Direct Cast Help - Posting a Project

Thank you for your interest in posting a project on Casting Networks!

You'll have the ability to post a Direct Cast project and receive submissions from over 70,000 actors. Casting Networks is your one-stop talent shop for your independent filmmaking, theatrical and video needs. We can do everything from helping you find actors to distributing your sides, all at a price that everyone can afford: FREE!
 

Create a Project
  1. Click on "Post a Project" on the menu to the left.

  2. A contact information page will pop-up. Fill out the fields listed on the page (fields marked with an * are required). We recommend using an email address other than AOL. You can get a free yahoo or hotmail email address by visiting www.yahoo.com or www.hotmail.com.

  3. When you've finished filling out the required fields, click SAVE.

  4. A screen will be generated beginning with the word "Congratulations!" This screen will contain your user name and password. Print this page and save it for your records.

  5. Clicking SAVE will also automatically send a confirmation e-mail to the e-mail address you provided. You must confirm your e-mail address before your username and password are activated.

  6. Open your e-mail account, and find the Casting Networks e-mail in your inbox. Open the e-mail, and confirm by clicking the link at the bottom of the e-mail.

  7. A new page will open up congratulating you for confirming your e-mail address. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to type in your login information. NOTE: Usernames and passwords are not case sensitive.

  8. The first time you login to your account, you will be asked to accept our terms of use. You must click ACCEPT TERMS OF USE in order to proceed. Click here to view a copy of Casting Network's Terms of Use for Direct Cast Users.

  9. Once you have logged in, click on the button marked CREATE A PROJECT.

  10. From here, you will need to fill in the fields from top to bottom. If there are fields that do not pertain to your project, simply leave them blank. Please be aware that Casting Networks will not approve a project that includes links to another webpage.

  11. Once you have finished filling in the pertinent information, click SAVE & CONTINUE at the bottom of the page.

  12. You will be taken to a page prompting you to add roles to your project. Enter the appropriate information, and click ADD ROLE. NOTE: You MUST enter a gender, an age range, and at least one ethnicity.

  13. Continue with Step 13 until you've added all of the roles to your project. Click RETURN TO PROJECT.

  14. Review your project. You can edit any project information by clicking EDIT PROJECT. You can make changes to the roles by clicking ADD/EDIT ROLES.

  15. Please allow a 24 hour turn around period for project approval. You will receive a confirmation email and a User Guide once your project has been approved.

 
Viewing Talent and Making Selections

There are three columns next to the character description that will allow you to view talent and make selections.

Example:

Unviewed Viewed Selections Role Spot/Episode Role Description
8 0 0 Male    Other / Male / All / 10-50    
2 0 0 Female   Other / Female / All / 10-50    

The number underneath "unviewed" is the number of submissions for each role that you haven't looked at yet (this number will continue to grow the longer you leave your project up). Click on the number to peruse the submissions.

On this page, you'll see a collection of talents' submitted portfolios. You'll notice around each photo is a multitude of letters and buttons and information about the actor (example below).

P --- If you see a 'P' next to the photo, it means that this talent has additional photos available. If you click on the 'P', you'll be able to see their other looks.

R --- If there is an 'R' next to the photo, there is a resume available for you to view. You can either click on the 'R' or the actual photo to pull up the resume. Additional photos will also appear on the resume page. You can click on any of the photos to make them bigger.

M --- If you have more than one role that you're casting, you can move talent between the roles (for example, if you think a talent's look is better suited to a different role than they've submitted themselves for). Click on the 'M'. A new window will pop up with the actor's picture. There will be a list of the other roles available on that project. Highlight the role that you'd like to move the talent into, and click MOVE TALENT.

F --- 'F' is a favorites folder. If you're familiar with a talent's work, you can move them into a favorites folder (similar to a filing cabinet) so that you always have access to them. Click on the 'F'. This will bring up a new window with the actor's picture. Select the folder that you'd like to add them to by clicking on it on the left. Click ADD TO FOLDER next to the talent's picture. Their photo will be saved in that folder. If you would like to start a new folder, click NEW FOLDER on the bottom left.

N --- The 'N' button is for adding notes to an actor's photo (ex. "great actress"). The notes will show up underneath the photo.

Underneath the photo is a button named SELECT. If you are interested in bringing in an actor for an audition, click SELECT. This will move the talent to your Selections column.

When you've finished making your selections on the page, click on MARK PAGE VIEWED (located at the top of the screen in the middle). This will move all of the talent on that page into the Viewed column. Click NEXT (underneath MARK PAGE VIEWED) to move onto the next page of submissions.

When you've gone through all of the submissions, you can return to the project by clicking on RETURN TO PROJECT from the drop-down menu located in the upper left corner of the screen.

Continue with the above steps until you've gone through and made selections for each role that is being cast.

 

Contacting the Talent

Once you've finished making all of your selections, return to the project. Click the button on the top right that says SELECTION REPORT. This will open a new page listing all of the people that you've chosen to see for this project. It will also list the contact information that the talent provided when they submitted themselves for the role. You can either choose to contact them via e-mail or phone.

 

Other Features

When making selections, you will notice two pull-down menus in the upper left corner of the screen. We've already covered how the one on the left will bring you back to the project page. On that menu, you'll also have the ability to move between unviewed, viewed, and selected talent on that role. On the "actions" pull-down menu, you'll have the ability to add talent to your selects that haven't been submitted (by taking them from a favorites folder). You'll also be able to e-mail a list of the people you've selected to anyone (for example, if a producer is interested in viewing the people you're bringing in, you can e-mail the talent's pictures to that producer) by clicking SEND SELECTS ONLY.

If you have sides for your project that you would like us to post on the website, you can fax them to (323)462-6470.

If you have any questions that haven't been explained here, or if you'd like us to expand on any of the topics covered here, please feel free to call us at (323)462-8200 or e-mail to directcast@castingnetworks.com.

 

Casting Networks reserves the right to refuse to post any project.
Please refer to the Direct Cast™ Terms of Use.