One of the key rules to getting good sound is to always move the microphone either closer or further away from the action rather than altering the sound levels on the machine. This keeps the background level more or less consistent.

Sound recording within a studio environment is obviously more controllable and less problematic. But what happens when you are outside? One of the secrets of good sound recording when you’re on location out in the wild countryside (or at least a bus ride away) is microphone selection and placement. Although the ideal ‘place’ for placement may often be difficult to achieve due to blocking and lighting issues and boom shadows, cramped spaces, odd background noises and so on. It’s a reality on a lot of shoots, that where the best spot is for the sound crew, is a little lower down the scale of priorities after camera position and actors.

Wherever you are shooting the sound recordist will monitor the sound for each take, indicating problem areas and lines, listening for over head aircraft, cars zooming by or crew members chatting (shut the f**k up!) outside by the coffee and doughnuts. They will also get as many ‘atmospheres’ as they can for each of the locations. These are recordings of the background noise of each location. These are invaluable for the soundtrack in the edit for joining and smoothing shots.

It is always a very good idea to include the sound team on any locations reccy’s that the production arrange. Often a sound recordist can highlight important issues that may create problems on the day for recording and waste valuable time.

Microphone types:

1. Omnidirectional mics: These pick up sound from..you guessed it..every direction equally. They are occasionally used for radio mics.
2. Uni-directional mics: This is usually a singer’s microphone on a stage. The microphone’s pick-up pattern ignores sound from behind it. It captures sound from one direction only.
3. Cardioid: This mic has a heart shaped pick-up pattern hence the name. There are variations such as the Hyper-cardiod and the Super-cardiod which have very directional response fields. They are normally used in speech recording.
4. Shotgun mic: A highly directional mic with great frontal pick-up and sensitivity that is good for dialogue capture whilst the recordist stays out of shot. A ‘Sennheiser 416’ is a classic example of the directional mic.
5. Radio mics/Wireless mics: These are small microphones hidden in an actor’s clothing or pockets etc. You will usually see them in broadcast interview situations worn on jacket lapels. They have their own small battery pack which is usually worn at the back and tucked into a belt. Radio mics are very useful in certain situation when booming is impossible.

Sound tips.

If it’s a dark scene have the boom operator put some white camera tape at the end of the boom mic so that the camera operator can see it better.
Don’t shoot near airports.
If the actors are too noisy have them take their shoes off…but nothing else.
Don’t turn up to set naked otherwise you’ll get a reputation for being “That naked sound recordist?..You know, the crazy one that’s always naked.”

“I think with an ultra-low budget film I would be happy to recoup my investment and break even. To me this would be a success. If I made a small profit, I would view it as a bonus. Do you think your projects have the potential to do this? If you have three in post, it suggests you are already pro-active and probably have plenty of ideas for future films. Ideally, you would want everyone to pay a little to see your movies and for all the hard work that you and the team will have put in. But, that just isn’t the reality right now, in some instances, with all the download sites available.

For a lot of film-makers operating at the low to no budget level, the rewards will not be financial but will come in the form of experience, confidence, knowledge and maybe reputation, with the added possibility of being offered future ‘paid’ work. Tying yourself up in mental knots about how much money you won’t be making, will only stifle your creativity and your problem solving ability.
For a film to be downloaded 42,000 times is, arguably, a form of success? No? Then how do you combat this situation? Mm. Tricky. There are a lot of people thinking about it, with better brains than me. Swallow it? I think the least you can do is splash your website name (I assume you have a website for your movies?) all over the credits, both beginning and end. If you get downloaded a lot, that should drive some curious traffic to you. But then you need something there to hold people’s interest. Think of ways you can monetise your website to add extra income. Posters, T-shirts, DVD’s, advertising, other website exclusive pods. How about a film for watching in instalments? What about a donation box if they liked your film?

“Please help hungry and soiled film-makers”

I sometimes wake up in a cold sweat knowing that film-making and film distribution is going through important changes and we happen to be stuck in the middle of it. Interesting times. Maybe we should have been born twenty years ago? But then, no digital, no internet, no film-maker forum. We’ve got to be forward thinking.

Why bother you ask? Don’t, if you want to make money. At ultra-low budget level, It’s a distraction. It’s the wrong focus.

In general, we need to start thinking differently. Mini-studios, our own equipment, red-cam’s, green screens, web-distribution, our own t.v channels, more brainpower devoted to marketing but that’s up a level or two. How serious do you get? I’m going on too much. You’re a producer, I’m sure you know all this and were probably feeling a little dispirited when you mailed. I sympathize, I do, so I apologize if I’ve stated anything too obvious.So why bother? Because you love it, you know you do! Keep working, keep making films.”

