The actor director decides who was recalled to the ad, right?
No, this is a very common misunderstanding. In fact, the business callback is decided by two political parties: directors and advertising agencies.
The actor director usually has a brief conversation with the director based on his understanding of the script, which determines that the two groups will independently choose their own favorites talent pool. The actors directors coordinate the debugging scene, and the directors and agencies then create their respective cast lists that they want to see in the callback.
If both the agency and the director feel good about the options, the CD plans to callback from these selection lists. If the director or agent thinks that more options are needed, or changes the casting norms based on what is found in the first round of auditions (such as age, race, height, new perfection needs), more actor meetings or more actors may be needed. Often, this is the latter choice, as bringing some new actors to the callback is not as expensive as adding another full audition session.
For actors, this is really a good message if you find yourself in a commercial callback but audition for the first time: you are there, because the CD thinks that you might be the ideal answer to the question given the more specific feedback. For CDs, receiving these cast lists is always a more accurate understanding of the director and advertising agency’s vision for the project, and then how the callback session will take place. This is the well-known moment when rubber fits the road, as the face of the story is in focus. Ideally, there are a lot of overlapping names on these lists – a good sign when all decision makers respond to the same person.
But many times there isn’t much overlap on these lists. After all, personal taste is a natural subjective thing. For example, in my actor days, I have been part of many commercial callbacks, and in my actor days, the agency called back, with specific looks that matched the universe they wanted to create for the product, and the actors who directed callback performed the desired performance quality. And if there isn’t some over-parenting between these lists, there will be some real compromises involved, and there’s a good chance the actors will miss that evening’s dinner in an attempt to resolve some decisions. As an actor, though, you rarely know if you are an institution, a director, or both. Most importantly, people with decision-making power believe you can do the job and hope to see you again. That’s the truth, when you go into a callback, you should be empowered!
Matt Miller It is the restored actor director
Current Commercial Director and
Occasionally ASC lecturer. Check out Matt’s website
Check out some of his work!
