Casting Directors: How they Work, How they got into this Career

[iyemstoopid]

thanks for posting!! i always see her around soho with her dog

 

[Fontenrose]

Everybody Does Go-Sees

Not everybody makes it. Forty runway candidates audition for casting agent James Scully on a Wednesday in January.

By Emma Rosenblum
Published May 6, 2008

The first model arrives at 10 a.m. sharp. Her name’s Geidre and she’s pale, has curly hair, and possesses the otherworldly, limby model beauty that’s vaguely praying-mantis-like. She appears to have no breasts or hips; her thigh is about the size of model casting director James Scully’s upper arm. Geidre takes off her flat winter boots, puts on heels, and without a word, walks the length of the room, stops, turns, and walks back. Scully has her stand against a white wall with a bit of pink tape stuck to it. He takes her picture with a Polaroid camera as she stares ahead, expressionless. Then she’s gone; the whole encounter took about three minutes. “The tape is the six-foot marker. I just need to make sure they clear that in heels,” Scully explains. Geidre did, but that’s not enough to make the cut. “I do think that Geidre’s a diamond in the rough, but she’s just not ready yet,” Scully says in a low voice. The next girl stands by.

nymag




Scully is a casting director, show producer, a 25-year industry veteran, and one of a handful of prominent model scouts whom high-profile designers trust to assemble the 25 or so girls who will set the clients’ clothes off to perfection. He estimates that he has seen more than 30,000 models in the course of his career. Today—the Wednesday before Fashion Week—he’s working out of Derek Lam’s showroom in Chelsea, putting the finishing touches on the casts of Lam, Jason Wu, Carolina Herrera, Zac Posen, and Bill Blass. A stream of young women go through the same walk-tape-Polaroid ritual every few minutes.




In between arrivals, Scully tries to describe what makes a model right for a show. “For Herrera, I look for girls with richness and poise. They should have a bit of the Park Avenue matron in them,” he says. Derek Lam’s girls are “lighter, sexier, and more sensual.” He likes a model who has confidence in her walk, and a sense of ownership in the room. To the untrained eye, the process may seem amorphous, but Scully makes his decisions in a split second.
Next: Scully's notes on 40 appointments and their casting Polaroids.

 

[love.cat]

it would be so amazing to be a casting director.....it sounds a pretty hard job to get into though, so basically do casting directors work for themselves....i understand that some big companys have there own casting department but how about those that cast for magazines....

 

[loverdariafreja]

i have a question. but i dunno if its appropriate here or i should make a new a thread. ill just go along with it here.

i just did casting of models for a photoshoot today and it's my very first time. As a model enthusiast, I'm ashamed to say that I was completely clueless as to what to look out for during the casting. I was just awestruck. lol.

I realised I didnt know what questions to ask and what directions to give when taking the models' polaroids. All I did was look at the models' complexions and hair and their portfolios.

can somebody help me with this? because I plan to work in the modelling industry in the future. and please tell me how to stop being so awestruck by them? lol! I swear it was not helping today at all because i went all quiet and flushed.

 

[kasper!]

Is it common that some magazine editors cast models for the ed/cover directly(skip the casting director..)?I remember on an interview Carine Roitfeld said she needs to know the model fisrt and envisions how she looks like in the photoshot..

 

[Derin]

^ Actually most magazine editors prefer to do the casting on their own (together with the photographer) for the editorials/covers. In some cases an experienced casting director would want to help the crew even though he/she does not get direct credit for it. That is to strenghten their relationships with the agencies.

 

[kasper!]

Thanks for clearing it up for me.I'm just wondering is there any love-at-first-sight fairytale like "She is so amazing I'm gonna put her on the cover and give her a solo girl shoot right now".

Back to the topic,here's a pic of Mr Marsh,from modusdowalwalker.com

 

[cologne_rocks]

lol speaking to 80% these girls for one season and then never again

 

[ad31214]

Tbh I would love to be a casting director I watched an interview with Michelle Lee from KCD casting and she was actually and English literature major in college but ended up interning and then now casting shows. It really just requires knowledge of all the girls in the business, patience, and knowing what clients want.

 

[Flashbang]

Eddy Martin is a London-based casting director. Born in Paris, he studied fashion design before joining multi-brand press office Totem, where he worked on accounts including Raf Simons, Bernhard Willhelm and Walter van Beirendonck.

