for Casting Directors - Breakdown Expressmedia.breakdownexpress.com/tutorials/Using_Eco_Cast_CDs.pdf · producer, director, or anyone with an email address. This page lets you add

for Casting Directors Revised: November 21, 2016

Contents

GETTING STARTED ................................................. 2 YOUR ECO CAST LIST 2

Eco Cast Folders ............................................. 5 THE SIMPLE METHOD............................................. 8

CREATING A NEW SIMPLE ECO CAST 8 UPLOADING FILES 9 CONFIRMING DETAILS 10 SENDING THE LINK 13

THE ENHANCED METHOD .................................... 14 CREATING A NEW ENHANCED ECO CAST 14 DETAILS PAGE 17

Header ......................................................... 17 Attached Actors ........................................... 18 Re-Order Actors ........................................... 31 Eco Cast Invitations ...................................... 33 Open Call Invitations .................................... 35 Client View Info ............................................ 38 Custom Client Links ...................................... 40

SENDING ECO CAST INVITATIONS 42 USING THE CLIPBOARD 44 MANAGED ECO CASTS 45

ECO CAST DESKTOP .............................................. 47 CONTACT US ........................................................ 47

Using Eco Cast P a g e | 2

Getting Started

Welcome to Breakdown Services' Eco Cast, the standard in audition video management. With these pages as your guide, you can use Eco Cast to:

• Organize the audition videos you shoot in the office. • Request self-taped auditions from actors and talent reps. • Send a link containing those videos to your producer, director, or

anyone else who needs to see them.

Log in to Breakdown Express

Start by logging in to www.breakdownexpress.com.

In this tutorial we assume that you are familiar with using the basic tools on Breakdown Express. For more guidance, refer to the Using Breakdown Express tutorial or give us a call (page 47).

Open Eco Cast Open the Eco Casts menu and select My Eco Casts.

Or click Start New to jump directly to the Create a New Eco Cast screen, see page 5.

Your Eco Cast List

When Eco Cast opens, the first thing you see is the list of your existing Eco Casts, if any, with the most recently updated listed first. Click any heading to sort the list by that category. Click it again to reverse the order.

There are four types of Eco Casts:

S = Simple Eco Cast

This Eco Cast does not include actor profiles and has limited options regarding organizing your presentation. See page 8 for more.

E = Enhanced Eco Cast

This Eco Cast includes actor profiles, integrates with the Eco Cast Desktop capture software, allows you to invite actors to submit self-tapes, and provides robust options to create your presentation. See page 14 for more.

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O = Open Call This Eco Cast is just like an Enhanced Eco Cast but also includes an option to create Open Call links. See page 35 for more.

F = Folder Folders and Subfolders are used to organize your Eco Cast list. See page 5 for more.

Eco Cast Desktop is mac-only software that allows you to record a live feed from a camera and upload the auditions directly to the Eco Cast. It can save you hours of time.

Click this button to see what the hardware and software requirements are to install this software on your own computer and request a download link.

For more on how this software works, see page 47.

Open Click any title to open that Eco Cast.

If you have assigned a project to the Eco Cast, you can click the Project name to jump directly to that Breakdown.

Filters Use the filter options at the top to find a specific actor or project easily.

Search for Type all or part of the word you are looking for. You can search for a specific actor name, Eco Cast title, or project title.

Display Select Current, Archived, or All to choose which Eco Casts to display.


Click to accept your filters

Click to return the filters to the default

Group Actions Use the check boxes to the left of the list to select a number of Eco Casts and/or folders. Then click the buttons at the top to take that action on all of them at once.

Click here to move these objects into a folder. See page 5 for specifics.

or

Click here to archive these Eco Casts and folders.

If you archive a folder, any Eco Casts or Subfolders contained in that folder will also be archived.

To remove an Eco-Cast or folder from the archive, click Archived, check off the objects, and then click the Un-Archive button.

Click here to delete these Eco Casts and folders. You cannot recover deleted Eco Casts.

If you delete a folder, any Eco Casts or Subfolders contained in that folder will also be deleted.

Sent Eco Casts A check-mark in this column notates that the link to this Eco-Cast has been sent via email. This is not an indication of whether or not self-tape invitations have been sent.

Options The Gear wheel button will open up a number of actions that you can take on an Eco Cast or Folder.

This option only appears for Folders.

Click the icon to quickly add a Subfolder to this Folder. See page 5 for specifics on folders.

This option only appears for Folders and Subfolders.

Click the icon enter a new name for this folder.

This option only appears for Eco Casts and Subfolders.

Click the icon to move this object into a folder.


See page 5 for specifics.

or

Click this icon to archive this Eco Cast or folder.

If you archive a folder, any Eco Casts or Subfolders contained in that folder will also be archived.

To remove an Eco-Cast or folder from the archive, click Archived and then the Un-Archive icon under the Options menu on that screen.

Click the trash can to delete the Eco Cast or folder permanently. You cannot recover deleted Eco Casts.

If you delete a folder, any Eco Casts or Subfolders contained in that folder will also be deleted.

Pages When you have enough Eco Casts to fill multiple pages, you can use the drop-down menu or the <<Prev and Next>> buttons to page through them. Each page displays 25 Eco Casts.

Click Create a New Eco Cast to choose what type of Eco Cast you want to create. See page 8 for more information on the Simple Method and page 14 for the Enhanced Method.

Eco Cast Folders

Folders and Subfolders allow you to group your Eco Casts in order to make it easier to find what you need in the future.

Expand Folders Click the triangle to the left of a Folder or Subfolder to expand or collapse that folder.

Or, click the “Expand All Folders” icon to expand or the “Collapse All

Folders” icon to collapse all the folders in your list.


