. “It was a really fun spot to do.”

She revealed that the audition process included improv, with some of her one-liners making it to the final spot. You’ll have to watch the interview to find out what those lines are, but if you want to take a guess, view the commercial first.

As for how she landed the gig, Gonzalez Biziou told us that being away from her home — and the resulting energy — helped. “I think there’s something to that,” she said. “Just having that element of fun in there and having the unexpected — it allows you to be genuine.”

The actor also shared a moment of gratitude for the commercial’s director, Simon Marthinsen, as well as the whole CounterTake creative team. Booking the spot added to Gonzalez Biziou’s recent career momentum, which includes landing three commercials in a row.

Before the interview wrapped, she added one last takeaway gleaned from the Alfa Insurance® spot’s audition process.

“Don’t plan for everything,” she said. “Do all your work and then let things happen and be present with it and enjoy it.”

You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of My Casting Story.

—

This video interview has been edited and condensed.

There are plenty of strike-compliant roles available on Casting Networks. Sign up or log in and see what’s casting near you today!

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The post My Casting Story: Gabriella Gonzalez Biziou on Booking an Alfa Insurance® Spot first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post My Casting Story: Gabriella Gonzalez Biziou on Booking an Alfa Insurance® Spot appeared first on Casting Networks.

The get-to-know-you questions started with a query about Sanford’s moment of clarity regarding his casting career. He shared about his early days as an actor who then became intrigued with the work of casting through an internship and began freelancing for multiple casting directors. It got to the point where Sanford was choosing to miss auditions rather than miss a casting session, and it was at that moment the casting director realized it was what he wanted to do.

We next asked for a window into how he works, and Sanford’s response shared his appreciation for getting to connect with actors in person, as well as his dedication to creating a casting atmosphere where people feel safe and supported.

Then came the query that may just be the hallmark of our Get to Know the Casting Director series. If someone made a film about Sanford’s life, which actor would he cast to play the role of Michael? The casting director shared some names he’d been compared to when he was a young actor, but he decided on casting an unknown thespian for the role.

And then he flipped the question on the interviewer. In true casting director fashion, Sanford began naming actors that would be a good fit to play the interviewer, a first-time occurrence in the history of Get to Know the Casting Director.

Besides watching the interview to take in that flip-the-script moment, you can also find out the answer to our final question. We asked what Sanford would be doing if he weren’t in casting, and after sharing his response, the casting director ended the interview with a moment of appreciation for his chosen career. “I’m grateful that I’m still doing this,” Sanford shared. “I still really like what I do — I’m very lucky.”

You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of Get to Know the Casting Director.

—

This video interview has been edited and condensed.

There are plenty of strike-compliant roles available on Casting Networks. Sign up or login and see what’s casting near you today!

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The post Get to Know the Casting Director: Michael Sanford first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Get to Know the Casting Director: Michael Sanford appeared first on Casting Networks.

Why is claiming you are a local hire when you are actually not a dangerous situation both for the talent and production? How can this get you into costly trouble fulfilling your booking commitment as well as putting the production in jeopardy?

Let’s start with what local hire is. Local hire, when stated on a breakdown, means the project is only looking to hire people who live close to the place of work. Traditionally, mentioning local hire signals the reference to union talent payment guidelines.

These commercial union guidelines were set up to protect talent from the cost of spending their own money on transportation, travel days, housing and even gas money for driving to a location. Distances were worked out based on specified “zones.” For non-union jobs, industry standards try to follow the general union rule of thumb for the protection of talent.

Working on the assumption that you are a talent who is respected, professional, reliable and shows up at a shoot when accepting a booking, let’s go further into the meaning and reasoning local hire is called for, even beyond payment guidelines.

Look at how many days, hours and dollars the travel is going to cost you when air travel is involved. Importantly, how will weather conditions and other technical complications out of your control affect the ability to get to the shoot, and how will the change of shoot days, possibly called by production, affect your arrival commitment?