Moving to London to work for stylist and Another Man's Creative Director Alister Mackie, he spent three years assisting on a multitude of editorials and shows including Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Fendi and Marc by Marc Jacobs, before realising casting was his calling.

After establishing his casting company File and Parade in 2010, he has since cast for clients such as Fendi, Tod's, Topman, John Smedley, Lou Dalton and Shaun Samson. He has also worked on editorials for Matthew Stone, Venetia Scott, Cédric Buchet, Mel Bles, Gareth McConnell, for publications including Dazed & Confused, AnOther Man and Self Service. Here Martin fills us in on the art of casting and his favourite boys of the London AW13 collections.

"This season I cast the shows of Lou Dalton and Shaun Samson as well as the presentations of John Smedley and Baartmans and Siegel.

The recent introduction of London Collections: Men is a brilliant idea but the fact that it overlaps with Milan Fashion Week and that the models are generally paid less than in other big fashion capitals doesn't help to convince them to be around.

The challenge is then to put a casting together with great models and a clear sense of direction but with a lesser offering. It's not really about the big guns that you see in Milan (mainly) or Paris (although less commercial) but more about being creative and finding interesting new faces.

Lou Dalton and her stylist John McCarty like guys with strong features, there is always a slight oddness about the casting but we're always trying to keep it expensive.

Shaun Samson and his stylist Matthew Josephs have established a more urban look, we always especially bring in an amazing new face to open the show. Ethnic diversity is a major point and we usually like to do a bit of street casting.

My parents still don't quite understand what being a casting director is about and what 'special skills' might go into it. A lot of it is admin which isn't exactly the sexiest part of the job.

What really makes it worth it are these moments when everything – model, styling, light, hair, make-up – makes sense together, whether it's for an image or a fashion show. It doesn't happen all the time for a wide range of reasons but when it does, it is greatly satisfying.

The thrill of discovering an amazing new model, whether it is someone signed in an agency or someone I find myself on the street is also really addictive although this obsession we all have for the new, new, new might be a little ego driven. As we say in France, sometimes the best broths are made in the oldest pots.

Casting may feel subjective or esoteric or maybe just random for an outsider but somehow within the same circles, there is a taste and not that many solutions for one problem. That's why maybe the same 40 to 60 models do all the shows. There is always room for heated debates about particular models but there is a rather general consensus about what beauty is about.

I have my own taste, models I really believe in, and I try to stay true to it within my clients' requirements.

It is team work: you have to remind yourself that you can only be as good as your clients let you be. A casting director himself can't be responsible for setting trends and changing the face of modelling, you have to work with a designer/photographer/stylist who gives you a platform, share the same vision, pushes your own certainties and is influential enough to be heard."

dazeddigital.com

 

[Flashbang]

After working alongside leading casting director Russell Marsh, Adam Hindle has gone on to cast for some of fashions biggest names. With Autumn Winter 2013 Fashion week upon us, we caught up with him…

How did you get into casting?
I started out as a model, and moved into working at a production company. After about a year there I heard Russell Marsh was looking for a full time assistant which I went for-that lasted nine years! It was a really good experience, he’d been casting since the 80’s andwas already very well respected. There weren’t many casting directors at the time. He has so much experience so it was a great way to learn about casting.

What do you do when it’s not show season?
It’s mainly prepping. There used to be four collections a year with men’s and women’s, and now it’s double that! A client may want to go and do a variation of the same show in Shanghai and Tokyo, then look books, store openings, perfumes etc… there’s always stuff to do. Obviously there are quieter times, the summer is always quiet. Then there is the editorial work.

When did you launch your company?
I went on my own March last year.

Is there anything in particular you look for when booking a model?
Well, I think it’s probably fair to say that I’ve got a “type” with guys and girls, but I think it’s important to remember that it’s not only about you. You might pick someone and the client won’t agree. Occasionally, you turn up to a client and they say “these are the kind of girls we’re looking for” and it would actually just be Models.com’s top 20. At the end of the day it’s not about type, it’s about what’s right for the show or shoot. I’d say I like I quite like handsome women, healthy looking girls and guys who have character to their appearance, not too generic.

