How to Write a Casting Brief for a Saudi Production (Free Template)

Your casting brief is the only member of your team who attends every conversation.

It's there when the casting team builds the search. Its summary reaches talent as they decide whether the role fits, whether they're free, and whether the usage works for them. It's back on the table at negotiation and booking. You're in none of those rooms. The page speaks for you.

So when the page says this:

"Need a young Saudi actor, good-looking, shoot is next week. What's the rate?"

it says almost nothing. No story, no idea what the role says, where the ad runs or for how long. Either the work starts with questions instead of a search, or the search starts on guesses and gets redone.

This is for whoever writes the casting brief: producers, agency and brand teams, directors, and international crews shooting in Saudi Arabia for the first time. Inside: the brief field by field, a copy-ready casting brief template, one project written two ways, and what happens after you hit send.

For the full picture from first message to shoot day, see our guide to casting in Saudi Arabia. This article covers one page: the brief.

Why the brief decides the casting

A thin brief rarely stops a project. It slows it down in ways that are easy to miss:

• Questions before any search. Every empty field is a question sent back, waiting on your reply.
• Searching on assumptions. We infer the dialect, the age, the energy, and you get a shortlist that's good, just not right.
• Late surprises. The face you loved is tied to a competing brand, or won't accept the term. One line on exclusivity would have settled it on day one.

A strong brief isn't a long brief. It's one where every line helps someone make a decision.

Brief ready now? Send it here and finish reading later.

The casting brief, field by field

1) Story: two lines are enough

Not the script, not the strategy. Two lines: what happens, and how the viewer should feel.

• Weak: "Ad for our new product."
• Clearer: "A father and son open their coffee roastery on the first morning after a renovation. Warm, a little funny, no drama."

Tone matters more than people expect: an actor who shines in comedy isn't automatically the one who can carry a silent close-up.

2) Roles: describe what we'll see, not adjectives

This is where briefs win or lose. "Young, charismatic, good-looking" means something different to everyone, and none of it can be searched.

For each role, write:

• Playing age: how old they read on screen. "Reads 25–30" beats "27 years old".
• Gender, screen weight and dialogue: none, a line or two, or extended.
• Presence as behaviour. Not "a loving father" but "corrects his son with a look, not words; laughs with his eyes before his mouth." We can see that in a self-tape. We can't see "loving".
• Real skills: driving, swimming, sport, an instrument, horses, animals. Say so now, not on set.
• Role type: principal, supporting, featured extra or background; it changes the search and the usage. (Larger numbers: extras casting.)
• Actor or real person? Some spots want people who look like the street, not the screen. Different search.

What we don't want. The most powerful field in any brief, and the most forgotten. "No model energy." "No performed dialect." "No face tied to a competing category." One line like that closes doors you never wanted opened.

3) Dialect and look: where KSA casting is won

In Saudi Arabia, dialect isn't a detail. One word, wesh or eish for "what", tells a Saudi viewer where the speaker is from before the sentence ends, and a borrowed dialect is heard in the first line. "Saudi accent" on its own isn't a spec.

Three questions to answer:

1. Where is the character from? Not where you're shooting. You can shoot in Riyadh with a character from Al-Ahsa.
2. Native dialect, or convincing? In extended dialogue the difference shows; for one line you have more room. No dialogue at all? Say so; it widens the search.
3. Which features serve the story? Write them as context: home clothes or occasion clothes? Working hands or office hands? Skip stock types that resemble no one. Audiences know their own people.

Script still in English? Say who adapts it into dialect before auditions. A literal translation gives itself away in the first line, even from a strong actor.

4) Dates: never just one

• Auditions: self-tape or in person, and when callbacks happen.
• Prep: wardrobe fitting, rehearsal if any.
• Shoot: days and approximate hours.
• Backup day, if any.

And say honestly whether dates are fixed or flexible. Right after "do you like the role?" comes "are you free?".

5) Location: shoot city and audition city

Shoot city; interior, exterior or studio; talent travel; and the audition city if different. It shapes who can be put forward, the schedule and the cost. (Teams new to KSA: see how to hire actors and models in Saudi Arabia.)

6) Usage: channels, territory and term

Three short answers that change the talent's decision, and the numbers:

• Channels: social (which platforms), TV, cinema, outdoor, in-store screens, website and app, events. Some people welcome a social ad and hesitate at a roadside billboard for a year.
• Territory: Saudi Arabia, GCC, MENA, or worldwide. Wider territory, different terms.
• Term: six months? A year? Write "perpetual" and expect a conversation on day one: a buyout covers defined usage, not permanent ownership, unless the legal terms explicitly say so.