Alarmingly, in recent castings, some talent are making up their own definition of what local hire is, or are not aware of the fact that local hire was called for on the breakdown. I am finding on Zoom callbacks that talent might casually mention a city where they live. However, their area of residence is clearly a plane ride away from the shoot location. They say this seemingly oblivious to the fact that, somehow, they would have to get to the location.

Then, there are the talent who purposely avoid mentioning where they live because they are looking to book anything. They consider themselves local hire because they are willing to fly themselves to the job and have a place to stay at their own expense in the city of the shoot. Folks, that is not local hire.

Why is this dangerous to yourself as an actor and to the production? As an actor, you don’t want to put a production in jeopardy. On a non-union production I was casting, I had an actor who had booked the job directly (no agent involved), email me that they were stuck at the airport for two days due to bad weather trying to get a flight to Los Angeles. Although they were sorry, it would not be possible for them to make it to the shoot.

Upon calling the distressed actor who was still at the airport explaining their failed efforts to me, they were still claiming they were local hire because they were paying their own way to the shoot and they had a place to stay at no cost to production.

Local hire is proclaimed on a breakdown, not only to announce that no travel expenses will be paid, but to protect talent and production by avoiding the myriad of travel difficulties, that no one has control of, that can get in the way of you getting to where you have to be, with the result of ruining a shoot. Production has set time schedules, commitments to hired crews, location permits and rental equipment that all have costs involved. Not to mention scheduling to meet editing and on-air deadlines for ad placement.

When talent accepts a booking, they are agreeing to be at the booking, on time. A seasoned actor knows there could always be changes in shoot dates as well as even added dates. An educated actor knows if they don’t fulfill their commitment and can’t show up for the shoot, their agent will drop them, the casting office will never audition them again and they could even be held liable for expenses incurred by the production.

Actors, make smart decisions for a long and successful career. The Casting and talent community is based on trust with talent knowing casting has their backs and that casting relies on talent who have a solid reputation and honor their commitments.

There are plenty of strike-compliant roles available on Casting Networks. Sign up or login and see what’s casting near you today!

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The post Local Hire Explained: Why It’s Important and How to Avoid Complications first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Local Hire Explained: Why It’s Important and How to Avoid Complications appeared first on Casting Networks.

Ashlei Hazell is known for her work on film/TV projects that range from Lifetime’s Breaking Girl Code to Hulu’s Your Attention Please, but when she virtually sat down with Casting Networks, it was her recent LG Global commercial that was on the table.

The actor described in her own words the LG WashTower spot and her role in it. Then she pulled back the curtain on the audition process behind it, which technically started in March of 2022, according to Hazell. You’ll have to watch the above interview to find out how an audition last year connected to her 2023 booking, but we can tell you that the actor’s casting story comes with an emphasis on the importance of preparedness.

Upon booking the LG Global commercial, Hazell only had six days before she left the country to shoot it in South Korea. But, the actor had previously put in the work to assemble a travel kit that had everything she needed. Hazell detailed some of the items it contains, including self-tape equipment for any auditions that pop up, a dual-voltage hair dryer with a diffuser, and a speaker.

Hazell recognized how preparing for the big opportunity ahead of time positioned her well. “I will forever be grateful for the amount of success it set me up for,” she noted. Her casting story may just encourage other actors to stay ready so they don’t have to get ready for their big breaks.

Hazell (right) on set of the LG WashTower commercial shoot. Courtesy of Ashlei Hazell.

The thespian also spoke to a feeling that can come with self-taping — when it seems like your audition videos are just being sent off into space. “Sometimes you don’t hear anything, and it’s like, ‘Did it even get to the person?’” she added. “There’s that missing link of communication between your performance and whoever is viewing the performance.”

Hazell spoke about how that dynamic of self-taping can happen when actors are filming auditions from home. But when she got to set in South Korea for the LG Global shoot, the actor was able to fully feel the result of all her auditioning and preparation as it came to fruition. “I’m definitely supposed to be here — there’s no question,” she recalled thinking to herself. “Sometimes you forget [that] when you’re just making auditions in your bedroom.”

You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of My Casting Story. And those interested in seeing the LG Global spot that resulted from Hazell’s casting story can check out her performance in the commercial here.

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This video interview has been edited and condensed.