Which designers do you work for during fashion week?
In London: Roksanda Ilincic, Kinder Aggugini, Sass & Bide, Julien Macdonald. In Paris: Damir doma, Barbara Bui and Isabel Marant

We all know how hectic show season can get. Is that the case for you?
Yes. Ideally you’d never do two shows in one day. I once worked on three, one at 9am then 1pm then 7pm. Coordinating the fittings is always quite difficult. It’s at that point when you need someone to help because you can’t be in two places at once. Also, show season can work out quite well because you have a core of the same girls you like, and they will maybe do all three shows, so in some ways that makes it easier. But yeah, generally it’s really stressful.

Trends come and go season to season. Does this have a big effect on who you cast?
Seasonal lengths and shapes and stuff like that don’t really have much effect on the girls we choose. It tends to be a sort of Zeitgeist thing, based on what taste makers are thinking. I find it quite funny how some designers tend to do something quite similar without knowing that they are all doing the same thing. Often art books or great films come around at the same time, so perhapsthe designers draw their inspiration from similar popular new publications etc. But I don’t think it has a massive effect on the models, apart from if they’ve all recently been to the same country, then maybe they’ll use lots of amazing Dutch or Brazilian girls.

Are there any other roles within fashion you could see yourself moving into?
Well I think designers are people I really admire, so I’d love to do that but I do know it’s extremely hard! Being a photographer would be a great job, and I think model agencies are great if you’re working on the scouting side and development… I imagine it’s really rewarding.

Tell me the process involved in casting the models for show season.
I spend a fair amount of time on the internet and all those little blogs that people set up, they are always a good source. There’s always someone more obsessed….Then there are certain agencies I know have a good record of new faces so I take a look at their websites. Often I’ll look at who’s done the pre-collections, going around the agencies, meeting the girls themselves, seeing their material. It’s usually the week before the show when it’s the first big casting, most girls don’t arrive until later in the week so it’s just about making yourself aware of the new arrivals, gradually slotting the girls in and making last minute changes to make sure they are getting on the right flight at the right time. If I’m doing a show on the Friday evening, a lot of the girls arrive Friday morning, so you have to have the facilities to fit people in on the day. Then the questions come into your mind like “is this the girl, is it worth it, will she work in the outfit” so that is quite stressful.

Men’s fashion week recently added dates in London, which has now been part of the schedule for two seasons. Do you think this is a good thing?
Yeah it’s definitely a good thing. There are loads of great designers here. The last thing I worked on was the Savile Row designers, that just typify what’s great about London fashion, people like Tom Ford do their show here because he loves London. He’s really inspired by people like Savile Row, and so should everyone be inspired by it. I think it’s great for London to have a proper Women’s and Men’s fashion week.
London can sometimes be the city that misses out because the shows are too tightly packed into each season. Sometime models aren’t encouraged to come here, but there are big designers, important stylists and influential people working on the shows in London, so it’s smart to come

What advice would you give to a young model starting out in their first season?
I’d say look after yourself, try to get as much rest as possible. Present yourself as best you can, dress smartly but plainly. Choose clothes that show off your best assets, present yourself in a way that will sell you the best… it’s the stuff that development teams tell you. Listen to them! Be friendly and pleasant to everyone, and show a bit of good energy. That’s what people want to see, and could earn you a place in the show. If you have the wrong attitude it can work against you and stop you getting in the show.

How do you relax between shows?
I spend time with friends and family.

What’s your favourite designer?
Overall, Prada. I have liked the brand for a long time.

Do you have a favourite model?
I think Steph Hall is a really great success story. She’s been bubbling under for a bit, and it’s nice to see a girl like that get her break because she’s so beautiful and wants it, and has worked for it.

Finally, who would be your ultimate dinner date?
Ryan Frost

models1blog.com

 

[BetteT]

Moderator's Note:

Let's stay on topic, please ... which is the job of "Casting Director" is and how you get into it as a career. This forum is not about the people who work in fashion, it's about jobs and careers.

Certainly, you may offer information about individual casting directors, if that information talks about how they got into this business, their educational background and prior experience leading up to the job and what they do on the job. That is on topic and very helpful to an aspiring casting director.

 

[bluestar]

Does anyonè know if there is a course you can take about Casting? I would love to work with Brands and Models. If there's no course, should you take a business course first, and then try to get an internship?