To add a new Folder:

1. The Create Folder and Manage Folders buttons provide nearly identical functionality, so click either one.

2. Type the title of your new Folder 3. Click Create 4. The new Folder will be added to the top of the list

To add a new Subfolder:

1. From the same page, click the Add Subfolder icon to the right of the Folder you want to add the Subfolder to

2. Type the title of your new Subfolder 3. Click Create 4. The new Subfolder will be added to the contents of that Folder

Note: You cannot place a Subfolder into another Subfolder.

The Create Folder and Manage Folders buttons provide nearly identical functionality, so click either one.

To Rename a Folder or Subfolder:

1. Click the Rename icon to the right of the folder you want to edit 2. Type the new title of that folder 3. Click Rename to lock in your changes

You can also Archive and Delete folders from this page. But take note that doing so will archive or delete any Eco Casts and Subfolders that folder contains as well.

To move Eco Casts or Subfolders:

1. Check off the Eco Casts and Subfolders you want to move 2. Click the Move To Folder button 3. OPTIONAL STEP – Use the search bar at the top to find the folder you

want, or click the Create New Folder or Create Subfolder buttons to make one if it doesn’t exist yet.


4. Choose the radio button to the left of the folder you want to move

the objects into. 5. Click Move


The Simple Method

The Simple Method is the basic version of Eco Cast. You can upload videos and audio files, alter the file names, and select thumbnail images for each file. You cannot import actors' profiles, request self-taped auditions, or re-order the videos in this version.

As a result, this method is most useful in situations where you have lots of files to upload and you don't need actor headshots or resumes.

Creating a New Simple Eco Cast

To start a new Eco Cast with the Simple Method:

1. From the tools menu click Eco Casts – Start New. 2. Select Start a Simple Eco Cast. 3. The Create a Title page opens.

Create Title You must enter a title for your Eco Cast. If you try to use an existing title you will get the following message:

You can go ahead and use that title if you like. Click Keep this title to accept it or Choose new title to go back and enter a different title.

Description It may be useful, especially if you are re-using a title, to provide some description for this Eco Cast. Enter any text you like (optional).


Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

When you have entered the title and the optional description, click Continue to create the Eco Cast and move on to the next step.

Uploading Files

On the next page you will be able to attach and upload as many files as you would like. Each file can be as large as 500 mb in size, but be aware that larger files will take longer to upload.

Click here to attach one or more audition files to this Eco Cast.

Click here to choose a file or files from your computer. They will immediately start uploading and then processing.

Once a video is done uploading and processing, this button will appear next to the thumbnail image of that video. Click here to playback the video to ensure it processed correctly.


Check to automatically close window when finished

When this box is checked, this window will close after all the files for all actors are done uploading and processing.

Click here to close the uploader window. Do not close this window when files are still uploading as the upload will be stopped. It is safe to close this window when videos are being processed.

Delete Click the trash can next to a processed file to remove that file from the list.

Click here to continue to the Confirm Details page.

Click here to go back to your My Eco Casts list.

Confirming Details

When encoding is complete, click Continue to go to this page. Here you can edit the details on this Eco Cast and send a link to the media to your producer, director, or anyone with an email address.

This page lets you add security, customize the default URL where recipients

will view the videos, and set an expiration date for the Eco Cast.


Title The title you entered previously will be displayed here. You can change it if you wish.

Description/Notes Add an optional description or change the one you entered earlier.

Set Password You may want to limit who has access to this Eco Cast. If you choose a password, the recipient will need to enter this password before the link will open for them.

Enter any password you like in both the Set Password and Confirm Password fields.

Note: Passwords are case-sensitive. If you use all capital letters, for example, the recipient must also use all capital letters.

To see what you’re typing as you enter, click Show Password before typing. Click Hide Password when you’re done. Saved passwords display as asterisks (***) when hidden.

Create Custom URL Eco Cast automatically creates a web page to display the files, and generates the web address (URL) to go with it. If you choose, you can customize that address by entering something unique into this line.

You can see the URL change as you type. If the URL turns red it means the text you have entered is not a useable address and you will need to enter something else.

Set Expiration Date If you choose, you can set a date when the link to these files will no longer work. Use the three drop down menus to select day, month, and year, or click the calendar icon and select the day from the calendar.

When you’re finished, click Save. Any time you change anything on this page, be sure to click Save again so the changes will be permanent.

If you’re finished with this Eco Cast for the moment and want to work on a different one, click Return to Eco Cast List to display the current list.

Attached Media The Attached Videos area displays all the files you have attached, organized alphabetically. Each file has a thumbnail image and file name.

View Video Starts playing the file immediately.


Rename Video Lets you enter a new name for the file.

1. When the Video Title dialog box opens,

enter a new name. 2. Click Save Title to complete the change.

If you change your mind, click Cancel to close the window without changing anything.

Change Screenshot

Lets you manually add a thumbnail picture to this file from your computer. You can also choose to use the first frame of a video or no picture at all.

1. Click Choose File to find and upload a

picture from your computer. 2. When the filename appears, click Use

selected to confirm and save the change. – or – Cancel to close the window without changing anything.

Delete Video Removes the file from the Eco Cast. You cannot retrieve files you have deleted from an Eco Cast except by uploading them again.

When you’re finished with this page and ready to proceed, click Compose Email to go to the email form. This lets you send the link for this Eco Cast to the producer, director, or anyone you want.

After sending the email, click Show History to view a list of the email addresses you sent this link to, and the date and time each recipient viewed it.


Sending the Link

When you’re ready to send the link to your director, producers, and so on, click Compose Email. This opens the Send Eco Cast email form.