There are plenty of strike-compliant roles available on Casting Networks. Sign up or login and see what’s casting near you today!

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The post My Casting Story: Ashlei Hazell on Booking an LG Global Spot first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post My Casting Story: Ashlei Hazell on Booking an LG Global Spot appeared first on Casting Networks.

She took the time out of her busy day to chat about the business, advise real families signing up on Casting Networks and share her tips on auditioning with your own family for commercials.

Nice to meet you, Sylvia! So, tell me about your experience with Royal Caribbean and Casting Networks!

I just read the notice, and I was obsessed with it. I was like that is so our family. Because it was travel, I put it on the calendar, along with the shoot dates, travel dates, callback dates and when the audition was due, and I knew our agent would submit us for it. The audition deadline was approaching, and it was in person, so I knew when it was.

That’s so great!

I called her and said I was hoping we would audition for this, and we haven’t gotten it, and she reached out to them.

So obviously, you got called in.

Yup. So, we went up to LA twice (once for the audition and once for the callback). We live in San Diego. I knew we would get it when we walked out of the room.

How long have you been acting as a family?

My son started when he was five, and he’s 13 now, and I’d say within the first or second year, our agents started submitting us as a family. I remember my husband was like, “Did I ask to do this?”

It’s been so much fun. I mean, we love it, of course, even my husband.

How did you find out about Casting Networks?

Oh! I learned about Casting Networks from my agent, and now we have six different accounts! So, there are five family members, plus we have a family account.

Wow! Are there any tips you can give people who want to act with their family?

I love when they use real families in casting. I think that it’s if it’s something you like doing, there’s a lot of stuff for families. I think that keeping the pictures current is important. We try to update our family photos often, and I think having a family account and other pictures is super important, too.

What types of photos should acting families use?

We have pictures with James and I and Grayson, or just James and I, or just the kids. There are just different aspects of the real family that they’re looking for sometimes. When you’re not actors, I think the best thing for commercial and print work is to be yourself and to do what you do.

Tell me about your experience with the Royal Caribbean job you booked through Casting Networks.

It was perfect for our family. We love to travel. We all have our passports, and I remember before they booked us, they kept sending photos of these extreme water slides to our agent, and then she would say, they want to make sure you’re OK with this, and we’re like, yes, that looks so fun! They asked if we got motion sickness because we were flown from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale to Miami for a couple of days for the fitting, and then from there, out of Fort Lauderdale, we did take a tiny plane to a tiny island in the Bahamas, so for someone who doesn’t like that kind of stuff it would be scary.

It sounds like it was pretty fun.

I couldn’t have planned a vacation that fun. Every single day someone [was] doing my hair, my makeup, feeding my children, riding water slides. I’m just thankful that we got to experience something like that.

So, what are you up to now?

We just did a family one, including my mom, for Coca-Cola!

How fun! Is there anything else that can help the families out there who are looking to join Casting Networks or are thinking about it?

It is important to sign up for notifications even if you have an agent because we would have never gotten that job. You know, she submitted us, and for whatever reason, they didn’t pick us, but I was looking at it and knowing that our family would be a good fit for that. I think self-submissions are important, too, because maybe your agent didn’t submit you, or maybe there’s something that they don’t know about you, so I think it is important to take charge and partner with your agent and just read the stuff out there.

Also, don’t be afraid to dance and have fun in an audition. We have booked several family projects that involved dancing as part of the audition, and we are not good dancers.

If the client wanted everyone to be an actor, they would not cast real families. The real family roles are about your connection to each other, your personality and your ability to have fun. And when you can truly have fun in your audition, there are amazing places you will explore and wonderful people you will connect with in this industry.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Casting directors use Casting Networks every day to discover a family like yours. Sign up or log in today to get one step closer to your next role.

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The post Success Story: The Lawrence Family on Booking Royal Caribbean first appeared on Casting Networks.

The post Success Story: The Lawrence Family on Booking Royal Caribbean appeared first on Casting Networks.

For this round of A Day in the Life, we’re giving you a peek into the world of special effects art, which can include everything from prosthetic makeup to hyper-realistic heads that exactly match their respective actors.

