The Casting Dojo an up and coming award winning Casting Agency

The Casting Dojo an up and coming award winning Casting Agency 

A Global Talent Sourcing and Casting Directory
We are a group of entertainment industry professionals with a vast global network of show business contacts from Hollywood to Broadway, the UK and Europe, Canada, Australia, Nollywood, Bollywood, Middle East and Far East. The two complaints we constantly hear from Talent in the industry are that, 1. Existing casting sites are expensive and 2. The overall quality of castings and jobs on them are poor. So with this in mind we established The Casting Dojo to;

1. Source High Quality Castings and Jobs, both Advertised and Non-Advertised, using our broad network of contacts in the industry.
2. Give the Talent free, online profiles, a ‘personalised website’ to help them market themselves and their work in the industry e.g. www.castingdojo.com/AFUA
3. Enable Talent to view our castings/jobs and apply online, using their profiles.
4. Include these profiles in an online Talent Directory which can be searched for employers, casting directors etc. looking for specific skill-sets.
5. Enable the Recruiters/casting professionals to post Castings on our site for free and to manage the Talent selection process with ease.

WHAT DOES IT COST? 
On www.CastingDojo.com, it is free to Register and set-up an online ‘Portfolio’. It is also free to view and apply for roles that don’t have a financial benefit but may still be profitable to those wanting to break into the industry or established talent that want to enhance their CV. Our free basic membership is still beneficial to those members without a big budget. The only time you will pay is if you want to view and apply for ‘Paid’ Roles with a set fee or salary. We have flexible membership options, paying on a 1, 3, 6 and 12 month membership. Prices are outlined in the Membership page
on our site. We are very reasonable and offer significant savings of up to 75% on some memberships.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
We wanted to make the process as simple and fast as possible. We know you are busy people! 1. Go to our site, www.castingdojo.com and click on

FREE SIGNUP.
2. You can then quickly set-up your online Profile - this is a 1 pager including personal details, skills, experience, website links, headshots and videos of your work. 3. Go to our Castings & Jobs page and browse through our listings. 4. When you find a Role you like, click Apply. Recruiters read through the profiles of people who have applied and then Accept/Reject/Shortlist on that basis. You will receive an email from the Recruiter in your Casting Dojo inbox.

WHAT DO I GET WITH A FREE PERSONAL PROFILE? 
 A personalised web address to help you market yourself in the industry.
 A brief CV section with personal statistics, experience and education.
 Free to upload up to 16 photos and 5 video links.
 Search function so you can look for castings by category and location.
 Personalised Dashboard so you can edit your profile whenever you like.
 A ‘Hit Counter’ showing how many people have viewed your profile.
 A list of all the castings you have ‘Applied For’ or ‘Favourited’.
 Casting Professionals can view your Profile and contact you through The Casting Dojo.

NOTE - We distinguish between two main types of roles, Paid and Unpaid Unpaid Roles are a category where there is No payment or benefits at all, Expenses only, Profit Share, TFP (Time for Print), Run Throughs, Game Shows & some reality shows. As a registered member you can apply for any roles in this category for free. Paid Roles – These are full-time/part-time/temporary roles where you will be paid a salary. To view and apply for Paid roles, you must upgrade to a premium membership. Some of our members choose the Basic package until they see a role that they are really interested in and then they upgrade to apply for it.

HOW DO I UPGRADE MY MEMBERSHIP? 
Upgrading to Premium Membership is a simple 3-step process
1) Choose the package you want on our Membership Page.
2) Select the currency you would like to pay in; USD, GBP or EURO.
3) You will be directed to Paypal to complete the payment.

HOW DOES IT WORK FOR RECRUITERS? 
We wanted to make the process for a Recruiter as fast and easy as possible. We know you are busy!

1. Go to our site, www.castingdojo.com and click on FREE SIGNUP.
2. You can then quickly fill in your details to create a simple account.
3. If you prefer to remain anonymous you can hide your name and/or company name so you can shortlist the candidates anonymously. Your privacy is important to us!

4. In your easy to use Dashboard, click CREATE NEW JOB and add your casting.
 Add the details of the role and instructions on how to apply.
 You can easily add a logo photo and/or a poster image for the casting (OPTIONAL)
 You can tick the box if you want to upgrade to a ‘Featured Ad’ for $10 for your casting/job to be at the top of the jobs listings. (OPTIONAL)
 You can share your casting on social media or Email etc. by clicking on the social media logos on our site.
 Click CREATE JOB at the bottom and your Casting is immediately live.