It’s just like an ordinary email, with the usual fields, but your Eco Cast link is included automatically in the body of the email.

From This line shows the name on your account and cannot be changed.

To Enter the email addresses you would like to send this link to. Separate multiple addresses by a comma and a space.

Send a copy to my email address

Check this box to receive a copy in the email address listed on your account. This is in addition to the standard confirmation email that you will automatically receive.

Subject The system will create a subject for you, but you can add to it or enter something different if you choose.

Message Enter whatever message you would like, just as you would in a regular email.

Click here to send the email. The system generates an actual Email message (this is not part of the internal cMail system). A confirmation email will be sent to the email address listed on your account.

If the person you sent the email to replies, that response will go to the email address listed on your account.

Sends you back to the Eco Cast you were working on. If you click Cancel without clicking Send Now, the email will not be sent or saved.


The Enhanced Method

The Enhanced Method has many more elements to it than the Simple Method. You can import actors' profiles and attach files to them, request self-taped auditions, re-order the actors, send cMails, and copy actors from one Eco Cast to another.

Creating a New Enhanced Eco Cast

Unlike the Simple version, creating an Enhanced Eco Cast lets you associate the Eco Cast with a project breakdown, and provides options for how you add actors’ profiles to it.

To start a new Eco Cast with the Enhanced Method, 1. From the Tools menu select Eco Casts – Start new 2. Click Start a New Enhanced Eco Cast.

Managed Eco Cast If you would like to include this Eco Cast in a Managed Eco Cast to group it or share it with the studio that hired you, select that Managed Eco Cast from the drop-down menu. Or choose “Not applicable”.

For more information on Managed Eco Casts see page 45.


Create Title Enter any title for your Eco Cast. If you use an existing title you will see:

Titles don’t need to be unique, so you can still use the title if you want. Click Keep this title to keep it or Choose new title to enter a different title.

Description Type some text to describe this Eco Cast. This is optional.

Breakdown Select one of your active Breakdowns from the drop-down list to associate this Eco Cast with that Breakdown. Archived Breakdowns are not listed.

Note: You must select a Breakdown if you intend to add actors via schedules or roles.

Add Actors to Eco Cast There are five methods of adding actors to the Eco Cast. Select one then click Continue to go to the next step.

Manually Lets you enter the names of every actor you want to include. For more details on adding actors, see page 19.

By schedule Lets you use your audition schedule to add actors from those you have already seen or will see in person.

Select a Breakdown and click By Schedule, and then choose a scheduled audition in menu that appears. You can select multiple sessions to add at once.

The actors in that schedule or schedules will be added to the Eco Cast. Check off “Use confirmed actors only” to have only those actors be added.


By role Lets you add actors you have selected for specific roles from your submissions.

Select a Breakdown and then check the boxes next to the role or roles you want.

The numbers 1-6 coincide with the selects you made on your submissions. Check the numbers that you want to use.

Note: A checkbox is grayed-out if you did not assign that number to anyone.

From the clipboard

If you have copied existing actors and their attached media to the clipboard, select From the clipboard to add them to the Eco-Cast.

For more detail on using the clipboard, see page 44.

Open Call Is similar to creating an Eco-Cast “Manually”, except that it also contains the functionality to create Open Call links. See page 35 for more information.

Click here to create the Eco Cast with this title and launch the Add Actor window (page 19) where you can add actors and upload audition videos.

Click here to create the Eco Cast with this title and go directly to the Details Page (page 17) where you can invite actors to do self-taped auditions, upload audition videos, and create Open Call links.

Displays the previous page.


Details Page

The Details Page is your main management page for this Eco Cast. This page lets you edit this Eco Cast in many ways, including:

• Re-ordering the actors • Editing details on the actors and their attached files • Adding additional actors manually • Uploading audition files • Sending invitations for self-taped auditions • Creating Open Calls for self-taped auditions • Sending cMails • Viewing and rating auditions • Sending a link to the Eco Cast package to your producer, director, or

anyone with an email address.

Main Sections The page is broken out into tabbed sections with a universal header section at the top:

• Attached Actors • Re-Order Actors • Eco Cast Invitations (displayed only when you have sent an invitation

(page 42)) • Open Call Invitation (displays only when you have created the Eco

Cast with the “Open Call” option (page 36)) • Client View Info • Custom Client Links (displays only after you have created Custom

Client Links (page 40))

Click the tab to view the contents of each one.

Header

This top section of the Details page displays the title of the Eco Cast and provides standard functions to share the contents of the Eco Cast with others.


Title The title you entered previously is displayed here. Click to change the title if needed. Make sure you save your changes afterward.

Breakdown The Breakdown, if any, you associated with this Eco Cast. This field cannot be changed at this stage.

Click this button to see a preview of what the recipient will see when you send the Eco Cast to them.

When you’re ready to send the Eco Cast, click Send Client Link. This opens an email form that lets you send a link to this Eco Cast and a message to your producer or director, or whoever needs to see it.

See page 13 for complete instructions on using that form.

Attached Actors

The Attached Actors tab lets you manage the actors in this Eco-Cast. The tool panel in this section also lets you:

• Find a particular actor among all your selects • Apply filters to display actors by role, agency, status, etc. • Select actors or auditions by your rating • Invite actors to create and send self-taped auditions • Use the Clipboard to compile multiple Eco Casts into one • Send cMails to selected actors • Choose a sub-group of actors and videos to share with your client • Edit specific actors or their audition files


List View vs. Card View On the left hand side of the page there are two gray icons. Click either icon to toggle between the two possible ways to view the attached actors.

List View This view show limited information for each actor on the left side of the page. Click an actor to see their full “card” on the right.

This is the default view for Eco Cast.