Gwen Ramsey — an artist in the profession whose credits range from Fox’s The Resident to Peacock’s Angelyne to the latest Halloween film installments — took time out to provide a window into what all her role entails. Keep reading for the incredible, multi-step process that Ramsey and her team undergo with each piece, as well as the Robin Williams film that introduced her to the profession of special effects art.

Thanks so much for taking the time, Gwen, and I’d love to start with a definition of your role for those who might not know much about it. Can you give us an overview of what it means to be a special effects artist?

Thanks for having me. First, I’ll clarify that I work most often in our special effects studio, but I am on set every once in a while. Special effects artists tend to be a bunch of people who are very happy to be a part of the big picture while remaining behind the scenes in the quiet of their studio. [Laughs]

And our job entails a little bit of everything from props to puppets to fake babies to animals. Plus, we do prosthetic makeup, as well. That can be something subtle like a fake nose or something bigger, such as creating the look of severe trauma from a car accident.

Gwen Ramsey working on a character sculpture for a Miller Lite commercial. Photo by Brian Walsh.

It’s a broad spectrum, so a lot of special effects artists have an area of expertise that they lean toward. For example, I got my start in medical shows like Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1 and Code Black, so art related to that genre of film and TV is my strong suit. That can include creating what’s called a “likeness head,” which is a reproduction head of an actor. But in general, special effects artists have to be ready for anything. We could be working on a very small piece one day, then create a large-scale fake body another day and then do prosthetic makeup on a celebrity for a big feature film.

It’s so interesting to hear about the wide range of work that falls under the profession. Thanks for sharing that big-picture view of it, and let’s switch gears here to an average day in the life of a special effects artist for film and TV. What does the job entail?

Ideas for the project’s special effects art can sometimes be pretty grandiose, so we first establish what’s possible within the budget and timeframe. Then, we’ll see the actor we’re working off of for the piece.

We’ll either do a life cast or a 3-D scan of them to get the most accurate information possible because we’re normally building something that is custom to the person. We want to note all their anatomical details so we can, for example, pick up on their undertones and accurately color-match their skin for our reproduction piece. There’s also the matter of paying attention — as needed — to their hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, freckles or scars so we can properly duplicate them.

Ramsey (right) working on a replica of a cow cut down the middle for a season 10 episode of ‘American Horror Story.’ Photo by Brian Walsh.

Fascinating! And what’s a life cast?

A good reference for it is the scene in Mrs. Doubtfire when they’re covering Robin Williams’ face in that paste-like material. That movie was actually my first introduction to seeing the steps that go into making prosthetic makeup.

For a life cast, we use a medical grade silicone that we smooth on the actor to capture all of their skin detail. Once that cures, we put a plaster bandage over top, which makes a nice shell to protect and keep it in place. Then, we take everything off the actor and have a duplication of whatever it is we want to cast. That could be their hand, their whole head or their entire body. The range of what you can cast and then reproduce is pretty limitless.

It sounds like it! And once you have said life cast or 3-D scan, what happens next?

There are a lot of steps from there to get to the final product. I think people have a lot of misconceptions about special effects art, especially surrounding the process. There seems to be an idea that there’s a giant warehouse we all go to when we need something. We just have to go there, take something off the shelf, slap a little bit of paint on it and then it’s done. [Laughs] But in reality, everything we make starts as raw materials, and we go from there.

To create our pieces, we’ve stolen techniques from various other industries, especially the medical field. A lot of our work involves reproducing a copy of a copy of a copy of something in a different material.

How so?

Once we have our life cast — or 3-D scan — we’ll then mold it so it can be reproduced in clay. At that stage, we can make any needed adjustments. For example, with a medical show, they obviously can’t do an actual surgery on an actor whose character is undergoing a procedure. But, we can sculpt the clay of the actor’s relevant body part to where it looks and functions properly for that on-camera operation. I’ve actually done quite a few pieces involving brain surgeries, which involve researching the procedure and looking at a bunch of real images to figure out the best way of duplicating it.

