How To Find The Best Cast & Crew For Your Independent Film Production

Assembling the right team of people is one of the most important parts of the filmmaking process!

Photo by Steven Van on Unsplash

As an independent filmmaker, assembling together the right team of people to bring your vision to life can sometimes be a challenge, especially since most independent productions are working with a very limited budget.

I usually like to find my team in the following order:

1. People that I already personally know that I think would be a good fit for this particular project. — This is my favorite way to have someone come onboard a project, because since I already know them, I already know what to expect from this person, and I know that they’re someone that I enjoy working with, and who will be able to do whatever it is that I’m contacting them to do.
2. People that are referred to me by someone that I personally know. — For me, this is the second best way to have someone join a project, because if they’re referred by someone that I know and trust, then I can be confident that if this person is vouching for them, then they should be able to do whatever would be needed from them for this project.
3. People that I find via ads that I post on places such as Backstage, Craigslist, or social media. — Whoever I find via this route is a wild card! However, most of the people that I’ve found this way have been great!

After I’ve found the people that I’m considering for a particular production, I usually will hold in person auditions for the actors or ask them to submit a video audition and conduct phone interviews with the various potential crew members. However, sometimes I may just view the person’s reel, and that may be all that I need to see. Also, sometimes if the person is someone that I either already know or someone who was referred to me by someone that I know, I might know that they’re exactly what I’m looking for without me having to do anything except contact them and find out if they’re interested and available on the filming dates.

After all of the team members are onboard, hopefully everyone works well together, and then they can work together again on future projects.