Questions people ask.

No. Crew calls go out to students at Cabrillo, UC Santa Cruz, CSU Monterey Bay, Hartnell, Gavilan and Monterey Peninsula College. Casting is open to everyone, whether you are at a college or not.

These roles are open to complete beginners, and most people on a student set are one. We encourage local actors to come forward, whether you are just starting out or have years of experience behind you. On the crew side, turn up ready to work and someone will show you the job.

Roles are posted on the casting and crew page once a production has been approved to start shooting. There is usually nothing listed between semesters. If you want to be told when something opens, send us a note and we will get in touch.

Most of what a film needs is not acting. Camera, sound, lighting, art, costume, makeup, continuity, driving, feeding people. Say what you are interested in and what you have done before, even if none of it is film.

It depends entirely on the production and the role. Some parts are a single day, some run across several. When you apply we ask for your availability and work out together whether the dates fit, before anything is confirmed.

Not always. Student schedules vary and so do locations, so shoot days can fall anywhere in the week, so check the dates on the posting before you apply.

Around Santa Cruz County, on campus and on location. The production tells you where and when, and getting yourself there is generally your own responsibility unless they say otherwise.

Tell the production as early as you can. A student crew is small and one person missing changes the whole day, so early notice matters more than a good reason.

No. Every role on a student film is unpaid, and that includes the directors. If an outside production posts something here that does pay, the listing says so and states the rate.

A credit, a copy of the finished film, and the experience of having actually done it. The copy is yours to use: that is the whole reason you get one. Put it in your portfolio, send it to casting directors, show it to whoever you want.

Once the film is finished, usually around the end of the semester. Editing takes longer than most people expect, so it may not be the week after you wrap. Ask the director to put you on the list on your last day.

Student films screen for a live audience at the end of the fall, and some go on to festivals or get posted online. You will be asked to sign paperwork agreeing to that before you appear on camera.

Yes. Anyone appearing on camera signs a release covering the use of their performance, voice and likeness in the film and in anything promoting it. Crew sign an agreement covering their role. Either way the production sends you the paperwork before your first day. Read it, and ask about anything on it you are unsure of before you sign.

Yes, with a parent or guardian’s written permission. A parent or guardian signs the paperwork with you before your first day, and the production works to the college’s Minor Labor Policy, which sets what a minor can be asked to do and for how long. Say up front that you are under 18 when you apply, so the arrangements get made properly rather than on the morning of the shoot.

They have to be told the terms up front: what the work involves, where it is, how long it runs, and who is producing. They also sign an Authorization for Medical Care, so that if something happens on set and they are not there, treatment is not held up.

Not necessarily, and that is exactly why the medical authorization exists. Any production working with minors names one person as its Minor Labor Coordinator, and that name goes to the minor and to the parent or guardian before the shoot.

Yes, and they are not negotiable. Nothing starts before 7:00am or runs past 11:30pm, no more than six days in a row, and twelve hours have to pass between being let go and the next call or going back to school. For 16 and 17 year olds the day caps at ten hours, of which half an hour is a meal. Younger performers have shorter limits again.

Say so when you apply. The application is where you tell us what you are and are not willing to do: that includes intimate scenes, stunts, water, heights, animals, late nights, anything. Nothing gets agreed before that conversation happens, and no one should be asking you to decide on the day.

A student producer and director run the production, with an instructor overseeing it. Before a film is allowed to shoot it has to file its safety paperwork, including an emergency plan, and anything involving stunts, weapons, animals or night work needs separate approval.

Tell the production first if you can. If that is not the right route, or it does not get you anywhere, contact us directly and it will be looked into.

Fill in the form on the casting and crew page with the project, the roles and the dates. An instructor reads every submission before anything is posted, and may come back to you with questions first.

No. People apply to you using the instructions in your posting. That keeps students in control of who has their details.

Anything we cannot check out, anything vague about what the work actually involves, and anything that would not be a reasonable place to send a student with little experience.