Card View

When working with smaller Eco Casts you can optionally view the actors in this view. Every actor’s full “card” is displayed side by side.

However, if your Eco Cast contains a large number of actors (more than 300) this view is disabled in order to prevent extremely long page load times.

Click here to open the Add Actors window where you can add more actors and/or attach more files to the actors in this Eco Cast.

The Add Actors window

The Add Actors window displays all the actors currently in the Eco Cast, and gives you the opportunity to add additional actors manually and attach and upload the audition files you recorded yourself.

Eco Cast Actors The Eco Cast Actors tab on the left is the default view. It shows all the current actors in this Eco Cast.

Click sort by name to sort the list of names alphabetically to make it easier for you to find someone in particular. This does not change the order they are displayed on the Details page.


Click sort by group to return to the original order.

The icons next to an actor mean different things:

Attached Actor The actors with the orange silhouettes have been added to the Eco Cast and have profiles in our database.

Attached Actor – No Profile

The actors with the blue silhouettes have been added to the Eco Cast, but do not have profiles in our database. So you won’t have access to resumes or headshots of those actors.

Has Video Actors with video already uploaded will have this camera icon next to their name as well.

Delete Actor Click the trash can next to an actor’s name to remove them from the list.

Adding Actors

To add additional actors: 1. Enter as many names as you need, separated with a comma and a

space, in the box at the top. Or, if you’re having a hard time finding an actor in our database, click Search by Full Name to optionally enter a first, middle, and last name of just one actor.

2. Click Search.

Search Results The results of your search will appear under the “Search Results” tab on the left.

Select Profiles Click a name on the left and any matching actors in our database will display on the right.

Click Select Profile to choose the correct actor. Or, if none of the actors displaying seem to be the right person, click Add as Custom to include them without a profile.


Multiple representation The actor will now be listed for each of their representatives.

1. Click the actor’s name to double-check that you have the right

representative. 2. Enter the role they are reading for. 3. Enter a note about that actor (optional). 4. Click Click to Add to add that actor to the Eco Cast.

Adding an actor multiple times

You can add one actor to the same Eco Cast as many times as you need. Just click their name in the Search Results again and go through the steps to add them. Repeat as necessary.

Return to Eco Cast Actors

Once you have added all the actors from your search, click the tab for Eco Cast Actors to see the current list of actors in this Eco Cast. The actors you just added will be at the bottom of the list.

Uploading Files

With Eco Cast you can attach as many files as you like to each actor. And the second you attach each one it will start uploading and processing it, allowing you to work on other things while the files are being added to the site.

Actor info Click an actor’s name in the list on the left. Their info appears on the right.


When you want to use a different picture for this actor:

1. Click change photo under the current headshot.

If the actor has more than one photo in their profile, they will all be displayed in this dialog box.

2. Click the photo you want 3. Click Done to return to the previous screen

Note: If you want to upload a photo that isn’t displaying here, use the Change Picture feature on the Details page (page 27).

Click here to attach one or more audition files to this actor. A new window will pop up allowing you to work on other things while the uploads are going on.







Repeat for each actor Repeat this process for each name on the list.

Each actor you are uploading to will be listed individually in the separate uploader window.

Applying Filters

The Filters box lets you find specific actors among the ones you have included in the Eco Cast. A filter does not remove actors from the Eco Cast or permanently alter it in any way.

Apply one or more of the filters to display only the actors you want to see.

Search Enter all or part of the name of the actor you want.

Role To find all the actors you have selected for a particular role, pick that role from the drop-down list.

The number in parentheses is the number of actors that have been assigned to it

Agency To view just the talent from a single talent rep, select one from the drop-down list.

The number in parentheses is the number of actors represented by that company.

Show This filter lets you pick any one of a variety of conditions. Select a condition (unviewed, viewed, marked A,B,C) or Eco-Cast status (sent, opened, received, declined).

Choose All Actors to remove the filter.

Order By Choose from your three specified ordering schemes: by Role, by Group, or by individual actor. This will not change the default display order for the client link, only your view here.

Audition Media

Select actors with video, without video, or all.

Reset To remove all the filters and display all the actors together, click Reset.


Taking action: Select/with Selected

You can act on groups of actors within the Eco Cast in a variety of ways.

Use the Select options below with the Filters above to quickly and easily select exactly the group you want to take action on.

Select

To select an actor manually, click the check mark in the top right corner of each actor’s card or to the left of their picture in the list. A red checkmark means they have been selected.

You can also select a group from the Select box.

1's, 2's, 3's, 4’s, 5’s, 6’s

These numbers correspond with the ratings you have already assigned to the submissions.

Manually added actors do not have these.

A’s, B’s, C’s These letters are the rankings you give to each actor’s auditions within this Eco Cast. These appear once you have uploaded audition files.

For more about ratings, see page 25.

Select all actors Click here to check every actor currently displaying, regardless of numbers, letters, or filters.

With Selected

Once you have checked the actors you want to work with, the With Selected box provides the actions to take with them.

Invite to Eco Cast Let’s you invite selected actors to submit a self-taped audition (see page 42).

Delete Permanently removes the selected actors.

Copy to clipboard

Copies the actors into the clipboard (see page 44) so you can paste them elsewhere.

Send C-mail Let’s you send a basic cMail message to the selected actors. For more on cMail, see the tutorial Using Breakdown Express for Casting.

Create Custom Client Link

Creates a new client link containing only the actors you have selected. For more on this feature go to page 40.

Clear selected Deselects all selected actors.



Managing actor information

Each actor in an Eco Cast is displayed on a kind of card where all of their information is contained. If you are viewing the Eco Cast in List View (page 18) click on the actor on the left to view their card on the right.

