The Guide

Be in on the act

Section contents

Contacting us

The office number is 020 8962 0099. Mobile numbers are only to be used when you need to get hold of a member of the Casting Collective outside of normal office hours. Please remember we all receive a high volume of calls. If your call is not urgent please only phone during office hours 10am to 6pm - Monday to Friday. You can also get casting updates in Latest castings section.

Email addresses

  • Alex
  • Beth
  • Emma
  • Laura
  • Rob
  • Sarah

Bookings

When you are contacted by a member of the team regarding work you will be given either a confirmed booking or a pencil booking (If you are not told please ask). Before committing please be 100% sure about your availability. If you have a pencil booking and other commitments arise please inform us immediately. You will be told the rate of pay when you are booked. It is important that you note down the name of the production and the person that booked you.

VERY IMPORTANT: We have seven people in the office making bookings. To save confusion It is therefore vital for us that you remember the name of the person who has booked you and the project you have been booked on.

When you are booked for a job you will be asked to call the office between 5pm-6pm the night before your engagement. You must call us between these times otherwise you may be replaced. You will be given your call time, details of location, wardrobe requirements and the name of the person from The Casting Collective who is managing that production with their emergency mobile number. Please make sure you have a pen and paper on you when you call in, as the details you will be given may be complex. Note: If you are working on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday please call on the Friday evening.

Important warning. Please be aware that your reliability and punctuality reflects on our company. If you fail to attend without good reason, or are consistently late, this will be noted by Casting Collective and may result in you being taken off the book.

Checking in

We do not have a checking in policy. Please do not check in for work by phone. The casting team are under tremendous pressure to get their work done within working hours and fielding calls from artistes checking in for work slows them down. If however you have not heard from us for a week or two, then feel free to give us a quick call. Artistes that check in everyday will not be used. You can also keep us up to date with your availability by using our online organiser.

Costume fittings

On some productions you will be required to attend a costume fitting which you will be paid for. This is not usually a full day, typically four hours or less. However, it is as important a commitment as a day’s filming and the same rules apply.

Find Costumier locations

Appearance

Please remember that the photo we are using will last the entire year. If your appearance changes drastically; for example, a radical change of hair style/colour, or you develop a deep tan; please let us know.

Cancellations

The nature of filming dictates that schedule changes often occur. This may result in your filming day being postponed or cancelled. Unfortunately this can occur at very short notice. The production is entitled to cancel you without remuneration up to 5:30pm the night before your scheduled day of work. Filming happens seven days a week so you could be cancelled on a Sunday evening for Monday’s filming.

Getting There

When you are given your details for the filming day you will be given directions on how to get to the Set/Location. It is your responsibility to get to a location on time. Because you are normally required on set very early please ensure that you plan your route the night before. Please make sure you take your a-z or road map with you. Please be aware that for central London locations you will be required to pay your own congestion charge. For further information on the congestion charge, please visit the CC London website or call 0845 900 1234.

Find studio locations

Problems

In the event of an emergency; for example, if you are unable to attend a day’s filming, you must notify the member of The Casting team who booked you immediately so that a suitable replacement can be found (do not just leave an answer machine message in the office). Emergency calls out of office hours must be made to a member of the Casting Collective on their mobile. Make sure when you are travelling to work that you have the appropriate mobile number in your possession. Please make sure that you call the member of staff that is dealing with your particular production.

If you have a problem on set please remember that you should be polite to the crew. Please contact us with your query before approaching the AD.

Filming is not always action and glamour. Most of your day will be spent waiting around. Remember that members of the crew work very long hours. You are a representative of the Casting Collective; polite, patient and helpful behaviour will ultimately result in you getting more work. Bad behaviour will result in being taken off the book. An apparently harmless complaint can cause great offence.

On set

On set your first point of contact will usually be the 2nd Assistant Director (2nd AD).

You will be given a salary voucher on Film and T.V calls. Please fill in your name, address, National Insurance number and your phone number.

Please note: Usually on Commercials, Pop or Corporate Videos, Photographics and promotions you will not be issued with a voucher. Instead you will be asked to sign a Release form. The production company will then tell us the hours that you have done, but it is always worth keeping a note for yourself.

When you go to Wardrobe, Hair and Make-up each department may stamp your voucher noting any props or wardrobe you have been given.

Do not take any of your personal belongings onto the set. We are not liable for any loss or damage to personal possessions.

