Working in Commercials: Part 1. The Casting Brief

Commercials can be a brilliant part of an acting career. The budgets are often significant, the directors and creative teams are frequently world class, and they offer a chance to work in a fast-paced, professional environment and get paid well for it.

But commercial casting works differently to other acting work, and it's worth understanding the ins and outs before you dive in!

This is the first in a series walking you through the whole process, from the moment a casting lands on Spotlight or Mandy, right through to getting booked and doing the job. We're starting at the beginning: the breakdown itself.

Reading and Understanding the Brief

A casting breakdown is a job advert, and in commercial casting, usually a very specific one. The brand and agency have signed off on exactly who they want to see. If it says "5'2", female with long brown hair, 30 to 45," that is the brief, not a suggestion. If there is some flexibility, the brief will say so! Submitting when you don't fit wastes everyone's time and could damage your reputation.

Check you are available for all the dates, make sure you match the character, that you are based in the right location and have the skills required. If they need someone who can genuinely ride a horse, one lesson five years ago does not count! The same goes for applying for a role with a requirement to eat a burger on camera when you are a vegan. Be honest about what you bring and where your boundaries are!

Also, remember the brand will be using your face to sell their product. Make sure you are happy to represent them!

Usage Fees and Buyouts

Your shoot day fee is called the Basic Studio Fee, or BSF. The current minimum is £300, though £350 is more realistic. If more than one commercial is filmed on the same shoot day, a BSF is due for each. Holiday pay is owed by law on top of the agreed BSF, calculated at 12.07% of your BSF.

You should also be paid for recalls (minimum £50), wardrobe fittings (minimum £50 for up to two hours), standby days (50% of the BSF) and rehearsal days.

On top of that is the buyout. Most commercials today offer a flat buyout fee covering how the ad is used, where it runs, and for how long, typically six months to a year. The bigger the reach, the bigger the buyout should be. A regional social media campaign is worth very different money to a national TV and digital push.

Watch out for phrases like "all media, worldwide, in perpetuity" in a breakdown. That means the brand can use your image however and wherever they like, forever. Make sure the fee reflects that, as it could stop you from doing future work for similar products!

Featured, Supporting or Walk-On?

There are three categories of artist in commercial castings and you will see these terms used in the brief:

A Featured Artist (including secondary) is someone who is seen or heard in the ad and whose individual role plays an essential part in telling the story. Crucially, if the prominence of your role would prevent you from working in other commercial campaigns, you are considered Featured.

A Walk-On Artist is an identifiable, non-speaking artist who is required to perform a specific function related to a role or trade, a shopkeeper, for example. You'll be in medium shot or closer, individually directed, and have a direct relationship with the Featured Artist in the scene.

A Supporting Artist is there to enhance the authenticity and atmosphere of a scene. You won't be given individual characterisation or speak any dialogue, though you may be directed to move or react on set.

The reason this matters comes down to usage fees. Featured Artists are entitled to them. Walk-On and Supporting Artists are not. And usage fees are where the real money in commercial work comes from!

Also, being booked as a Featured Artist doesn't automatically mean you'll receive a buyout or usage fees. Usage fees and buyouts are only triggered once the commercial actually airs with your performance in it.

I know an actor who was booked for a featured role, arrived on set, went through hair, makeup and costume, and then waited. And waited. Time ran out, the production made the call not to film their scene, and that was that. A full day of their time, and all they walked away with was the BSF. Disappointing? Absolutely. But that is the reality of how commercial shoots work.

Conflicts

As a Featured Artist, you may be restricted from advertising competing products for up to three years. This is called a conflict.

At the casting stage you will fill in an Artist's Declaration Form listing your recent commercial credits. Before you submit, always ask yourself whether any existing commercial work might conflict with this product.

This is also why understanding your buyout matters so much. If you accept a low buyout and find yourself locked out of an entire product category for three years, the financial impact goes well beyond that single job. The buyout needs to reflect not just the reach of the campaign, but the work you may not be able to take on because of it.

In the next part of this series, we look at what happens once you submit, the audition process, and what to expect if you get a recall.