July 7, 2017
A-E
AEA: An acronym for the Actors Equity Association
AFTRA: An acronym for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. It is a union for all TV performers.
Agent/Agency: A third party who helps find bookings for an actor. They receive a percentage for booking.
Blow Up: An enlarged photo from a negative or a slide.
Booking: A job an actor is assigned.
Book Out: When you inform your agent/agency that you will be unavailable for certain amount of time. Reasons could be another job, a vacation, etc.
Breakdown: Further information about a possible booking. This can give details about the pay rate, a role, the usage, and more.
Buyout: An advance payment for future use of a print ad or commercial for a certain amount of time.
Call Back: Second audition/interview to further narrow down the selection for a role; this means you are in further consideration.
Call Time: When an actor is due on set.
Casting: Choosing a model or an actor for a specific job.
Casting Director: The person who selects the suitable actor/model to represent a comp or story board.
Cattle Call: A casting call where agencies send similar typed models to a casting session.
Client: A company who hires the agency and pays the actors/models fees.
Cold Reading: A reading of a script that happens for the first time in front of a client, without any time to memorize the lines.
Commercial: A promotional advertisement on TV, radio, and other media.
Commission: A percentage of an actor/models fee required to be paid to the agent/agency.
CSA: An acronym for the Casting Society of America.
Demo Tape: An actor’s audio or video tape that an agent uses for audition purposes.
Dresser: Someone who helps models dress backstage in fashion shows.
Extra: Acting job where the actor has no speaking lines and stands in the background to add to the atmosphere of a scene.