WELCOME TO THE CDG

The Guild is a professional organisation of Casting Directors in the film, television, theatre and commercials communities in the UK and Ireland who have joined together to further their common interests in establishing a recognised standard of professionalism in the industry, enhancing the stature of the profession, providing a free exchange of information and ideas, honouring the achievements of members and standardisation of working practices within the industry.

Following the recent discussion in the press, the CDG have made the following statement regarding the use of Self-Tapes

We, as a Guild, believe that self-tapes have achieved a huge amount of work for actors, many of whom could not be presented for projects any other way. Be that due to access requirements or prohibitive travel expenses and many other logistical reasons. It is something we have debated as a Guild, as an industry and with professional bodies far and wide.

The industry we work in is global and every actor deserves a bite of the cherry if requested. Self-tapes allow unprecedented opportunity.

We all agree good practice must be upheld, including in the wider entertainment industry.

We are always here to listen to genuine concerns over any bad practice. We have a Complaints Procedure and anyone can write in, anonymously if they wish, to draw attention to any practice they feel is breaching our Code of Conduct on self-tapes.

We worked hard, over many months, with Equity on our joint Code of Best Practice for Self-Tapes and continue to be in regular contact with them regarding the document. We have a positive and valuable relationship with Equity and are always open and willing to listen to any concerns that they, or anyone else directly affected, may have.