So, with that example, everything would be sculpted into the clay copy of that actor’s head — the details related to the surgery, as well as the fine anatomical details unique to that person. We’d then check the reference photos to make sure we’re as close to a likeness of the actor as possible, which includes everything from the size of their pores to little wrinkles in their skin. Because, even if you don’t know why, your eye can detect if something is just a little off with the duplicate. Our goal is to make it as realistic and accurate as possible so that it doesn’t take away from the viewer’s ability to believe whatever is happening in the scene.

Likeness head — with blood rigging — of Halloween Ends character Doctor Mathis (Michael O’Leary) that Ramsey helped make for the film. Courtesy of Gwen Ramsey.

That makes sense. And what comes after the clay mold?

The piece will be remolded again so it can be reproduced in platinum silicone, which has a very lifelike feel. And we can adjust the silicone’s density to make it as soft or as stiff as needed so that any interaction with the piece on camera will look as real as possible.

Using the headpiece example, the person’s cheeks would likely be softer than the skin on top of their head that is right above their skull. So, we’re taking that into account when casting the silicone, as well as other details I mentioned like skin tone — the silicone is tinted accordingly during this stage. And once we’re done with the silicone mold, there are still a few more steps to go.

Wow.

[Laughs] So from there, we’ll smooth out any edges caused by seam lines that transferred from the mold. We’ll go in with more silicone to get rid of those so it all looks like one continuous, organic piece. Then we’ll paint it according to our reference photo of the actor, incorporating in any details that need to be added for the scene in which it’s being used. Whether the piece is for brain surgery or attached to a character who suffered serious trauma, we’ll need to add a lot of fabrication and paint to bring the relevant situation to life.

And then?

Then the piece gets its hair, a process which is mind-blowing to me because all the eyebrows and lashes are punched in one hair at a time.

It takes a whole group of people to make one piece possible, and Sasha Camacho oversees all the hair work on our team. I also have to shout out her husband, Vincent Van Dyke, who’s my boss. He’s an incredible mentor and talented in every aspect of this industry — I owe my career to him. I’ve been at Vincent Van Dyke Effects for nine years now, which is unheard of in this field.

We all have a personal investment in our work and take a lot of care with it. There’s often a very short turnaround to get things done — it can be less than a week to complete a piece from start to finish.

Likeness head featuring a removable neck tumor that Ramsey helped make for an on-camera surgery in an episode of The Resident. Courtesy of Gwen Ramsey.

That does not seem like a lot of time to complete the process you just described.

It’s crazy. Oftentimes, we’ll have a runner picking up a piece really early in the morning or late at night. When people ask me what my hours are as a special effects artist, I say, “You stay until the job is done.” A lot of love goes into the pieces, though. It would be nice to have more of a social life outside of work, but there’s so much personal gratification in seeing a piece — that you’ve had a hand in making from start to finish — go to set.

I bet! And before we wrap, can you share a standout moment from your career so far?

Our studio actually won an Emmy for working on Star Trek: Picard. At Vincent Van Dyke Effects, we specialize in realism, so being challenged to think outside the box with some of the really cool and unique alien designs was fun. Seeing the team put together something special for the show was definitely memorable, especially considering that my boss started our company with about three employees. And now we’ve grown to be capable of handling a beloved show that requires a massive scale of special effects. So, that was a standout job — I got to experience how we communicated effectively, pushed ourselves creatively, and still kept the love of the craft.

We couldn’t let the interview end without asking the obvious question that comes to mind after hearing about the extensive amount of medical research Ramsey conducts for related projects. When queried about the likelihood of her raising a hand on an airplane during a medical emergency — at least as the next best choice if a doctor were not onboard — Ramsey answered with a laugh that hinted at no.

“It is crazy how life plays out, though, because I’d originally planned on going into the medical field,” she added. “So I don’t know that I’d be competent in an emergency situation, but I might at least have an idea of what was happening.”

Those interested in learning more about Ramsey’s job as a special effects artist can find her on Instagram, where she shares examples of her work.

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This interview has been edited and condensed.

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The post A Day in the Life of a Special Effects Artist first appeared on Casting Networks.

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