Buttons

The actor’s card uses symbols and buttons to provide information.

A, B, C, Viewed Once you have audition files attached to this actor, you can rate them A, B, C, or simply mark them as Viewed. (If you choose a letter, the actor is marked Viewed as well.)

If the actor has more than one video, the letter you choose will apply to all of them.

The letters have no pre-determined meaning. You can use them any way you like to organize your auditions.

Select To select the actor manually for various actions, click the check mark . The icon turns red to show that actor has been selected.

Basic information

The actor’s card contains all the basic information from their profile.

Headshot Double-clicking the headshot opens the actor’s profile in a new window.

Actor info The card includes the actor's name, the assigned role, their Representation, their location if available, their assigned group if applicable, and the date the actor was added to the Eco Cast.


If you copied this actor from another Eco Cast using the clipboard, the source Eco Cast will be shown. Click that title to go back to the source.

Click the actor's name to open their profile in a new window.

Select Number This white number in the gray box indicates the ranking you gave this actor in your submissions. If you added the actor manually, there is no number.

Size Card This icon indicates that this actor has their size card available. You can view it by clicking the actor’s name and then clicking the “Size Card” tab, or you can make it available for your client to see under the “Client View Info” options. (page 38)

Note: Size Cards are only available in this feature when they were purposefully included by the actor or talent rep with the original submission to your Breakdown.

Casting Notes To add notes about this actor: 1. Click in the Casting Notes: box 2. Enter anything you want 3. When you’re done, click save casting notes.

Only your recipients will be able to see these notes. They are never visible to the actor or Representative, and are not part of the actor’s profile.

Videos All attached media will display in this box with your selected thumbnails. Double-click a file to play it.

The number in parenthesis indicates how many videos are currently attached to that actor, including Performance Videos.

Videos also include a date-stamp indicating when that video was uploaded to that actor’s card.

Performance Videos This orange camera icon indicates that this actor has performance videos that are available to be added to the Eco Cast for your producer to see. Click it to go directly to the Performance Videos tool described on the next page.

Sort Click Sort to pull up a window allowing you to re-order the media attached to that actor.


Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Top buttons to adjust the order of both Auditions and Performance Media files. You can also click and drag videos into a new order

Click Save Sort when you’re finished to save your changes, or Cancel to reset them.

Edit Actor

The Edit Actor link just under the actor’s photo opens a menu of options for that actor.

Change Photo Click here to select a different picture for that actor.

To change the current picture, click the photo you want and then Use selected, or click Browse and follow the prompts to attach a picture from your computer and use that instead.

Click Cancel change to return to the previous page.

Performance Videos This feature allows you to include any of that actor’s attached Performance Videos (including Actor Slates and Audio clips) in this Eco Cast.

Just check off the videos you want (click Preview Video to watch the video to make sure you include the right one) and then click .

Casting Notes Another way to add casting notes: 1. On the Edit Actor menu, click Casting Notes. 2. Enter anything you want 3. When you’re done, click save casting notes.

Only your recipients will be able to see these notes. They are not visible to the actor or Representative.


Change Role If you have not assigned a role to this actor, or if you want to change the one you assigned:

1. On the Edit Actor menu, click Change Role.

2. Enter the name of the role in the text box. Any roles currently used in

this Eco Cast will appear in a drop-down once you start typing. (Or click the drop-down arrow to see the full list)

3. Click Save role name to save the change.

Note: In order for Eco Cast to sort the various roles correctly, you must enter each role the same way every time; that is, "dr jones" will not be sorted into the same group as "Dr. Jones".

Change Group This feature allows you to assign or change the Group this actor is in. These Groups are used as an alternative method to displaying the actors when you send the videos to your producer, director, or client.

1. On the Edit Actor menu, click Change Group.

2. Enter the name of the group in the text box. Any group names

currently used in this Eco Cast will appear in a drop-down once you start typing. (Or click the drop-down arrow to see the full list)

3. Click Save group name to save the change.

Add Media

Click here to attach one or more audition files to this actor. A new window will pop up allowing you to work on other things while the uploads are going on.







Manage Media

The Manage Video menu is only available when the actor has an uploaded file attached. Click the file and then click Manage Video to open a menu of options for that file alone.

Play To play the file, click Play or double-click the thumbnail image.


Rename To give the file a new name: 1. Click Rename.

2. Enter a new name in the Video Title box. 3. Click Save Title to complete the change.

To close the dialog box without changing anything, click Cancel Change.

New Screenshot By default, the first frame of a video is used as the thumbnail. Audio files display this graphic. If you don’t like the image for the file, you can change it:

1. Click New Screenshot. A Change Screenshot Selection dialog box opens.

2. Select Custom Image.

3. Click Browse to and select a new image from your computer. Or, you can choose to use the first frame of a video or no screenshot at all.

4. Click Use selected to save the change.

To close the window without changing anything, click Cancel change.

Hide/Unhide You may want to keep several audition files with an actor but show only certain files to your recipients. Click Hide to do so.

This does not remove the file from the Eco Cast, but only you will know it’s there. Click Unhide to bring it back.

Delete To remove the file from the Eco Cast completely, click Delete.

Note: You cannot retrieve files you have deleted.


Re-Order Actors

This tab allows you to set the ordering options for displaying actors to you or your client.

Default Order The default order that the actors are displayed depends on how their names were entered into the Eco Cast originally.

• If they were entered manually, it is the order they were entered. • If they were added from a schedule, it is the same order as the

schedule. • If they were added from selected submissions, it will be a random

order.

Ordering Options You can specify three different custom orders for the actors in this Eco Cast: • Order by Roles • Order by Groups • Order by Actors

Once you have set your order, make sure you also specify which ordering you want to use on your client link (page 38).

