Commercial Casting Process – How to Cast a Commercial

The commercial casting process can seem hard if not approached correctly and with a good production company. To produce an effective commercial, we recommend you first approach or audition for various TV commercial production companies. This is key to finding a production company that aligns with the story you want to portray and with your brand values. 

Once selected, the chosen creative agency will put together a team to create your advert, which is when the creative process begins. Even though it may seem a complex process, after reading this blog, you will know all the keys to casting the perfect commercial. So, keep reading as we will outline the key components you should look at and be aware of during the production of your commercial.

Commercial Casting Process Explained

1. Getting your vision across

The casting director needs to gather as much information as possible about the story and the selling point you want to achieve for the casting process to run smoothly. Therefore, the clearer you get your vision across, the better as it will ensure the video has a clear purpose and it approaches the target efficiently.

At this stage, the director might discuss which elements should be included to make the advert engaging and memorable. 

2. Identifying the characters

At this stage, the director needs to understand and visualise how characters will appear, sound, and behave. Once this is clear and has received enough information about the characters, the casting director will send the requirements to certain agents to start advertising the roles online. Then, the agency looking through these requirements will send you the most suitable actors for your commercial. 

Something to be mindful though is that it is not just about the physical appearance of the characters but also about their character. Does their energy match? What about their charisma?

3. Auditioning actors

First, the casting director goes through all the headshots of the actors interested in the role and invites some of them to the audition. Next, certain company members and the casting director assess each of the selected candidates for the role. The director usually asks actors to act out various lines related to the commercial. Besides, it is common to ask actors to improvise to see their adaptability skills.  

The first audition is mainly used to filter out the candidates who are not suitable for the role. Contrarily, the next ones are used to see which candidates are the perfect fit for the commercial. 

As it is hard to make a decision, the TV advert production agency usually records the auditions to be able to go through them afterwards. Chances to select the wrong actor are then limited.

4. Deciding who to call back

Once the auditions are over and with the help of the reels summarising the auditions of the best candidates, the agency decides who to call back. During the callback, actors are asked to film themselves repeating their auditions. The best reels produced from the callback are then sent to the clients for them to make the final decision.

5. Final cast reels send to the client

The purpose of all the work carried out until this point was to find suitable actors for the client’s commercial but it is the client who has the final say. They are the ones deciding those actors who have what it takes to bring their vision to life. 

A well-managed process will not only make the client happy but also the TV commercial production company and the creative director. So, everyone must be on the same page. 

The process of casting a commercial (which can be quick or long) is a mixture of collaborative work between the client, the TV commercial production company, and the casting director. Therefore, it is important to maintain a good relationship between these parties for a successful, satisfying process. So, start thinking about a TV advert as it is an effective strategy.

Thank you for reading the post,

Melvin & Sara.

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Do you want to do a TV Advert for your business? Here at Impress Video, you will be able to do so with video production and marketing professionals. We make video production for businesses, the ones that impress. Don’t hesitate to contact us here!