WHY DIDN'T THEY PICK ME?

All directors work differently, but I would say overall that if you're not getting a healthy percentage of commercial callbacks then something is wrong. Either your going out for the wrong parts, or you need to work that much harder on your acting technique across the board.

However, if you find yourself going to a fair amount of call backs and not quite closing the deal…. This list is for you. The following are all reasons that I, along with the agency creative's I’ve worked with, have not chosen someone… regardless of the fact they did everything they could possibly do to get the job. In my seminar I’m able to explain each thing in more detail, but you’ll get the idea.
(I have phrased it as sort of a mantra you can repeat to yourself that will hopefully make you feel better in your time of anguish)

1. Although I had a great audition, and dressed the part, I naturally didn’t have the “right look” (I wasn’t really the right type), and there is nothing I can do about that.

2. I had the right look, I killed in my audition, they laughed out loud and everything!…. But I don’t make a good match with the other person (or people) in the commercial I have to interact with, and that persons role takes priority in the script.

3. The agency changed their mind creatively about the direction they wanted to go with this character. (This sometimes includes race and/or gender changes)

4. They’re still shooting a campaign, but the specific commercial I went up for was killed all together.

5. I was in the final pile, out of 45 people it was between me and somebody else, and even though everyone acknowledged that I would do a great job, the other person has that slight extra something that they carry with them… in their chemistry or performance, that tipped the scale in their favor.
(You can add a “And they forgot to call and tell me this” to the end of all of these!)

Let me add one thing in here... IF you are put on hold after a callback in the commercial world, it usually means you are in the top 3 and are getting put on a disk (in order of preference) for final approval from the client. Thus, it means we like you and would shoot the commercial with you... even if you are not the first pick. I say this because occasionally a client will go for #2, and so as a director I can’t afford to put just anyone on as a backup. Unfortunately many of you get SO close, but never really understand what happened. Hopefully some of this info will help you come to terms with it a bit quicker and move on.

- Scott Young

Commercial Success/ Shoot a Scene. Edit Your Reel