7) Exclusivity: which category, how long, for whom?

Define the exact category (coffee? all beverages? all food?), the duration, and whether it covers every role or principals only. Broad exclusivity narrows the pool and affects cost, so size it to what you need.

8) AI use: say it in line one

Will the talent's image, voice or movement go into AI-generated work, model training, or a digital likeness? Write it plainly.

Registering with us is not consent to any AI use. Consent is obtained from each person, for the disclosed use, before booking and capture. Raise AI late and the shortlist may start over. AI-led project? Our AI talent brief is more precise than this template.

9) References: "we like" and "we don't"

Ads, stills, film scenes, a clip from your phone. Next to each, write exactly what you like about it: the light? The pace? The age? A reference without a note means something different to everyone who opens it.

Negative references are gold. "This is exactly what we don't want to look like" saves a page of explanation.

10) Budget: you choose the format

We don't publish prices: every request is priced on its brief (number and type of talent, shoot days and hours, city and travel, auditions, urgency, usage). But don't leave the field empty. Pick one:

• A reference figure or ceiling for the talent share or the casting.
• "Overall production budget; talent share not set yet", and we'll show you what moves the number.
• "Propose two tiers", say narrower and wider usage, and you decide.

Any proposal from us separates what's included in the service fee, what's separate (such as talent fees and usage, where stated separately), what's optional, and what's out of scope.

11) Final decision maker

Who approves the shortlist: the director, the marketing lead, the end client? Who signs off on usage? Who do we talk to day to day? Write the role. A shortlist waiting on three parties with no owner can take longer than the search.

Copy-ready casting brief template

Fill it in and paste it into the "Message / Project Brief" box on the brief form, or attach it as a file under "Upload Brief / References". Items in [ ] are options: keep what applies. Don't know an answer yet? Write "TBC". That's information too.

CASTING BRIEF — [Project name or codename]
Brief date: ______

A) PROJECT
Type: [TV/online commercial / Brand film / Social content / Photoshoot / Film or series / AI production / Other]
Sent by: [Production company / Agency / Brand]
Story in two lines:
Tone: [Warm / Comedic / Dramatic / Premium / Documentary-real / Other]

B) ROLES (repeat for each role)
Role name:
Role type: [Principal / Supporting / Featured extra / Background]
Number needed:
Playing age: from ___ to ___
Gender:
Where is the character from?
Dialect: [Native required / Convincing is fine / No dialogue]
Language: [Arabic / English / Both / Other]
Presence (what they do, not what they are):
Dialogue: [None / One or two lines / Extended]
Special skills: [None / Driving / Swimming / Sport / Instrument / Other]
Professional actor or real person?
What we DON'T want for this role:

C) DATES
Auditions: [Self-tape / In person / Both] — date:
Callbacks (if any):
Prep (wardrobe fitting / rehearsal):
Shoot days:
Backup day:
Dates are: [Fixed / Flexible]

D) LOCATION
Shoot city:
Audition city:
[Interior / Exterior / Studio]
Talent travel: [Yes / No]

E) USAGE
Channels: [Social / TV / Cinema / Outdoor / In-store screens / Website & app / Event / Other]
Territory: [Saudi Arabia / GCC / MENA / Worldwide]
Term:
Exclusivity: category ______ duration ______ applies to: [All roles / Principals only / None]
Expected reuse (cut-downs, future seasons):
AI use: [None / Image / Voice / Movement / Model training / Digital likeness] — details:

F) REFERENCES
We like (link + exactly what we like):
We don't like (link + why):

G) BUDGET (pick one)
[ ] Reference figure or ceiling: ______
[ ] Overall production budget; talent share not set yet
[ ] Propose two tiers and we'll choose

H) DECISIONS & CONTACT
Final casting decision maker (role):
Usage sign-off by:
Day-to-day contact:
Confidentiality: [Standard / NDA needed before details are shared with talent]
Children involved: [No / Yes — ages and hours on set]

One project, two briefs

Illustrative example, invented for this article. The project, brand and names are fictional.

The weak brief

"Need a Saudi father and son for a coffee ad. Good-looking, natural. Shooting end of the month in the Eastern Province. Budget is tight. Send us all your options."

