How to cast your talent

How to cast your talent.  Are you about to create a video and need to work out who should be your onscreen talent?  Then this episode will help you figure out who they should be.  An actor, a personality or a real person.  How do you decide who's going to best share your message?

It sounds pretty simple, pick the person who's going to best represent your brand or tell your message to your audience.

But if you use an actor, what if they don't sound authentic?  If you use an expert, what if they talk in a way that's hard to understand? Should you cast a real person? What if they fudge their lines?  (Disclaimer: I'm not suggesting actors aren't real).

There's actually quite a bit to think about.  So we've put together this episode of the Moonshine Moonshot series on How to cast your talent.  It will help you with some of the key considerations.

Don't forget to subscribe to Moonshine Agency's Moonshine Moonshot podcast on your favourite podcast platform.

Or

YouTube channel to get all the latest episodes of the Moonshine Moonshot series. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58nfY3gDeEuytZT_ZWQhaw

Moonshine Agency Facebook @moonshinestories https://www.facebook.com/MoonshineStories/
Instagram @moonshineagency https://www.instagram.com/moonshineagency/
Twitter @moonshineagency https://twitter.com/MoonshineAgency
LinkedIn Mike Hill  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehillmoonshineagency/
LinkedIn Sue Collins https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-collins-moonshine-agency/
LinkedIn Company Page Moonshine Agency https://www.linkedin.com/company/2554319/admin/

📩 Want to stay up to date with the latest? Head to www.thedocumentaryfilmmaker.com to join our weekly newsletter and get all resources to make you the best impact filmmaker in the business. 

Find & Follow The Documentary Filmmaker on social:
Website: www.thedocumentaryfilmmaker.com
Facebook:
Instagram: @TheDocumentaryFilmmakerPodcast
LinkedIn: Sue Collins [Host] || The Documentary Filmmaker [ Company Page]

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We're going to be talking about how to cast your talent and so you may have noticed I have my producer glasses on.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

And I've got my big phone because today we're talking about talent and that means that you're going to be a producer, you may need one of these and you definitely need a pair of these. So today on the Moonshine Moonshot podcast, how to cast video talent for your next video production.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Well welcome everyone. I'm Sue Collins.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

I'm Mike Hill.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

And we're pretty excited to be talking about this because we've been doing this for quite a long time now and there's quite a few things that are good to know when you are first getting started on picking talent for your video.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Oh my goodness. I was reading some amazing stats that were published on LinkedIn the other day about how popular video has become, you know, and and the uptake is just phenomenal. So this has got to be a key part of your communications toolkit. And as part of that toolkit, you're going to need to cast for your videos. And that's going to be the topic of today's conversation.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

So when when you think about casting, you probably your mind instantly goes to actors, and traditionally, actors are what you would use in any kind of scripted drama, feature film, and anything that's scripted really.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

And sometimes that's a really good choice for online videos, web videos, other options also can include real people, which is the big trend right now is using real people. Other options as well are experts, expert voices, influencers, and consumers. So we're going to be talking about all of those today.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