 

[BetteT]

Read this thread ... there are several interviews about how casting directors got into this work ... and none of them took courses. All of them worked into it via assisting someone in the biz.

I believe that it's one of those fashion careers where you just sort of learn as you go and use your contacts. I would say that most casting directors probably worked in modeling agencies and/or talent agencies at first to learn the ropes of what clients are looking for then branched out to work for some of the actual clients. Or found work with a fashion show producer or designer who put on their own shows ... and learned that way. One worked for a fashion photographer, scouting locations at first.

I could be wrong but I don't this there are any serious "courses" and I don't think that anyone looks for "education" when they want a casting director. They hire people they know, who they trust can do the job.

 

[Flashbang]

Following the S/S15 menswear shows, AnOther speak to Casting Director extraordinaire Jess Hallett

Jess Hallett is credited as one of the best Casting Directors in the business, and has worked with designers including Alexander McQueen, Acne, Missoni and Rag & Bone. She started her career at Storm Models in the late nineties, quickly becoming Head Booker before co-founding Darling Productions with best friend Sarah Murray, which she ran for 9 years before branching out independently. While at Storm, Hallett helped to create the face of the 90s Supermodel, nurturing Naomi Campbell, Susie Bick and a young Kate Moss. She travelled the world with Moss during her early years and was maid of honour at her wedding.

This season, Hallett worked on Alexander McQueen, Zegna and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Following on from the menswear shows, AnOther caught up with Hallett to discuss her intuitive casting eye.

Did you always know you wanted to work in casting?
I don't think I knew casting existed but my teenage bedroom wall was covered in faces ripped out of magazines. you couldn't see the wall, it was absolutely covered. So maybe subconsciously I was always interested.

Can you talk through the casting process for Alexander McQueen, Ermenegildo Zegna and Marc by Marc Jacobs?
The clothes are very tailored at Alexander McQueen, and so the body shape is vital. The face that we look for is different from season to season, but it is always a strong, interesting face. The casting at Marc by Marc Jacobs was about individuals. We were looking for guys with their own look. We didn't want to use the same guys that everyone else was using. At Ermenegildo Zegna we also needed character. I really enjoyed doing that casting, it was very new compared to last season. I think we only had two faces from the previous show, but somehow it was a continuation.

Let's just say casting is always different. Each designer wants something else and that's what makes it fun, the challenge. Everyone is different, personality is everything.

What trends have you noticed amongst male models this season?
Summer is always a funny season as a lot of the boys are doing exams or looking for scholarships. I'm not sure about trends, I'm not so good at that. I just know what I like and whether they could work in my set up.

What keeps you going during fashion week?
Nervous energy and anxiety.

Where is your favourite place to unwind?
I love London. Home is where the heart is.

Do you have a favourite male model at the moment?
Not really, most of them are great. in fact very sweet, and cultured.

Do you have any pet hates with models?
When they walk in and say they are in a hurry and have to leave. I know that, it's fashion week. We are all busy, don't be rude.

The last thing that made you laugh?
The ridiculousness of it all. It's only fashion.

Text by Mhairi Graham

anothermag.com

 

[Flashbang]

Russell Marsh: Model maker

Mild-mannered Russell Marsh is the modelling world's backroom superman - as Prada's casting director he launched some of the biggest names on the catwalk. Now a free agent, he reveals what turns his head.

BY Phong Luu | 16 March 2013

He may have a weakness for The Archers on Radio 4 and a demeanour that's more professor than Pucci, but don't let that cosy exterior fool you. As Prada's casting director, 49-year-old Russell Marsh wielded the ultimate influence in the modelling world - a turn on the Prada catwalk seals a career - and Marsh has launched some of the most successful models in the business, including Lara Stone, Daria Werbowy and Gemma Ward. He has also spearheaded many of the casting trends in the industry (he predicts Dutch girls will be the Next Big Thing). But after a 15-year link-up with Prada, Marsh went freelance last year, working for the likes of Céline, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Victoria Beckham. You can bet your bottom dollar that he'll be behind some of the most arresting casts during this show season.

"I primarily cast for fashion shows, although I have done campaigns in the past for Prada. I very much liaise with the designers - working out the running order, which outfits suit which girls - though I am rarely given a brief. It's always exciting working with someone like Christopher Kane because he has such unusual ideas for what he wants - his references aren't always obvious. He'll go for girls who remind him of someone he went to school with, or with an attitude that evokes a character he grew up with.

