Don't get me wrong, I've done some great ones, but I am so tired of going to unorganized auditions with people that don't know what they are doing and don't respect actors.

I walked out of an audition today because they refused to make apointment, and the wait was an hour and a half long! Than last week therewas one I went to and they had packed up and gone home before my apointment time!

The morral of the story is don't do to Chapman University auditions (that's what they both were).

Not to mention that you rarely (if ever) get a finished copy of the film, as promised .....

I did a film at Chapman and had a great experience, EXCEPT that it took an ENTIRE YEAR to get a copy of the film.
It helped that they held the audition in LA, although it was kind of a shock that we found we had to commute to Orange every weekend.
Overall though, I enjoyed it and I've enjoyed most student films I've been in. It's a good experience that makes you REALLY appreciate it when you get professional stuff

I wanted to mention that a lot of times the film is made for some kind of school project/class and not finished till the course/project finishes. Sometimes, although by no means all the time, it takes 9 months or so to get the final copy because the class is year long.
After getting cast, I suggest ANYONE doing a student film should write up a little contract --one page, simple--saying something along the lines of:

Jane Doe, Student Filmmaker at Blank University promises to provide John Doe, actor, with a copy of the film BLANK on DVD (or DV or whatever you decide), as well as credit in the film. If said film is not completed, Filmmaker will provide actor with a DVD of all the dailies of his or her scenes.

etc. etc.
Basically put it all in writing. Then, ask the student to sign it (tell him or her you have had bad experiences in the past). Keep it simple so you don't scare the students! Then give a copy of the "contract" to the student and one to his or her instructor or the chair of the dept. that way, if you don't get your copy, you can contact the teacher!

I had really gotten fed up with student films, too. So, I stopped submitting and auditioning for them for about 6 months. I recently submitted for a couple because the roles just sounded so cool! Landed both roles and had an absolutely fantastic experience on both! Now, I've lifted the ban and am submitting for student films again. Besides, I've worked on sets of films produced by real indie production companies that have been far more unprofessional than, at least, the most recent student film sets I've been on.

With that said, I'm very picky about which ones I actually audition for (even after I've submitted). If the producer, director, crew are going to be unprofessional and disrespectful or inconsiderate of my time during the audition process, it raises concerns about how professionally they will be able to run a set and I decline the audition. I would not have waited an hour to audition, either.

Plus, I do exactly what Jackie suggests...whenever I get that phone call from a student director offering me a role, I always ask up front what their post-production schedule is like, what class the film is for and who the professor is. And I ask them if they are willing to give me that information in writing signed by them. If they are OK with that, I am willing to accept the role. If not, I figure they never had any intention of compensating me with a copy of the film and, since I need more material for my reel, I can't afford to work for free.

I've had mostly good experience with those I have done... but some of those auditions... that's where I've had issues.

And I have always got a copy of every film I've done (so far), but it takes persistence.

quote:

Originally posted by Iceman:
I've had mostly good experience with those I have done... but some of those auditions... that's where I've had issues.

I know, I just wish I could contact every film teacher in the country and make them announce that you don't get to make your auditioning actors wait around for more than an hour TOPS and you need to remember they are most likely more experienced than you are so BE RESPECTFUL!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Jackie:
I know, I just wish I could contact every film teacher in the country and make them announce that you don't get to make your auditioning actors wait around for more than an hour TOPS and you need to remember they are most likely more experienced than you are so BE RESPECTFUL!!!

The only student films we have done have been with a SAG contract. So if they ever get sold [you never know] we get paid. We also get covered for I think NYS Disability or Worker's Comp in case of injury on set.

Our feeling is "If they don't want to or can't learn how to handle pre-production paperwork, they will never wind up being a successful filmaker that we could ever work for in the future".

That being said, last student film I worked on [with SAG contract] had two cameras, a crane and a real craft servcies table but I didn't get a copy of film as student never finished project.

Hi guys

I am actually going to cover this topic in my column The Working Actor in the next week or so. I think there's a lot of fodder her for discussion and I am interested to delve into the frustration on both ends (yes, the students are frustrated too!).
Please email me if you want to contribute to that more formal discussion and yes, you can remain anonymous. Just jot down your thoughts, frustrations, anger, and STORIES about your experiences....anything you'd like to share. And let me know what to call you in print.
theworkingactor@gmail.com

Thanks!
Jackie

although we've only been involved in a few projects, we've had only good experiences. film schools were columbia and nyu...

weve just had a wondeful experience with nyu as well