Brooke Thomas Casting

I have been casting for over 25 years and seen many changes occur in the commercial casting world.  The outcome of a couple of SAG strikes and the rise of more improvisation and “real people” have changed the commercial casting world for the better, in my view.

3 Trends in Commercial Casting 

Three of the latest trends are also positive and can only make things better for producers and their clients. Among them...

1.     The SAG Low Budget Digital Waiver. If you have a commercial budget under $50,000 the Low Budget Digital Waiver allows you to hire SAG talent for Internet and New Media commercials.  There are no set rates – all talent fees are negotiable.  This allows producers to get great SAG talent for...

Attention Commercial Producers: I’m pleased to introduce a new service called “Studio-Free Casting” from Brooke Thomas Casting!

Now, in addition to my full-service casting with auditions in my Manhattan studio locations, I offer producers the option to find talent without the time and expense of using a studio.

Why studio-free casting?

Commercial spots are increasingly made for the web and social media. As such, budgets for production have gone down significantly and sometimes producers just don’t have the budget to do full-on studio castings. That’s where studio-free casting comes in.

Brooke Thomas Casting can now provide different ways to avoid expensive studio costs and still find you the talent you need. Casting by video reels,...

The casting is over, callback completed and your client has made its choices. You are ready to book your talent for the commercial. This is the most important step in the casting process as there are many details that need to be agreed upon so there are no problems down the production road. The devil’s in the details!

Non-Union Bookings

Producers: Here are some things to remember when booking NON-UNION talent:

1. If you need a fitting, don’t assume it’s free. Talent must be compensated something for their time. Offering even $50 is sufficient.

2. Be clear on how many hours you are booking the talent for. Generally an 8-10 hour day is acceptable. Anything over that should be stipulated and overtime pay should be considered.

3. Once the talent is...

George Costanza’s hand modeling career was short lived.

I often cast commercials that need SAG hand models. Yep, in the casting world they’re called “hand jobs.” Producers will often ask me range of questions about a hand modeling job, so here are some typical questions-and-answers that can help you as a producer get the hand job done.

Q: Are hand models required to be paid when they audition?

A: Yes. Under the SAG commercial contract, all hand models required to audition must be paid for the audition. This rule does not apply to non-union jobs.

Q: What is the current rate for SAG hand model auditions?

A: The SAG hand model pricing has different rates and rules governing both the audition process and rate. The current rate for a hand...

Producers & Ad Agencies: Do you know what the “creative fee” is and when it applies for actors who audition for your commercials?

My connections to the NYC improv scene have proven beneficial in giving agencies and directors top-notch funny actors and rising stars to audition for their spots. Improv comedians are sought for commercials precisely because of their creative flair they bring to an audition. Indeed, some of their improvised antics in the reading of commercial copy can spark new directions for an agency or the director.

These unsolicited, spontaneous sparks of creative impulse on the part of the auditioning improv actor reading copy is a wonderful value-add in the casting process. However, producers who are expecting...

As a casting director, a question I hear often from producers is “How much should I pay for non-union talent in a commercial?” This is asked on nearly every non-union job I bid on. The simple answer is there are no standard rates for non-union work, the choice is yours. But in a more nuanced consideration, here are 5 things to consider when budgeting that can help you determine how much to pay...

What's my availability for a casting? That's usually the first question I get from producers when they call. They share the production detail specs and I invariably ask them the questions below. These questions are a good checklist for producers to know before contacting a casting director for a commercial. Here you go... 

1. Where will it be running? (eg. national network, cable, internet, etc.)
In many cases this will determine the quality of talent that will come in for the casting.  Let's say you are producing a fast-food commercial with union talent that is running only in the South and is holding a fast-food conflict.  Any actor that books your spot would be taken out of the running for a national...

When a producer contacts a casting director to cast talent for a TV commercial, there are two types of information exchanges. The first is what I characterize as a "preliminary spec" and it includes the production details that allow a casting director to give a cost estimate for the job. This includes the basic requirements of the casting, like the project/brand name, shoot date, number of actors, union or non-union and the like. 

The second exchange is about the talent.  Age, gender, ethnicity, personality type, a visual look, and even special skills of the talent is understood here in the context of the brand and the creative vision of the director for the commercial. Everything from the objective talent requirements to the...

I cast this spot for Optimum TV. It's inventive, funny, and makes the point about the product. But what I love about the spot is that almost all of the principal characters who booked the job are past students of mine in the "Brooke & Mary" class for commercial actors. Check it out. Props to the humor of comedian Coleman Green who's pretty funny in pink.

When producer Cathy Cooper first contacted me about casting Metro PCS she laid it on the line. "This job is going to be huge.  Are you up for it"? How hard could it be I thought? And so began one of the largest commercial casting jobs I've ever done. France-based Luc Janin, a highly talented director, had not yet done a job in the States so I was to be his first casting director to work with in the US.  He and I had several video chats prior to casting so his vision for the commercials and the scope of the casting were clear.  

For three different commercials, I found and cast over 75 principals with many different and unusual skills.  Flex dancers, ping pong players, runners, musicians, dirigido...