I am always asked about what I look for, but I find it hard to put into words. Casting is such an instinctive thing. I adore Lara Stone. She looks like something out of a Vermeer painting. I saw beauty, but I also saw imperfection, which is what I like about the gap in her teeth. There was a feeling that she was insecure about it; there's something wonderful about seeing the beauty in people that they themselves don't necessarily see. Lindsey Wixson is extraordinary - she looks like a Tiny Tears doll. Daria Werbowy has that aristocratic, androgynous look I love.

I suppose that's why Miuccia Prada hired me - I had a specific taste that connected with hers. That's not to say I didn't go against type at Prada by casting Lara, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr and all those Victoria's Secret girls in the autumn/winter 2010 show. It's about reacting to what feels right at the time. People say I started the trend for eastern European girls, but I'm only responding to what the agencies are sending. There was a craze for Brazilian models in the mid-1990s; at the moment, there's demand for that very healthy, sporty look - which is what the Dutch girls offer. You see a lot of beautiful girls on the streets. That was what was great about the shows in the 1980s; designers would cast from the streets. When I started out in 1985 as an assistant to Mikel Rosen, who was producing fashion shows for who I consider to be the most influential designers at that time, such as Jean Muir and Body Map, it was a lot more diverse. Body Map, for example, didn't use models, but friends. The shows weren't shows in the sense they are now, they were much more performance. Models were encouraged to express their personalities; Pat Cleveland would twirl down the runway at Montana or Mugler. You don't see that any more. I think that robotic, single-file presentation started in the early 1990s grunge period, with designers such as Calvin Klein, Jil Sander and Marc Jacobs, perhaps as a reaction to what had gone on before.

Working for a house like Prada does open doors - agents will keep girls they think are special and only show them to specific people. But I can't dismiss the girls until I've seen them, in case I miss the next big thing. When I cast for the shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris - I do up to 15 per season - my two assistants and I see 400-450 girls. I then present an edited selection that could be appropriate to each designer - they can use up to 40 girls for their show. Each designer will use a different selection, but there are certain girls who cross over and work on all shows. When I first worked for Prada, the shows were much smaller, but the collections bigger - I would cast 15 girls, and they'd change and they'd change.

London has never been an obvious pit stop for the girls. There is never any money, so they bypass it. Even Alexander McQueen couldn't bring in the big girls. They'd go to Milan, where the money was, and skip London, pretty much the same way they do now. Those who come, such as Karlie Kloss, Joan Smalls and Liu Wen, do so because they like the spirit of the city. For me, London is one of the most exciting places to work because of the range of designers we have here. It doesn't faze me that I can't use 'names', as it spurs me on to look harder - Agne Konciute, for example, was a discovery who went on to do well in Paris last season.

When I was doing Sass & Bide in London for the first time last September, I was casting on the day from girls who had flown in straight from New York. You're up against all sorts of other problems. Some girls get taken out of London to go to castings in Milan for a show they're not necessarily going to get. But you just have to get on with it. Milan has its own issues to deal with, too. When I was doing Prada, top girls were being offered a lot more money to go and do the shows in Spain.

The rates for shows haven't changed much since the 1990s. It starts from about $1,000 per show, depending on the client, but, as far as I'm aware, the money isn't there now to be paying $10,000 that supermodels such as Linda Evangelista were getting. Maybe they were paid more because they were using fewer girls then. In Paris models don't get a lot because they have to pay so much tax - and it is probably the most hardcore of all the weeks because of the sheer number of shows. A lot of the bigger girls, like Natasha Poly and Daria, get to a point where they're moving to the next stage of their careers and don't want to do them any more because they're so intense.

The girls spend a huge period of time on a strict programme getting ready for the shows; they train at the gym and they eat a well-balanced diet. Being a model is like being a ballet dancer: it's a profession where your body has to be fit and toned. There are a few girls who eat as much as they like without putting on weight - but most have to work at it. If I see someone who looks like they're not looking after themselves, I flag that up with the agencies. I wouldn't work with a girl who I feel looks underweight, because I'm responsible for those girls; you can't do this job without caring about the people you work with."

fashion.telegraph.co.uk