Order by Roles To set the order of the roles: 1. Click “Order by Roles” to expand that section. 2. Under the “Roles” section, click on a role name to highlight it. 3. Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Top buttons to adjust

the order. You can also click and drag that role to the spot you want.


To set the actor order within a role: 1. Under the “Roles” section, click on a role name to highlight it. The

actors assigned to that role will display on the right hand side. 2. Under the “Actors” section, click on an actor’s name to highlight it. 3. Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Top buttons to adjust

the order. You can also click and drag that actor to the spot you want or click Sort actors alphabetically to auto-sort them by last name.

Order by Groups Groups are assigned to each actor by the Eco Cast Desktop capture software (page 47), or manually by you in the “Edit Actor” section (page 27).

To set the order of the groups:

1. Click “Order by Groups” to expand that section. 2. Under the “Groups” section, click on a group name to highlight it. 3. Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Top buttons to adjust

the order. You can also click and drag that group to the spot you want.

To set the actor order within a group: 1. Under the “Group” section, click on a group name to highlight it. The

actors assigned to that group will display on the right hand side. 2. Under the “Actors” section, click on an actor’s name to highlight it. 3. Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Top buttons to adjust



Order by Actors You can choose to display actors independent of role or group.

To set the actor order:

1. Click “Order by Actors” to expand that section. 2. Click on an actor’s name to highlight it. 3. Use the Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Top buttons to adjust


To make sure you don’t lose your changes, click Save at the bottom of the page before moving on.

Eco Cast Invitations

This tab provides a summary of your invitations on this Eco Cast. It only appears after at least one invitation has been sent, showing:

• Project title • Sent date and time • Instructions • Deadline • Instructional Media • Invited actors

You can also set or change the deadline, send everyone a follow-up message, and cancel the invitation from this area.


If you send multiple invitations, a separate section appears for each one, with

the most recent one at the top.

For more on Sending Eco Cast Invitations, see page 42.

Instructions This box shows exactly what you told the actors to do in this invitation. If you need to edit these instructions just make your changes and then click Update.

Deadline The deadline is the date and time you set on the invitation for when all auditions must be received.

Set a new deadline If you want to change or extend this deadline, select a new day and time from the drop-down lists and click Update. You will then get the following message:

Click Send Notification to write a message to all invited actors letting them know about the updated deadline, or click Set As Already Notified to lock in the new deadline without notifying the actors through the site.

Instructional Media This lists any files you included to provide instructions to the actors. Double-click an icon to open or play any file.

To delete a file from the invitation, click Remove.

Click Add Media to attach additional files.

Invited Actors This list shows all the actors you included on this invitation’s email

Status Meaning

Sent The invitation has been sent but not opened.

Opened They have opened the invite but not responded.

Received You have received an audition from this actor.


Declined The actor has opted out of the opportunity.

Click here to send a follow-up cMail message to everyone in this invitation, regardless of status. If you have made changes to your instructions or deadline, it’s advisable to send a follow-up message.

As an alternative to sending the same invitation multiple times, click this button to add the actors you have checked off under the Attached Actors tab to this existing invitation.

To cancel or close the invitation for any reason click Cancel Invitation. Eco Cast sends a cMail notification to any actors who have not yet responded.

The contents of the invitation remain for your reference.

Open Call Invitations

This section allows you to create and edit Open Call links which can be distributed any way you wish. Anyone who goes to the link you create and logs in with their Actors Access account can directly submit an audition to this Eco Cast.

This section is only available if the Eco Cast was created using the “Open Call” option.

Once at least one Open Call link has been created it displays: • Role Name • Description • Expiration Date • Attachments • Instructions • URL


Edit Invitation Click the Edit Invitation link to be able to change all details on this Open Call including Role Name, Description, Instructions, Expiration Date, and Attachments.

Description This displays the role description you entered when the Open Call was created.

Expiration Date This is the date and time you set on the Open Call for when all auditions must be received.

Attachments This lists any files you included to provide instructions to the actors. Double-click an icon to open or play any file.

To delete a file from the invitation, click Remove.

Click to open the uploader tool and attach additional files or documents.

Instructions This box shows exactly what you told the actors to do for this Open Call.

URL This displays the Open Call link for this role. Click it to see how the link displays to the actors.

Click to quickly copy the link to the pasted into something else like an email, a social networking post, or the new Breakdown form.

Creating a New Open Call

Click Create New to open the window to enter all the details about a new Open Call link. Fill out the form that comes up.

*Role Name You must enter the role name. It’s advised to create a separate link for each role you are seeking, but if you don’t want to do that you can alternatively enter “Multiple Roles” or find a way to group similar roles.


*Role Description Enter the character description here. If you have it available, you can just copy and paste the description from the Breakdown.

*Instructions You must include instructions so the actors know how you want the audition done. These may include:

• Directions for delivery, characterization, etc. • Whether you want several different readings of the same scene • Suggested wardrobe or setting • Whether you want a slate or not • Whether you want each scene as a separate file or all in one (each

actor can send up to five files on each invitation) • Preferred framing • Anything else you think is relevant

You may want to put some or all of your direction on a video or in a PDF document, if you prefer, but you must enter something in this space, if only “See attached files.”

*Deadline You must enter a deadline date and time for submitting auditions. You can always extend this if you need to, but it is a hard cut-off point. The system will not accept submissions on this Open Call after this date and time.

This deadline is clearly displayed on the Open Call link.

Attachments If you choose, you can attach and include sides, copy, sample readings, concept art, or anything else that you feel might help the actors with their audition.