The audition itself:

When you’re assistant brings in the auditioning actor for the first time, introduce yourself. Don’t hide behind a table all aloof, get up and shake hands, bow, curtsey, whatever is your thing, but interact. You are the charismatic director after all and you want to create the right impression.

Introduce your own assistant actor, if you have one. Run through the process or you’re assistant might have already done it.

What is the process? It’s this:

The actor, having read the script pages, will have begun the process of interpretation of the material. They can now begin to audition for you. You can explain that you want to see what their initial impression is and what they bring to it. Explain also that you will run through the material at least three times so you are not going to kick them out after the first attempt. This will help Bob or Meryl to relax and steady themselves. Bob will need to hold the pages in his hand too as no-one can memorise that quick.

Watch the first attempt.

It will probably be disjointed, rushed, out of rhythm. It’s hard to remember that no-one else is as familiar with these words as you and how the characters sound and act in your mind’s eye. You will have to let go somewhat, of any pre-conceived ideas about how someone should sound or look like as this just limits you and could cut you off from finding someone who is really good but doesn’t “look right”. Of course there are certain parameters for how a character should look but try not to be too stubborn about it. Be open to whatever comes up.

Give some feedback

You’re going to be a director, you’ll have to get used to giving feedback all the time. Be as positive as you can without bull-shitting.Now you will have to come up with a suggestion about how to play the scene. Depending upon your script analysis that you have already spent time doing (right?), you will have an idea on how the scene should go. This idea should now inform your directorial choice. Is the scene tense, violent, romantic? There will be layers of subtlety within the writing, subtext and mood changes that you won’t be able to do justice to in this short period of time but you will need to find a way to bring the essence of the scene to light and communicate this to the actor.

Give ‘playable‘ directions

Depending on your material, give them a playable direction. For instance, the scene is tense with two men who don’t trust each other. The direction is “You’re impatient to leave. You have to get out of this room.”

Obviously you don’t want them to physically leave the room and if the actor walks out the door, assume you haven’t explained yourself properly. So staying in the room, how does the actor communicate that feeling of frustration and of being trapped through his spoken words and his body language?

Don’t use directions such as “be afraid, be nervous.” This is ok if you’re making a cartoon but not if you’re dealing with real people, (check out Judith Weston’s book, “Directing actors”).

Watching the next attempt

Continue to work with the actor, giving feedback and more playable directions. If you are close to what you want, then carry on along that way. If not, try the complete opposite.

In the case of the above example you could say, “Intimidate this other guy, make him leave the room!” Again, don’t use something like “be angry, be aggressive”. These types of directions have no goal, they are just states. They can mean many different things and lead to questions such as “how angry, how aggressive?” Try to combine direction with goals, objectives, purpose. This gives an actor something to grasp.

Remember to have fun with it; this type of collaboration is a creative process and an exciting one.

At the end of each audition thank the person involved for their time and effort.

Summary of the process:

1. First read through: actors interpretation
2. Second read through: with basic playable direction from you.
3. Third read through: observations from the previous two attempts, try opposite direction.
4. Fourth read through: go crazy.

The day of the audition:

1. Arrive early.
2. Set-up the space
3. Camera set-up.
4. Brief your ‘assisting’ actor.
5. Have your assistant prepare the ‘sides’.

Arrive before the actors!

Set-up

Get to your audition venue and set-up. Clear the space you’re using and make room for your candidates.

Do you have a camera?

It is a great idea to have a camera at the location to record the performances. This is necessary for reminding yourself later of each audition and watching for nuance and insight that you might have missed on the day. Ideally, have someone else operate.

The camera should be static and a wide enough angle to capture full body shots of all the actors involved plus all of their movement. You don’t want close-ups; you should be watching faces with your eyes, not hiding behind a lens. Later on you can review whether the actors are using their bodies well, whether they are stiff, uncomfortable with physical closeness, have ticks etc, all this will be on the camera footage.

Just to add, your location should be lit brightly enough for filming and you should state that the footage shot will not be used for anything other than private viewing, i.e. for purposes of reviewing these auditions.

Having another actor present

If possible get another person, preferably another actor or if not an actor somebody with some life about them, who can read well and put some emotion into it. Don’t get a friend who is afraid to read out loud. It is better not to read yourself as part of your awareness is taken up with conscious processing of the lines and you as the director need to focus on the subtlety of performance.

