Low Budget Film Director Actor Search

by Len Esten


Image by splorp

Once a film director has a good script and a crew it's probably time to find some actors. Most movies need actors and yours will likely be no different. With little money to throw into elaborate casting calls and even less to offer as salaries, low budget film directors need to get creative when getting actors for their movie.

Yourself

You might not have considered yourself a potential actor, but you are. Nobody will be as motivated to show up every day and get in front of that camera as you will. As long as you are on the set to direct you will also be there to act. You may not be a very good actor, but it's better than not having an actor. You can get a little acting training at a community college to sharpen your skills or you can just wing it. Or you might just keep yourself in mind if all else fails. Better to have a movie with you in it acting a fool than having no movie. See Primer and Twin Falls Idaho for examples of filmmakers as actors in their first film.

Friends, Relatives

You may not be able to act at all. You might freeze up on camera and stutter through your lines. If you can't be an actor maybe you can find some people close to you that can. You have friends and relatives that might just have what it takes to be in a movie. None of these people need be trained actors, you can just have them play characters close to their personalities and hope they don't get too nervous in front of the camera. A plus to having people close to you in a movie is that your social standing with them can keep them from quitting when it gets tough as long as you will be there afterward to return the favor.

Local Theaters, Drama Classes

Every city has at least one school and just about every school has a drama class. Most cities have local theaters and some cities have lots of them. There are people in your community that like acting and might be interested in being in your film. Get in touch with the teachers and speak to them about your project. They might have someone in mind to recommend to you. If you can join the class and see these actors on their feet it would be even better. Go see some local theater productions and get in touch with actors that strike you as talented.

Internet

The area you live in might not be concentrated enough to warrant a school or theater near you. You may live in an area that is far and wide, peppered with a bunch of small towns, but no center. The internet is the aggregator of the world, if there are people near you that want to be actors in your film you will find them on the internet. Most social networking sites have the ability to find people by zip code, state or country and interest. If there is a craigslist site for your area you can post ads and respond to ads to find actors. The internet will be the gathering point for people in your area if there is no such physical place.

You have acting resources at your disposal, you just need to find and harness them. Don't overlook the places that don't immediately come to mind. Any place where people perform, speak, or deal with people face to face can be a source. Get creative with what your community has to offer and you might be surprised with the outcome.


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