MOBILE PHONES AND CAMERAS ARE NOT PERMITTED ON SET

You will be told what to do by a member of the crew. We expect every one to behave in a professional manner whilst representing the Casting Collective.

Whether in a rehearsal or filming, a particular sequence may be shot a number of times and from a number of angles, for this reason you need to remember your first position and what you have been told to do.

Please keep noise to a minimum at all times unless otherwise instructed.

Catering will be provided when you are on location. If you are at a studio be prepared to pay for your own meals at the canteen. As the film crew always eats first, please wait patiently. You will be told when to go for your meal. Please queue in an orderly manner.

At the end of the day you will be wrapped. At this point you will need your salary voucher to be signed off by the 2nd AD. Again please be patient and treat the crew with the respect they deserve. You must keep your copy of the voucher as it is the only proof that you were there.

DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT HAVING YOUR VOUCHER SIGNED, AS YOU WILL NOT BE PAID

It is also important to make sure you have enough cash to cover any eventualities, as there may be occasions when you will need to pay for food or travel.

Rates of pay

Within a 40 mile radius of London the FAA background rates of pay are usually used on all TV and Film Productions. However there are three other Equity agreements that may be used, the BBC agreement, the ITV agreement, or the Commercials agreement. You will be told the rate of pay at the time of booking. If you are not sure please ask. Additional money may be paid for Night shoots and Bank Holidays. Weekends, however, are considered normal working days. For other types of work, you will be told the rate when booked.

As rates often change, up to date pay scales can be found in the rates section of this website.

Payment

We cannot pay you until we have received payment from the production company. Every effort will be made for this to happen as quickly as possible However, the industry standard is approximately 4-6 weeks from the day that your worked, but can sometimes take longer. All payments will be made by BACS directly into your bank account. It is therefore vital that we have your correct bank details. Incorrect details may result in your payments being delayed or paid into someone else’s account. After the BACS payment a remittance slip will be emailed to you.

Help the environment

The Casting Collective is committed to reducing our carbon footprint, in an effort to reduce paper consumption, from January 2006 all remittances will be sent by email only. Please make sure we have your up-to-date email address. If you don’t have an email address of your own, we can send them to a friend or relation, or you can still check all your remittances online in the Artiste Organiser (you can update your email address here too). A username and password will be emailed to you in January. If during the year you forget your username and password, please give us a call and we can resend it to you.

Login to your Organiser.

Email

Email is now a main channel of communication. If you do not have an email address you may be missing out on vital casting updates. You can get a free email account from MSN Hotmail, Google or Yahoo.

Pay enquiries

Our Accountant takes pay enquiries by phone between 11am - 12pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email accounts@castingcollective.co.uk

Deductions

The Casting Collective commission is 15% (plus VAT) on all background and walk on work.

You will also have an admin fee deducted from the first job you are paid for in 2008. This one off payment covers the cost of your photo in the casting book and on the website. The fee is £57.40 (£67.45 inc VAT).

Tax and National Insurance

When working as an SA the Inland Revenue view of your employment status is complex. A different view is taken between Tax and National Insurance. For Tax reasons you are seen as self employed and therefore you are responsible for paying your own Income Tax and completing your own annual tax return. For more details please contact your local Tax office.

However for National Insurance purposes you are nearly always considered to be an employee of the production company. (The exception to this could be Photographic work, where no NI is usually taken) In all other cases the production company will deduct Class 1 National Insurance. Therefore unfortunately having self-employed status (class 2) does not prevent you from paying Class 1 National Insurance when working as an SA. You are only considered exempt from NI if you are of retirement age and have a valid exemption certificate, our accounts department need to have a photocopy of this.

Unions

Unlike most other sectors there are two unions that look after the interests of Supporting Artistes, the FAA (part of BECTU the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematographic and Theatre Union) and Equity.

Working as a Supporting Artiste used to be a fairly closed shop and it was rare for non-union members to be offered work. Nowadays you do not have to belong to any union to work as a Supporting Artiste; however there certainly are advantages.

Unions are important because they protect your pay and your rights when you work on any production. It is their job to negotiate agreements setting out the terms and conditions of your employment, so joining one will help protect you and your earnings. Without them Artistes would be pushed into working longer and longer hours for less and less money. In addition, a union will look after your welfare, for example, helping in the event of a dispute or injury.

For more information on joining please visit BECTU and Equity.