Running a casting call
Accounts and access
Who can see my applicants?
- Casting director: the casting calls you opened or were added to.
- Producer: every casting call under the same company name.
- Admin: everything. The Open Casting team.
How do I add a colleague?
Open the casting call and share the whole call. We email them a link.
They can review that call's applicants and self-tapes. Only you can edit, publish, close, download or send the Yes list.
How do I send my Yes list to production?
Open the casting call and share the Yes list only. Production sees names, locations, photos and tapes, not contact details or cover notes.
They see the list as you sent it. The link opens in one browser and lasts 2 weeks.
How do applicants find my roles?
You send them the link from the casting call's page. They need no account. There is no public listing or search.
Anyone with the link can apply while the call is open.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Sign up with no card and no time limit. Everything is free until you publish, including sample applicants to review, mark Yes or No, and share.
What does a casting call cost?
One fee per casting call, paid when you publish. Choose a plan by the applicants you expect. Roles are unlimited.
If more apply, the call stays open. We invoice each extra applicant once, when the call closes. See the prices.
Casting Directors' Guild members pay 20% less on every plan. Tell us at sign-up.
What if my payment does not go through?
Nothing is charged and your call stays saved. Try again, or try another card. Still stuck? Contact us and we will sort it.
How do I change my sign-in email?
Contact us. We check it is you first.
Can I edit or take down a role?
Yes. Edit a role from its page. Changes show straight away. To stop applications, use Close early on the casting call. Closing deletes nothing.
Casting calls
Why does a role need a casting call?
The call holds the name, overview and opening and closing times. Every role follows them.
One role? New casting call makes both on one form, and your link opens on the role. Several? Set up the casting call first, then post each role.
When does my link start working?
When you publish and pay. Until then the call is a draft, and its link opens only for your team.
Publishing cannot be undone. To stop a call, use Close early.
How long do you keep applicants' details?
We delete them 30 days by default after the production end date, unless your agreement sets another period. The call’s page shows the date.
We delete names, emails, phone numbers, links, cover notes, photos and tapes. We keep the call, its roles and the counts.
Set the production end date to when the shoot or run ends, not when casting closes. Change it and the deletion date moves too.
We email you 14 days and 2 days before. Download what you need first. Deletion cannot be undone.
How do I download applicants' details?
From the casting call’s page. You get a spreadsheet, and a zip of tapes and photos by email link.
Only the casting director who opened the call can download or delete early.
When is the application form shown?
From the opening time to the closing time, unless you close early. Before and after, applicants can only read the roles.
Times are in UK time, or the shoot’s time zone if the call is set to the United States.
How does applying work?
Applicants give their details, then send the headshot or self-tape from a link we email. You see them once that is done.
Can I ask for more than one video?
Yes, up to 3, each with its own brief and length limit. Each must be sent. We check the limit before upload.
Does my casting call wait for approval?
We check who you are, not every call. Your company is approved once, when you sign up, in no more than 24 hours. Until then you can set up and save casting calls, but not publish or pay. When we say yes we email you a link to publish and pay. It is part of our safeguarding: it protects applicants, young people most of all, and keeps Open Casting for real productions. Nothing is charged before then.
What if my company is not approved?
We email you why. You can still set up and save casting calls, but they cannot go live. Contact us if we have this wrong, or to tell us more, and we will look again.
Can one person apply for two roles?
No. One application per email address per casting call.
Can I move a role to another casting call?
No. Post it again on the right call.
What does changing a casting call's times do?
It moves every role at once. Extending is safe. Shortening takes the form from anyone part-way through, so give notice.
The fields
- Casting call and overview
- Set once, shown on every role. Say what it is in one sentence.
- Production company
- Only you see it.
- If they have an agent
- Optional. Applicants with an agent see this text instead of the form.
- Character brief
- Who they are, not only what they look like.
- Requirements
- Only what is not negotiable. Preferences shrink your pool.
- Gender, playing age and inclusive casting
- Narrow a role only where the part has a genuine occupational requirement. You confirm this when you post it, and that the brief reads fairly.
- Playing age
- The range you would believe on screen or stage, not actual age.
- Self-tape
- Asking for one means you accept a tape instead of an audition in person. Say what to film. Applicants see it where they upload and in their email.
- Shoot dates
- Real dates, including fittings and rehearsals. People turn down work for them.
- Details you ask for
- We always ask for name, email and whether they are 18 or over. The rest is your choice.
- Terms for applicants
- Optional. Applicants tick to accept them. We store the wording they accepted, so later edits don't change it.
- A question about heritage, faith or disability
- Only where the role has a genuine occupational requirement, which you must state. Only you and the site administrator see answers. We delete them soon after casting closes.
Writing the terms
What should I put in the terms?
- Usage and buyout: territory, media, duration and what the fee covers.
- That applying creates no engagement or obligation on either side.
- Whether you pay for self-tape time or travel.
- How long you keep applicants’ details.
- Anything unusual: nudity or intimate content, stunts, animals, night shoots, a skill test.
Do the terms replace a contract?
No. The engagement still needs a contract covering money, usage and intimate content.
What about applicants under 18?
You must get a child performance licence from the local authority and provide a registered chaperone. Say so in your terms.
A parent or guardian applies, and we email them to confirm. Until they do, the applicant is not in your lists, counts or exports.
If nobody confirms within a week, we delete the application.
Applicants
What are my duties for the data?
Under UK GDPR your production is the controller of applicants’ personal data.
Use it only for this casting. Don't pass it to other productions. Keep it no longer than you need. Delete someone’s details if they ask.
What do the statuses mean?
Everybody starts as New. Mark them Yes or No on the role’s page or the review screen.
Neither sends the applicant anything. Your decisions are for your team, so you email applicants yourself when you are sure.
This is guidance, not legal advice. It is not a contract. If money, usage or a child is involved, take advice from Equity, an agent or a solicitor.