I’ve been released - what does it mean?
Release message
You’ve had the dreaded release message saying you will not be required for the availability check you received. But why?
Firstly, its important to know, that receiving a release message is a very common thing when doing supporting artist work - even more important to remember is, its not personal!
There are a number of reasons why someone gets released - we will try help explain why they happen.
More people than we need:
We have more people available than we need. As a process, we need to check more people than we need. We don’t know your availability all the time, you might be booked elsewhere or even on holiday. So we have to contact a lot of people just to get a small amount booked.
When casting, we find productions like a variety of choice when casting. A good rule of thumb is 1 in 3. This is a competitive industry - the barriers to entry are low and the requirements are high. Therefore, productions like to see 3 options for every 1 role.
This may seem unfair but its part of why productions use us. There are 3 different departments involved in casting the background and you need to be approved by all 3. Costume, hair and make up and the Director and their assistant directors. Therefore its crucial we provide a selection of people to choose from.
Things changed:
It happens all the time. The scene might have been dropped or rescheduled. Maybe they cut the amount of people they need. Perhaps an actor went ill or they ran out of costumes… The list goes on…
You were not right for the production:
You didn’t answer favourably to the specifics they needed. Perhaps you were unwilling to clean shave, or your hair is dyed. Your hair might be too short or too long. Perhaps you are not a driver and the location is remote, with an early call time and there is no assistance provided by production. Unfortunately we do not have time to go through exact reasons - sometimes we do not know ourselves.
Did you upload selfies?
This is is the biggest reason people do not get chosen. Even the most experienced get complacent or forget to do it. Production want to see recent pictures and they can see the date you uploaded your photos. If your photos are older than 2 weeks, most hair and make up departments will reject you - why? Well, we can guarantee there will be someone else who HAS uploaded recent pictures - and the importance of the recent photos is that each show has a design to it, dictated by accuracy to the period its set in or by design of the show by its creators. If you turn up and your hair is suddenly too short or is a different colour - its a waste of everyones time and they might argue about paying you!
We recommend uploading current-look photos at least once every month or immediately after you have had a dramatic hair cut.
Click here to learn more about how to upload selfies.
Optimising Your Profile
Make sure your photos are recent and that they are in the correct photo slots.
Fill in as many measurements as possible.
Profiles with no Chest/Dress or Waist measurements will be ignored by our bookers.
We search by measurements to find Doubles and Stand-In roles.
Ensure all contact information is correct and up-to-date.
We often chase last minute bookings over the phone.
Have an Emergency Contact.
Keep your home address up-to-date.
Some productions require artists to live within a certain radius of the filming location.
Compensation for travel expenses is sometimes calculated using your listed home address.
Be sure to fill in your skills, experience, training and spoken languages etc.
Roles that demand prior experience or a specific skillset are very common.
Artists with particular skills have a higher chance of booking.
Responding to Enquiries
Quick and accurate responses to enquiries are essential.
We find that we receive the first 75% of the responses within the first 20 minutes of sending the enquiry. We usually leave enquiries open for 24 hours for those that cannot respond immediately, but productions often want to see options as soon as possible.