No need for extra staff &
no more red tape
Without Casting42, I would have had to hire additional people
The number of profiles we have is increasing and the profiles are also becoming more diverse. At the same time, we want to spend less time processing data.
Visit casting agency at typies.nl
"Reduced workload, less stress and no need for extra staff. Meanwhile, business has only gone up."
Typies Casting on Casting42
Typies Casting has been casting actors, models and extras for commercials, advertising photography, short films, corporate films and television since the 1980s.
“The number of profiles we have is increasing and the profiles are also becoming more diverse. At the same time, we want to spend less time processing data,” explains Head of Casting Joey Ploch. “That’s why we started working with Casting42: a database in which many administrative actions are automated. This way we can focus on what we do best: casting!”
Highlighted features used
Casting42 consists of many features & modules that can be use to support the casting process. The following features are currently used by typies.nl:
Signup talents via typies.nl website signup form
Custom setcards for own styling purposes
Availability checker 2.0, to check if talents are available
Creating professional talent proposals for clients
Audition requests to gather & share self audition tapes
Workload
Joey says that Typies already used a database before they had Casting42, but they had to enter all registrations manually.
“People emailed us their photos and data and then it was up to us to upload the photos and copy all the personal data to our database. Moreover, the profiles continued to demand attention, because new photos and data were emailed every so often.
You can imagine that all this took a lot of time. I myself spent a large part of my hours on it, which made the work pressure very high. If we hadn't started working with an automated system like Casting42, I definitely would’ve had to hire extra people.”
Signups directly in the system
“We’ve been using Casting42 since the beginning of 2022 and I’m very happy with it. If talents register using the form on our website, their data are automatically added to our database.
In the dashboard I can see how many new people have registered, after which I can review the new profiles. Certain information is mandatory, such as age, height and clothing size, but you can also enter a lot of additional information, such as whether you speak a certain language, have certain skills or have piercings or tattoos.
I make sure I’ve seen every profile, so that no one escapes my notice. But the big difference is that I spend at least one day a week less processing new profiles, because I no longer have to enter all that data in the system. It's a liberation: the workload is reduced, I have less stress, and we don't need any extra administrative staff. Meanwhile, business has only gone up.”
"I can always contact Casting42. Sometimes it’s like they’re in the next room!"
Automating profile updates
What also helps us is that our actors and models can adjust certain information in their profiles themselves. They can do this on their own initiative, but I can also send an email from Casting42
“What also helps us is that our actors and models can adjust certain information in their profiles themselves. They can do this on their own initiative, but I can also send an email from Casting42. With a click of a button I can ask someone, or a group of people, to update their profile and upload new photos. A day later it’s done.
I still check whether the new information is correct, because for casting it’s crucial that all information is correct. That way they’re sure the outfits fit, for example. But at least I don't have to ask everyone one by one to upload new photos and send updated information, like before. That way I can concentrate on my core task: casting.”
Professional casting
I’ve been working in this field for a long time and I’m quite demanding, but the foundation of Casting42 is very good and extensive, much better than what I had before.
Casting is more complex than you might think at first: it's a creative process with several steps. Fortunately, this has been taken into account in the construction of the system. For example, if I search for 'men between thirty and forty years old', I can select twenty profiles. But then I want to make another selection, because I don't want to invite everyone.
That’s why the system is arranged in such a way that after the first selection I can divide the twenty profiles into 'invite' or 'maybe'. So I can do things step by step. Many of these aspects have been incorporated into the system.”
Customer benefits
“The system also has advantages for our clients. With a click of a button I can create and forward a sedcard based on a profile. In addition, I can use guest share.
This means I can create a special environment in Casting42 for the client, in which I can choose which data is visible and which isn’t. For example: we can show someone’s photos and relevant information about appearance and skills, but not someone’s full name or contact details. Once a talent has been booked, the producer will receive the full details. Interaction is also possible via this environment: a customer can indicate which profiles they like, or ask questions about certain profiles.”
Collaboration
“The collaboration with Casting42 is very good,” concludes Joey. “They respond quickly and appropriately. I can always call them, sometimes it's like they're in the next room. That’s also necessary, because if something in the system doesn’t work we have a problem.
I also think it's great that we can help each other: this system helps me a lot, and they receive direct feedback from us about the use of the system in casting practice. What I also like is that we keep improving the system, a lot of extra functions have already been added this year alone.
We still have a few wishes. For example: we’d like more editing options for the video function. Talents can upload videos that appear in the system, but I want to have control over how we present those videos to clients. But: Casting42 is always willing to think along, so it’s probably a matter of time!”