To upload files:

1. Click 2. When the next page opens, click Attach Media. 3. Select a file from your computer (we accept .pdf, .mp3, and most

standard picture and video file types).

The orange bar will show the upload progress. Click Cancel if you change your mind and want to stop the upload of that file.

Once upload is complete you can either attach more files or return to the Eco Cast by clicking Back to Invitation. You can attach up to 5 files per Open Call.

Finish Click Back to Invitation or the X in the top right corner of the window to complete the creation of the Open Call and return to the Eco Cast Details page.

Now just distribute the URL for that role and you’ll start receiving auditions.


Client View Info

This tab allows you to customize how the Eco Cast displays to your client.

Note: By default, the Client View includes all the actors in this Eco Cast, but you can create Custom Client Links (page 40) which will only include the actors you want to send.

Description This text will appear at the top of the Client Link page. It is optional.

Default Filter While your client can choose to view the actors in any of the three available ordering options (page 31), you can specify what you want the starting order to be here.

The default for all of your Eco Casts can be set in your Preferences page (under the profile menu on the right), otherwise it will default to “By Role”.

Size Card Settings This check box allows you to hide or show size cards of actors if they have them available. The size card will display on the client link as a separate tab next to the actor’s resume. The default for this option is that available size cards will display.

Note: Size Cards are only available in this feature when they were purposefully included by the actor or talent rep with the original submission to your Breakdown.

Casting Notes This option allows you to hide your notes about each actor from the clients. The check box will be checked by default.


Print Log Settings There are two options here related to the Print Log for this Eco Cast.

Include Print Log This includes a button on the Client Link that allows them to view and print a list of actors on the link. This option is turned off by default.

Show Talent Rep and Actors Access Information

This option will include the talent representative names and phone numbers on the Print Log. It is turned off by default.

Media Settings There are two options here to customize how this Eco Cast displays to your recipient when you email it out.

Show only actors with media

Hides any actors that do not have video or audio clips uploaded to them. The default is that only actors with media will display on the recipient view.

Allow downloading of media

Allows your recipients to download the .mp4 versions of the actor’s auditions for off-line use. Uncheck this box if you want to disable that ability.

External Link This is the auto-generated web address (URL) for the Client Link. Anyone can go to this URL to view this Eco Cast without having to log in to your Breakdown Express account. When you click Send Client Link, this is what is included in the email.

Create Custom URL If you choose, you can customize the External Link by entering unique text into this line.

You can watch the URL change as you type. If the URL turns red it means the text you have entered is not a useable address and you will need to enter something else.

Password You may want to limit who has access to this Client Link. If you choose a password, the recipient will need to enter this password before the link will open for them.

Enter any password you like in both the Set Password and Confirm Password fields.

Note: Passwords are case-sensitive. If you use all capital letters, for example, the recipient must also use all capital letters.

To see what you’re typing as you enter, click Show Password before typing. Click Hide Password when you’re done. Saved passwords display as asterisks (***).

If you can’t remember what you typed, click Show Password. Click Hide Password to turn the asterisks back on.


Set Expiration Date If you choose, you can set a date when the link to these files will no longer work. Just type in a valid date or click the calendar icon and select the day from the calendar.

Click Save at the bottom of the page to lock in your changes.

After sending your email you can click Viewing History to see a list of every email address you sent the link to, and the date and time the recipient viewed it.

Produces a text list of EVERY actor in this Eco Cast, as well as representative, role information, and thumbnail photos.

Custom Client Links

Since the default Client View contains all the actors in the Eco Cast, you may want to only show a sub-group of those actors to your client. To do that, you can create any number of Custom Client Links.

Creating a New Custom Client Link

Select the actors you want under the Attached Actors tab, then click Create Custom Client Link (page 24)

At this point all you need to do is give it a title and click Continue.

Switch to the Custom Client Links tab

Next, click the Custom Client Links tab to customize the link further.

Under this tab all the custom links you have created for this Eco Cast will be listed. The grey icons on the right for each link allow you to customize the links further and keep track of who has seen it.

Send Click here when you’re ready to send the Custom Client Link. This opens an email form that lets you send the link to whoever needs to see it.


Preview Click here to see a preview of what the recipient will see when you send this Custom Client Link to them.

Additional Options

Click the Gear wheel icon to access the additional options to edit this Custom Client Link.

Edit Click here to edit all the same options that you find in the main Client Link (page 38), including Description, Media Settings, Password, and Expiration Date.

Reorder Click here to be able to change the display order for the actors in this custom link. The order you set here will not affect the default order for this Eco Cast as a whole.

Add Actors Click the plus icon to add additional actors from this Eco Cast to this Custom Client Link.

Only actors that are in the main list but are not on the Custom list will appear in this drop-down menu to add.

Remove Actors

Click the minus icon to remove an actor from this Custom Client Link. Removing them here will not remove them from the Eco Cast as a whole.

Print Log Produces a text list of only the actors in this Custom Client Link, as well as representative, role information, and thumbnail photos.

View History After sending your email you can click here to see a list of every email address you sent the link to, and the date and time the recipient viewed it.


Sending Eco Cast Invitations

Once you have created an Eco Cast, you can invite actors to upload a self-taped audition.

1. On the tool panel, select actors using the Filter and Select tools (see page 19).

2. Under With Selected, click Invite to Eco Cast.

Note: If you have sent invitations from this Eco Cast in the past, you will get a drop-down letting to add these actors to an existing invitation or start a new invitation.

3. A cMail form opens that lets you add all the necessary instructions to

the actors.


From Your name is automatically entered.

To Automatically filled with the agencies, management companies, and actors you are sending this invitation to.

*Subject The subject for this cMail is created automatically, but can be changed.

