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Docs/For Casting Teams/Using the Audition Room

Using the Audition Room

The Audition Room is where your casting team comes together to discuss submissions, debate candidates, and reach decisions. Think of it as the digital equivalent of sitting in a room together watching tapes — except everyone can participate on their own schedule.

What is the Audition Room?

Every audition has its own Audition Room — a dedicated discussion space where reviewers can:

  • Leave timestamped comments on specific moments in a self-tape
  • Start and participate in threaded discussions
  • Tag team members for input on specific submissions
  • Record and track verdicts
  • View the conversation history for any submission

Unlike scattered email threads or chat messages, the Audition Room keeps all casting discussions tied to the submissions they reference. Six months from now, you can open any audition and see exactly why your team made the decisions they made.

Submission threads

Each submission has its own thread within the Audition Room. Click on any submission to see all comments and discussions related to that performer's self-tape.

The thread header shows:

  • Performer name and submission date
  • Current verdict status (if set)
  • Number of comments and replies
  • Which reviewers have scored the submission

Timeline view

Switch to the Timeline view to see all activity across the audition in chronological order. This is useful for catching up on recent discussions when you've been away from the platform.

Commenting

Timestamped comments

The most powerful feature of the Audition Room is timestamped commenting. When you're watching a self-tape, pause at any moment and click the comment icon (or press C) to leave a note anchored to that exact timestamp.

When other reviewers read your comment, they can click the timestamp to jump directly to the moment you're referencing. No more describing "that bit around the two-minute mark where she does the thing."

Formatting

Comments support basic formatting:

  • Bold and italic text for emphasis
  • Bullet and numbered lists for structured feedback
  • @mentions to tag specific team members

Threaded replies

Any comment can become a conversation. Click Reply to start a thread below an existing comment. Threads keep related discussion together and prevent the main comment stream from becoming cluttered with back-and-forth exchanges.

Reactions

For quick, low-effort responses, use reactions. Click the reaction icon on any comment to add an emoji. Common reactions include:

  • 👍 Agree with this observation
  • 🔥 Standout moment
  • 🤔 Worth discussing further
  • ⭐ Highlight for callbacks

Reactions are visible to all reviewers and provide a fast way to signal consensus without writing a full response.

Tagging and notifications

Mentioning team members

Use @ followed by a team member's name to tag them in a comment. Tagged members receive a notification and can jump directly to the comment that mentions them.

Common scenarios for tagging:

  • Asking a specific reviewer for their perspective on a performance
  • Flagging a submission for a director or producer who hasn't reviewed it yet
  • Alerting an admin to a submission that needs a verdict

Notification preferences

Team members can control how they receive Audition Room notifications:

  • In-app — badge notifications within Castora (always on)
  • Email — receive email alerts for mentions, replies, and new comments
  • Digest — receive a daily summary of Audition Room activity instead of individual notifications

Preferences are managed in Settings → Notifications.

Making decisions

Setting verdicts

When your team has discussed a submission thoroughly, it's time to set a verdict. From the submission thread, click Set Verdict and choose:

  • Shortlisted — moving forward to callbacks or final consideration
  • Held — keeping in the running, pending further review
  • Passed — not moving forward for this role

Verdict notes

When setting a verdict, you can add a note explaining the decision. This is especially valuable for:

  • Documenting why a strong performer was passed over for this role (they might be perfect for another)
  • Recording specific feedback to share with performers or their agents
  • Creating a reference for future auditions with similar roles

Consensus mode

For auditions where collective agreement matters, enable consensus mode in the audition settings. In consensus mode:

  • Any reviewer can propose a verdict
  • All assigned reviewers must approve the proposed verdict
  • If any reviewer disagrees, the verdict moves to discussion
  • The verdict is only finalised when consensus is reached

This prevents any single reviewer from unilaterally making decisions on contested submissions.

Audition Room etiquette

Keep it constructive

The Audition Room is a professional space. Comments should focus on the performance, preparation, and suitability for the role. Avoid personal remarks about performers that don't relate to casting requirements.

Be specific

Instead of "I didn't like this," explain what specifically didn't work and why. Specific feedback helps the team understand your perspective and makes for better discussions.

Stay on topic

Use submission-specific threads for comments about individual performances. For broader discussions about the role, casting direction, or project updates, use the General channel in the Audition Room.

Respond to tags promptly

When a team member tags you, they're asking for your input on a specific point. Try to respond within a day to keep the casting process moving.

Tips for effective collaboration

  • Watch before you read — score and form your initial impressions before reading other reviewers' comments.
  • Use timestamps liberally — the more precisely you can reference moments in a tape, the more useful your feedback is to the team.
  • Start threads for debates — if you disagree with another reviewer's assessment, reply to their comment rather than starting a new top-level discussion.
  • Revisit held submissions — check back on submissions marked as "Held" periodically. As you see more tapes, your perspective on earlier candidates may shift.
  • Summarise before setting verdicts — before finalising a decision, leave a comment summarising the key discussion points. This creates a clear record for future reference.