5. We have a sophisticated dashboard that allows you to view your active job postings and candidates that have applied. You can then easily manage the selection process by scrolling through the profiles of candidates who have applied and either Accept/Reject/Shortlist each one instantaneously.

6. When Talent apply for your casting you will also receive a confirmation message in your Casting Dojo account inbox. This means your personal email will not be clogged up with notifications of Casting Dojo applications and you can handle the whole process from our site.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE CASTING DOJO TO RECRUITERS? 
 Free, easy and quick to post Castings. We even have a dedicated section for Urgent/Last Minute Jobs.
 Access to a large pool of global talent.
 We are very prominent on social media, enabling us to reach a large pool of talent globally.
 You can tailor your search on the Talent Directory to candidates with particular skills and in particular regions.
 We make the Talent selection process easy - once you have marked the applicants as Accept/Reject/Shortlist, our system will email the appropriate responses to the Talent’s inbox.
 In your personal Dashboard you can Favourite and Message directly any Talent on our site.
 You can also easily review your recent listings on your personal dashboard.

HOW BODY LANGUAGE AFFECTS YOUR AUDITIONS

How Body Language Affects Your Auditions

Courtesy of Matt Newton Backstage http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/how-body-language-affects-your-auditions/?utm_campaign=Expert%20Posts&utm_content=7055818&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

In auditions, confidence is everything. It’s your body language, your voice, how you carry yourself, the image you project, before you even open your mouth. It’s those first 15 seconds of your audition as you are walking into the room. Your body language should say, “Trust me. I got this!” and make the casting director, producers, directors, and showrunners believe you, and feel like they can put you on set or on stage the very next day. You are performance ready, you are owning it, you have unshakeable confidence, and there isn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind. It’s the most attractive quality for an actor to have in an audition.
It’s very obvious when an actor who is unsure of what they are doing and lacks confidence walks into the room. Their shoulders are low, they avoid eye contact, they are tentative in their choices, their voice is soft, and the sides are shaking in their hands. It makes you look “green,” and makes the casting director nervous. Before you even open your mouth, your body language says, “I’m sorry for the audition you are about to see.” It ain’t pretty, and if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.
True confidence comes from training—from practice being in front of the camera and on stage. It’s about being prepared, being confident in your work, and then setting it free in the room, listening and letting spontaneity take over. Even seasoned actors question themselves once (or twice) in a while.
If you don’t have that confidence yet, you have to learn to fake it. You are an actor, right? Act like a “confident person.” What does that mean? It means walk in with your head high (even if you are freaking out inside), look the people in the room in the eye (not in a creepy way), breathe, have the sides in your hand, and be fully prepared and with your audition. If you are the type of actor whose hands shake a lot when they are holding the sides, put something with a little weight to it underneath (a headshot folder or a book). It will stop the shaking and make you seem that much more sure of yourself. (“Wow, this guy isn’t nervous at all!”) That alone speaks volumes about you.
Even if this job is paying a top of show guest star, and you need it to pay your rent, and you don’t know how you are going to eat that night, you can never let them see that. Desperation can be spotted a mile away. Never let them see you sweat, and act like you have been doing this forever. Don’t bring that stuff into the room with you. The more you listen in the scene, the less self-aware you are, the more your body relaxes, the more connected you are physically and emotionally, and the better your audition is.
You ever have days when you are miserable, and if you force yourself to smile, eventually you will actually make yourself happier? Same goes with body language. Sit or stand confidently, ground yourself in the audition, put your shoulders back, avoid shifting the weight on your legs, breathe, look the reader right in the eye, and think to yourself “I got this.” It is self-fulfilling, and will actually make you feel more confident. It should feel like you are having this great party, and you don’t really care if anyone shows up, because you are so sure it’s going to be amazing.
Same goes for auditions. Don’t be the guy that’s begging people to come to your party. If they don’t like your choices, too bad. They are missing out on a great party.
Like this advice? Check out more from our Backstage Experts!
Matt Newton is an acting coach and Backstage Expert. For more information, check out Newton’s full bio!