*Instructions You must include instructions so the actors know how you want the audition done. These may include:

• Directions for delivery, characterization, etc. • Whether you want several different readings of the same scene • Suggested wardrobe or setting • Whether you want a slate or not • Whether you want each scene as a separate file or all in one (each

actor can send up to five files on each invitation) • Preferred framing • Anything else you think is relevant

You may want to put some or all of your direction on a video or in a PDF document, if you prefer, but you must enter something in this space, if only “See attached files.”

*Deadline You must enter a deadline date and time for submitting auditions. You can always extend this if you need to, but it is a hard cut-off point. The system will not accept submissions on this Eco Cast after the date and time you set.

This deadline is included on the invitation the actor and talent representative receives.

Attach Media If you choose, you can attach and include sides, copy, sample readings, concept art, or anything else that you feel might help the actors.

To upload files: 1. Click Attach Media 2. When the next page opens, click Browse. 3. Select a file from your computer (we accept all standard image, video,

and audio files).


The green bar will show the upload progress. Click if you change your mind and want to stop the upload of that file.

Once it is complete you can attach more files or go back by clicking Return to Invitation.

When you’re ready, click Send Message to send the invitation to the actors or their representation.

For information on keeping track of your Eco Cast invitations, see page 33.

Using the Clipboard

You may want to send to your producer a single Eco Cast package containing only your top choices from a number of Eco Casts.

The clipboard lets you copy an actor or group of actors, complete with profile info and any attached auditions, between one or more Eco Casts.

The clipboard is shared by all of your Eco Cast projects. This lets you select actors from a number of Eco Casts at once and paste them into a single new Eco Cast. You can copy and paste one group at a time, or collect them all in the clipboard and paste them all into the new Eco Cast at once.

To do this: 1. Open an Eco Cast that contains actors you want to include in a

combined package. 2. Select actors using the Filter and Select tools (see page 19). 3. Click Copy to clipboard.

The dialog box that appears lists the actors you have selected.

4. If there are already actors in the clipboard: Choose Replace clipboard data to replace the contents, – or– Choose Append clipboard data to add them to existing actors.

5. Click Continue. 6. Open another Eco Cast and append additional actors to the clipboard,

using steps 1–5, until you have all the actors you want.


7. Create a new enhanced Eco Cast using From the clipboard (see page 14). – or – Open an existing Eco Cast.

8. Go to the Attached Actors tool panel and click Paste.

Clipboard tools

On the tool panel, the red number in the Clipboard box always shows how many actors are in your clipboard.

View Click View to see the current contents of the clipboard. For each actor the display shows the headshot, name, the Eco Cast it came from, and role.

Click Close when you’re done or Clear if you want to empty the clipboard.

Paste Moves the actors in your clipboard to the Eco Cast you are working on. This empties the clipboard.

If the actor or actors you are trying to paste already exist in this Eco Cast you will be alerted.

You can choose to combine the videos from both Eco Casts, replace the actor in the destination Eco Cast with the actor you are pasting, or cancel the paste.

Clear Empties the clipboard.

Note: You are only copying the actors. They are NOT removed from their original Eco Cast when you paste them somewhere else.

Managed Eco Casts

Managed Eco Casts are basically a folder of individual Eco Casts, into which multiple Casting Directors can put their Eco Casts from their own personal accounts. Then, whoever is set up as the Administrator of that Managed Eco Cast has access to see all the Eco Casts it contains.


This can be used by a Studio to manage the audition videos uploaded by their hired Casting Directors, or for a lead Casting Director to keep track of local casting, or to simply group Eco Casts in a more manageable way.

Creating a New Managed Eco Cast

Managed Eco Casts must be set up by your Breakdown Services representative. We will need the following information:

• The name of the Project • An expiration date (when you want all Eco Casts in this Managed Eco-

Cast to automatically archive) • The names of any Casting Directors working with you on this project

(if applicable), and, optionally, individual expiration dates for each employed Casting Director.

Open Managed Eco Cast List

Open the Tools menu and select Eco Cast, and then Managed Eco Casts.

You will be taken to the list of “folders” you have associated with your account.

Your Managed Eco Casts

Your table of Managed Eco Casts lists the expiration date for each as well as the names of every Casting Director also associated with that Project.

You can archive a Managed Eco Cast (including all Eco Casts associated with it) by clicking the archive icon on the right.

Note: You can only archive a Managed Eco Cast if you are the CDA (Casting Director Administrator) for that project.

Just click a Title to view the Eco Casts in that Managed Eco Cast.


Eco Cast Desktop

To speed along the process of uploading audition videos to Eco Cast, we offer the Eco Cast Desktop software.

This Mac-only software allows you to… • Organize the audition sessions • Capture slates and snapshots of individual actors as well as audition

videos for groups of actors • Upload everything seamlessly to the Eco Cast page on your

Breakdown Express account

To learn more about this software contact your Breakdown Services representative.

Contact Us

Watch Us

At www.youtube.com/c/BreakdownServicesLosAngeles you can view a wide variety of videos focused on the casting and entertainment industry. Specifically, there is a playlist of tutorial videos on using the website.

Call Us If you run into any problems or would like to learn more about additional features or services, please call Breakdown Services at any of our regional offices.

• Los Angeles (310) 276-9166 • New York (212) 869-2003 • Chicago (312) 860-1164 • Vancouver (604) 974-8850 • Toronto (416) 923-1292

http://www.youtube.com/c/BreakdownServicesLosAngeles

Documents

for Casting Directors - Breakdown Expressmedia.breakdownexpress.com/tutorials/Using_Eco_Cast_CDs.pdf · producer, director, or anyone with an email address. This page lets you add