And how do you pick the right one for your video? So I think the first thing you've really got to drill down into is what's the message? Like what is the message that you're trying to tell, and who's going to be the right person to tell that message? Because it's really important that your audience actually relate to the person that they're seeing on screen.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Right on. So you can refer to our podcast about strategic communications planning to really drill down and get your key messages worked out. Once you've got those key messages, the next step is who's the messenger, who is the best person to carry that message to your audience. So we're assuming here that you've already done those steps of figuring out your key messages and your audience, and now we're matching the key message and the audience to the messenger or messengers.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Yeah, so um if we think about the types of videos that this is really applicable to, it's anything that's factual, so documentary, but also the majority of online videos, particularly if they're information videos or anything that's more about um someone just talking through a topic, not necessarily having it scripted and then reading around the topic. If yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Yeah, look, uh audiences are so sophisticated. We are all like gurus at understanding how to interpret films. Our, you know, our our film language is so good, you know, like because we watch so much. That means that uh if you're going for scripted, it needs to be really well scripted and it needs to be really well performed because that's what we're used to. We know what bad writing and bad acting looks like, and that's a bit of a caution.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Um, because if you don't have the resource to dedicate to doing scripted, um, you know, it m you may not pull it off. Also, scripted may be less authentic just because audiences will know it's scripted. You know that feeling when you've watched an info, you know, one of those info commercials, you know, and it's all kind of scripted and the sales pitch, and you just kind of go, it doesn't feel real. Um, and then sometimes consumer voice videos are really good though, because people are just speaking in their own words and communicating in a way that you may not have communicated about your own brand. And I think that comes back to the messenger and the authenticity, they're really key considerations.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah, so perhaps a really good way to help bring this to life a little bit is through an example. So um, if I think about um some videos we produced last year in a school in in Victoria, and the film was for the architects to showcase the school that they'd designed. So the purpose of the film was to really highlight how their design had worked really well for what that school was needing for their learning environments. So when we were casting that, so to speak, um how how you were more involved in that part of the process of actually selecting who would be the voice on screen.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Okay, yeah, so who's the audience? So it was uh a film showcasing an independent school. Uh so who makes decisions in an independent school? It's going to be the school principal and the school council, um, and also supported by the whole school community, including teachers and parents. So we kept that in mind. What was the message? It was, I mean, we'll show a bit of this video now to you so you get a sense of it. But, you know, it was this amazing design, you know, that took inspiration from, you know, rural historic France, and then you know, interpreted into a modern learning environment outside Bendigo and Victoria. I mean, it was just incredible, you know, in terms of the approach. So the message was all about really thoughtful design. So we know our audience and we know our key message. Uh so the messengers that we ended up going with from the top of my head, and just feel free to tune in here, but I do remember that we filmed with two architects, so I guess that's the expert voice. We filmed with the school principal, and I suppose that's the customer. We filmed with the students, and I think the students consumer voice, really.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah, very much. They're they're the ones who are actually using the space, so it was really important to hear from them because whether that design was actually fulfilling the need was very much going to be determined by the teaching staff and the students and how they actually felt in the space. And so it was really important to hear from the architects to understand the design and what they were trying to achieve, to hear from the principal who, as you say, in this circumstance was the customer and making sure that their brief did actually fit the needs of the school, and then actually talking to the students and the teachers. Ah, the teachers got a voice. To make sure that that there was that um connection between the end user and the the architects designing the space.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Spot on, because it was all about creating the best, most modern, but also relevant to the culture of the school learning environment. And they did such a brilliant job with it. So hats off to the architects. It was such a different approach to if you had just gone to the architect's firm office and filmed with one or two of the architects, and that's all. And run some overall.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah, and I think this is a real thing for a lot of um different types of videos as well. When you're really trying to highlight um a space or an environment, using videos really effective, and so that's why um the architects wanted to create a video as opposed to just I mean, architectural photos can look fantastic and they're they're beautiful, but they don't have that same way of which comes back to what you're talking about with why video is so incredibly popular these days, because you can really succinctly tell a message in a really crafted way.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

I really love using a chorus of voices when it makes sense, and the duration allows for that. Uh, because I find it more convincing and really builds the case and supports that key message, and that's what we did with that video, which was acknowledged with the Horizon Interactive Award for promotional video, which is great, you know. So, this is an international award that it received, and I think that's uh you know, sort of speaks to that approach, that more documentary style approach.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

And if you're looking at using an expert or a thought leader, or um, even if it's a celebrity or some sort of talent that um you've not necessarily worked with them before, you know that they've got the right background and experience, but the way to actually figure out if they're going to be the right person for the video you're creating is to do a pre-interview. And what that means is to actually you might just do it on the phone or you might do it by Vimeo or Skype or whatever's accessible to you. Um, and you actually do a sort of relaxed interview with them, and then from that you can get a real sense of the way they deliver their messages, the way they speak, are they charismatic? Are they gonna have the right voice that your audience is gonna connect with?

SPEAKER_00 8:25

So this is a really big one when you're casting expert voices, when they're researchers, um, you know, highly esteemed academics, you know. Sometimes they're not very charismatic, you know, because they're really, you know, deep in the audience. Yeah, they're so deep, you know, uh that it is hard to connect with them from an audience point of view. So it's really important that you make sure that they're still carrying your message well, correctly, uh in a way that is gonna generate the impact you're looking for.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

That's right, that's right. So that all comes back to who's your audience, um, what is the message you're trying to tell, and what's the right way to be telling that message. Because if you're talking to a really um maybe your videos for a conference and you're talking to a lot of um people who are in the industry already, super knowledgeable, you want an expert who's really gonna bring something new and different and really knows their topic. But if you're talking to a general sort of audience trying to bring them into your topic, you want someone who's gonna be able to really talk in lay terms that people can relate to and they're gonna be able to understand what's going on. So that would be my best advice.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Alright, well, I hope that helped you guys. So when you're casting uh talent for your next video production, you might want to keep some of those tips and tricks in mind. And feel free to reach out to us if you've got any questions, we'd be very happy to help you.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Can you pass me the phone mic? I'm just gonna call my mates and book in some uh casting.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

See you next time, everyone.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Bye.