Looks workable? Before a search can open, nine questions go back:

1. What happens, and what's the tone?
2. How old do father and son read on screen?
3. Any dialogue? Which dialect?
4. "Eastern Province": Dammam, Al Khobar or Al-Ahsa? Where are auditions?
5. "End of the month": how many shoot days? When are auditions?
6. Where does it run, for how long, in which territory?
7. Any exclusivity? Which category?
8. "Tight" means roughly what? Or two tiers?
9. Who approves the final choice?

Each one is a message waiting for a reply. And "send us all your options" is the opposite of what you need. You don't need many options. You need a few right ones.

The strong brief

CASTING BRIEF — "First Pour" (codename)

Project: Social ad for a local coffee roastery, 30s + short cut-downs
Story: A father and son open their roastery on the first morning after a
renovation. The father shows his son how to serve the first cup to the
first customer. Warm, a little funny, no drama.

Role 1 — Father (Principal)
Plays 50–60 · From the Eastern Province, native dialect required
Dialogue: two short lines
Presence: calm; corrects with a look, not words; laughs with his eyes first.
Working hands, not office hands.
Don't want: presenter energy, or a businessman look.

Role 2 — Son (Principal)
Plays 22–28 · Native Eastern dialect
Dialogue: one line
Presence: eager and a little nervous; respects his father without formality.
Don't want: influencer look, or model energy.

Role 3 — Customers (Featured extras x 4)
Mixed ages 25–65 · men and women · no dialogue · everyday clothes

Dates (fixed): self-tapes for principals, then in-person callback for the closest;
wardrobe fitting; two shoot days + one backup day.
Location: Al Khobar, inside the roastery. Callbacks in Al Khobar. No travel.
Channels: social (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat) + in-store screens
Territory: Saudi Arabia · Term: 12 months
Exclusivity: coffee and hot beverages, 12 months, principals only
AI use: none
References: [link] we like the natural light and the pace.
[link] we don't like the over-acting and smiling at camera.
Budget: ceiling for the talent share [figure]; open to a second, narrower-usage tier.
Final decision maker: the brand's marketing lead, on the director's recommendation.
Day-to-day contact: the project producer.

Same idea, same city, roughly the same budget. But the second leaves nothing to guess: the search starts on day one, talent know from first contact what the role is and where its limits sit, and whoever reaches your shortlist is interested, available in principle, and knows the terms.

From brief to Casting Breakdown to shortlist

1. We read the brief and come back with next steps, plus questions if a field is missing.
2. We turn it into a Casting Breakdown: one card per role, with criteria to search and assess against.
3. Search, screening and first checks on fit, interest and availability.
4. A curated shortlist: fewer options, a reason behind each name, photos and video to help you decide.
5. Self-tapes, callbacks or in-person auditions as the project needs.
6. Your selection, then availability confirmation, negotiation and usage.
7. Booking, agreements, prep and scheduling.

Here's Role 1 from the roastery brief, after it became a breakdown card:

ROLE: Father — Principal
Playing age: 50–60
Dialect: native Eastern (required)
Dialogue: two lines
Presence criteria: calm; light comedy through the eyes; at ease with coffee tools
Exclude: presenter/formal energy; any current commitment to a coffee or hot-beverage brand
Availability needed: callback + fitting + two shoot days + backup day
Usage explained to talent: social + in-store screens, KSA, 12 months, category exclusivity
Self-tape: both lines + a silent take serving a cup

Every line on the card comes from a line in the brief. What isn't in the brief can't be searched for.

See this route on published projects in our case studies.

Common casting brief mistakes

1. "Send us everything you have." You're asking for volume when you need a decision.
2. Adjectives instead of behaviour. "Charismatic" and "strong presence" can't be searched. "Pauses two beats before answering" can.
3. Usage last. You pick someone, then learn they won't accept the term or channel.
4. AI mentioned late. Consent comes before booking; a late mention can reshape the shortlist.
5. Changing the spec after the search starts. It happens. Flag it fast and say exactly what changed.
6. No decision maker. The shortlist arrives, and waits.

Casting brief FAQ

Send us your brief

It doesn't need to be complete. It needs to be honest about what you know and what you don't yet. Fill in what you have and send it; we'll come back with next steps and the questions that complete the picture.

Your brief will be in every room you're not. Write it so it says exactly what you would.

Send your brief · Read the full casting guide