Covert Film, founded and led by filmmaker Luke Covert, is an award-winning video production company specializing in video content for nonprofits, businesses, and artists. Covert Film projects have included commercials for national television, social media ads and content, music videos, and e-commerce courses.
When Covert started work on directing this first feature—a heist-comedy with big ambition but a tight budget—he knew he needed to source motivated, rising talent without blowing the budget on a casting agency.
“We were looking for undiscovered actors who were on the cusp of being great, who have learnt techniques, have been to acting school, and were ready to put the work in to create something amazing,” Covert said. “And we found exactly what we were looking for on Backstage.”
Finding rising talent with the right drive—on a budget
Covert Film used Backstage to cast Turbo Cola, a feature-length independent film, based on the Samantha Oty play New Year’s Eve at the Stop-n-Go, that has gone on to win numerous awards in the film festival circuit.
Covert Film turned to Backstage for:
- A casting solution within a tight budget
- Sourcing local experienced talent
- Hiring skilled professional who were a good fit for the project and crew
“The project wasn’t greenlit with a huge studio backing, which is why Backstage was perfect. It allowed us to gather a huge sample of talent who were ready and wanted to do something like this, without spending half the film’s money on a casting director.”
Covert collaborated with actor-producer Brandon Keeton on the project. Using Backstage, Covert and Keeton were able to cast six dedicated actors, including one in the starring role, according to their strict requirements.
Cast of Turbo Cola
“The talent and the crew were amazing,” says Keeton. “I served in the Marine Corps for 21 years and I know the difference between a good unit and those just phoning it in. This group of people gelled together in such a short time like I haven’t seen since I retired from the service.”
Covert found the Backstage platform features easy to navigate and use. He calls out the messaging, filtering, and self-tape tools as especially helpful. Covert and Keeton assessed talent submissions, skills, experience, headshots, reels, and self-tapes all in one place for a full view of potential cast members. Backstage’s platform streamlined the process so much that Covert Film was able to round out the full cast in a matter of weeks.
Dream team scores award-winning success
With Backstage, Covert Film was able to:
- Cast six right-fit actors, including for the starring role
- Accelerate the casting process and stay within budget
- Find an easy-to-use casting platform now integral to its casting process, especially for its robust talent profiles and messaging, filtering, and self-tape tools
Covert and Keeton had a singular mission and criteria for their film Turbo Cola to find a great and professional cast to complement their talented crew. Thanks to Backstage, they were able to create an artful film and a rewarding on-set experience for all.
“It was very cool to see a team come together like that,” adds Keeton. “I have been on some other projects since then and while they have been professional, there’s been nothing like this team we put together for this project.”