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Research and Development: Finding and organising talent and contributors

Research and contribute ideas for the Live show

 Typically find people to fill the roles of:
- Presenters/ actors
- Contributors
- Audience
- Artists/ guests

 What do we mean by talent?
- These are our performers - presenters, reporters, contributors - anyone on screen we have cast
- They may or  may not be paid or have a contract

 What do we look for?
- Relevant skills/ engaging character etc
- Charisma/ engaging character etc
- 'Look' appropriate to brand/ style
- Representation and relevance to audience

 Finding talent
- Own contacts
- Auditions - advertisements calling for new talent to come forward in relevant press/ online
                  - Showreels - similarly can ask for show reels to be sent in, or may request directly/ through agent

 Agents - often established or even new talent have agents managing their interests
            - Agents may represent 'experts'
            - Need to negotiate contract and payments with agent (take percentage)

 Scouting - visit talent performing elsewhere eg comedians or actors, check out other programming

 Talent websites/ journals - eg 'Spotlight', 'Mandy.com'

 Issues with scouting
- You can look for new talent just about anywhere - theatres, pub performers, the internet etc
- It will give you the opportunity to find new talent (may be cheaper - no agent)
- Problem - can be time consuming, so try to target the places you visit and do a bit of ground work

 Showreels
- Often agents or individuals will send these in ad hoc
- You should ask to see the showreel of anyone you wish to cast (other than the general public)
- Use them to give you a guide to their:
       - Style
       - Experience
- Beware- showreels are only part of the process in casting - useful at the early stages, but need to meet in person to really get a sense of who they are
- Always audition talent - put them in a different scenario

 Dealing with the talent or agents

 - When dealing with the talent or agents, conduct yourself in a businesslike manner
- Introduce yourself and explain your requirements - email with more information if requested
- Make sure that you are clear about the terms and conditions of the deal you are doing

 Artists contracts and release forms - Get people to commit on paper

 Finding contributors - 'Joe Public'
- Whether on game shows, discussion programmes or news reports, you will often need to find 'ordinary people'
- You need to apply the sort of research you have used before
- Audiences in the studio should represent the audience at home

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