Having another actor there also helps you to direct the auditionees because you can prime your actor-assistant with instructions to make it different, change their lines, move differently and so on. This is all to see how your candidates adapt and react to new, surprise or subtle changes in direction.

Make notes

Make notes on each audition, marking down your instinctive impressions about the person performing, whether they followed your direction and so on. The most important quality for an actor is being able to “listen” not just to you and your instructions but to the other actor they are working with. Really good actors are always listening which is another way of saying they respond in the moment to what’s happening, they react to the people in their environment. So you could say that you want “reactors” not actors.

The material

Have your assistant hand out the “sides”, which are the one or two pages of material to perform. It would be good, ideal even, to have pages from your own script. The benefit of using your own script is it gives the actors a chance to assess your film for its content, don’t forget they might choose not to do it! Many actors will obviously be looking for good show-reel footage and even if desperate won’t do just anything for the sake of it. Often it is a good idea to use well written, established dialogue material that you’re familiar with. Not that your stuff isn’t well written, I’m sure it is.

(You could send the audition piece to people via email but this only works if everyone gets it. Those that do get it will have more time to work on the lines, if they choose to, whereas some who don’t get it are then put at a disadvantage come the audition. If everyone sees the material for the first time when they arrive then it is a level playing field and more accurate for you to judge.)

1. Advertise the roles.
2. Organise c.v.’s and show reels to watch.
3. Eliminate the ones you can’t use.
4. Short-list your preferred artists.
5. Organise a location for auditions.
6. Contact your candidates.

Advertising your film

Start by advertising your film, with a basic description of the story and the roles offered, in trade magazines, on-line and so on; that way you will have enough choice for your auditions. Be honest about what kind of film you’re making. If it’s independent and with a small budget then say so. It’s better to let people know what they are getting into up front. I mean, if there is no money to pay artists, are you going to feed them, pay travel expenses? You better do one of these, preferably both!

Organise the paperwork

Wait for those c.v.’s to roll in over the next week or so. Some that are posted to you will come with stamped address envelopes for return. If they are not the actors for you, try and return the c.v.’s if you can, because sending professional pictures to directors can be a costly expense for impoverished actors.

Try and find actors with short film or feature film experience as well as theatre; they will know the ropes to some extent. Look at their skills and hobbies, do you need martial arts, horse riding or rock climbers? Stage combat is a good one if you want to shoot simple fights. Most actors have some experience of this. More complex fighting though will obviously need a fight or stunt coordinator.

Eliminate people you don’t want

It is difficult to choose who to eliminate when you haven’t met anybody but the picture and the C.V. is usually all you have. Some more web savvy people are now posting show reels on-line and this trend should increase but it’s not the norm yet. For your film though, be aware that an actor with only credits in theatre will, generally, have no film vocabulary to work with, they will be unfamiliar with hitting marks for camera, sound levels and so on. They may be wonderful performers on the stage but a possible hindrance on a film set.

Shortlist

Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential candidates, sort them into male and female. When casting for roles it is better to see all women or all men at the same time in order to better compare gender roles rather than a random mix of boy, girl, boy etc.

Location hunting

Find a location in which to conduct your auditions. It has to have enough space for your actors to move around. Actors will need to move their bodies to relax and demonstrate physicality during the audition. Without this there will be no life and no opportunity for someone to show you what they can do.

Get in touch

Contact the actors you have chosen and let them know your dates and politely ask if they can make it on these times. If your budget is tight they will have to make the day you suggest. If they can’t, you can scratch them from the list. If you have more flexibility, say two days, then they can come to either and this gives them a chance to make arrangements and you more choice over who to eventually cast. Whether you have one day or two, split the day into morning and afternoon. Keep the morning for men and the afternoon for women or vice versa. Have each actor pencilled in at staggered times such as follows:

Day 1

11.00am: first actor “Bruce”
11.20am: second actor “Marlon”
11.40am: third actor “Al”

Lunch break 12.00-12.30pm

12.30pm: fourth actor “Meryl”
12.50pm fifth actor “Madonna”
13.10pm sixth actor “Julia”

Twenty minutes should be a minimum for you to assess each person, if you can spend more time with each person then that would be better. It all depends on how many people you have to see, how much time in the location, how many days etc.

Note: this is the time you will see them but you will want to tell them to arrive fifteen to twenty minutes before their allotted time as this will enable them to read the script and form a basic idea, opinion and approach to their performance. Without this time the audition will be messy and confused as the candidate will be fluffing lines and stumbling all over the place.
Also confirm these times again with the actors to make sure they are coming, either by phone or email.

Give yourself some contingency time too, as inevitably, someone will be lost, late or delayed.