Hi Al and Miles,

You've probably just heard about this from Tom and Michael, and from Michael Robinson in the UK. That's on purpose: I asked them to share it with you, because I think it's built for people like you.

This is just a website. All my apps are web apps for your computer or phone, so nothing is downloaded. To keep one on your screen, tap the three dots on the right-hand side, scroll down to "install", and it will sit there looking like an app.

I've set up your accounts. Usually everyone has an ID check before they can access anything. Your ID isn't kept, only confirmed. I've done that step for you and opened everything, so you can just sign in and look around.

The Productions Suite. Talent fill in their details free in the Casting, Crew and Writers lounges. Producers and agencies search that talent and manage the production and hiring process from the Producers Lounge and Agency Lounge. In short, it goes from choosing the story to the last day of filming:

• Find your story: browse stories and their synopsis, without the author's name or title, and unlock the ones that grab you into a Possible Project folder to read the whole book and its producer report.
• Cast it and crew it from the Casting and Crew lounges. (Crew Lounge coming soon.)
• Run it: during production, it flags anything "wrong or unexpected", so you can follow it up or pass it to the person responsible.

It's a beta, so if anything's wrong or missing, tell me on Live Chat (top right). I'd love to hear what you think.

Jacqui

From choosing the story to the last day of filming, in one place.

The Productions Suite is enough to test.

Two kinds of lounge

Talent lounges: always free
This is where talent fill in their details, free.

• Casting Lounge (actors): enough to test
• Writers Lounge: enough to test
• Crew Lounge: coming soon

Producer and agency lounges
Producers Lounge and Agency Lounge. Producers and agencies search the talent from the Casting, Crew and Writers lounges, and manage the production and hiring process.

How a production comes together

1. Find your story. Writers put their scripts on Writers Lounge. You browse the stories and their synopsis without the author's name or title, and when one grabs you, you unlock it into a Possible Project folder to see who wrote it, read the whole book and get its producer report.
2. Cast it. Actors keep their profiles on Casting Lounge, and you find and shortlist them from the Producers Lounge.
3. Crew it. Crew members keep their profiles on Crew Lounge, ready for you to find and book. (Crew Lounge coming soon.)
4. Run it. During production, the suite reads your call sheets and the files your production software can export, and flags anything "wrong or unexpected". That's your alert to follow it up, or to forward it to the person responsible.

Everyone in one place

By the time you're filming, your cast and crew are all in the Producers Lounge for you to manage.

Fair to everyone

• Agencies are welcome: the apps never cut them out, and never get involved in deals.

Tap a lounge below to see how the beta works.

How to use this beta

Your accounts are ready. Jacqui has set them up for you and opened everything, so there's nothing to upload or pay. Al signs in with [email protected] and Miles with [email protected] (you can change them to your own emails later).

Inside the Producers Lounge

• Writers: browse stories and their synopsis without the author's name or title, and when one grabs you, unlock it into a Possible Project folder to see who wrote it, read the whole book and get its producer report.
• Actors: search and shortlist. Every actor here is an adult.
  • Established actors can already add their details on Casting Lounge, and press a button to request admission to the Established Actors Lounge. Their details move across when that lounge opens.
  • The Established Actors Lounge works differently. Established actors mainly pop up in your searches as a reminder that they're available, and their full profile stays private until they approve a request from you or your agent.
  • Under-18s will come later, in a separate Guardian Lounge, where every account is held by an adult guardian. It comes last, because it needs extra safety software, such as a dead-man's switch, before it opens.
• Crew: find crew, then manage your shortlist, bookings, productions, messages and ID checks. (Crew Lounge coming soon.)

It's a beta

If something's wrong or missing, tell us on Live Chat (top right). That's exactly the feedback we need.

How it will be paid for

I haven't decided exactly how I'll charge yet, but two things are settled:

• Talent never pay.
• Producers and agencies never pay for their own talent: anyone who signs up from their call for talent, or through their agency.

Browse safely. You browse stories and their synopsis and basics, without the author's name or the book's title. Anything that would give the story away is hidden, for example "…more chapters [unlock to see twist]".

When one grabs you, unlock it into a Possible Project folder. You'll then see who wrote it, read the whole book, and get the producer report:

• A breakdown of characters
• Where the story turns: turning points by page or chapter, and twists and unexpected moments, with what happens and on which page
• Why the author wrote it
• Characters and casting
• Fresh angles
• Inner life, pacing and visual signature
• Format and series potential: possible episodes, source and engine
• Budget and settings
• Tone, rating and market
• Similar titles, and what each shares with the book
• Risks and fixes
• Genre notes
• Continuity to fix
• The author's point of view compared with the reading
• Open questions for the author, and the author's answers in full, as written
• A one-page pitch sheet
• A pilot outline or episode map
• A mood board

Protecting everyone

• Every manuscript is recorded and watermarked.
• Before you open any details, you're ID checked and told the status of the IP.
• No deal is done on the platform, but writers are encouraged to keep their conversations here as evidence.
• The writer has evidence of who opened their manuscript, and of every conversation, if there's ever a dispute.
• The producer has evidence that they only read a synopsis without the twists, so they can't be accused of using anything they haven't seen.

From character to casting

For each character, there's a link to actors with all the skills that character needs. It shows how many actors fit, and gives you their actor codes. Your next step can be to take those codes to the Casting part of the Producers Lounge.

Try it

• As a producer: go to the Producers Lounge (producers-lounge.pages.dev) and open Writers Lounge.
• As a writer submitting work: go to writers-lounge.pages.dev/works.

As a producer

In the Producers Lounge (producers-lounge.pages.dev):

• Search actors by capability, look, language and working requirements (age, height, build, hair, skills and keywords), not by a public ranking.
• Confirmed skills: actors prove a skill on camera, and it is confirmed, so it's more than the actor's own opinion or a ticked box. Anything unconfirmed stays clearly marked unconfirmed.
• Start from a character: from a story's character breakdown, you can see how many actors fit and get their actor codes.
• Start from an actor: if you already have someone in mind, you can find a project with a role that fits them.
• Working-style profile: you can see how an actor tends to fare under different working conditions. It isn't a score or a ranking, and it says nothing about their talent.
• Shortlist actors, and add them to a production. A production is your private container for one project, and the team builder deliberately doesn't rank anyone.

As an actor: free

In the Casting Lounge (casting.productions-lounge.com):

• A video portfolio of your best takes: upload footage or record in the app, and perform against studio scenes and prompts.
• Prove your skills: tick from over 150 acting and practical skills, then tag clips that show them. Each skill is confirmed, so it's more than your own opinion or a ticked box, and you can challenge any assessment.
• Practice tools: Line Learning Lab, Listening Lab, an AI Scene Partner to run lines with, and Transition Analysis, which shows how your face processes emotion.
• Mental wellbeing, private to you: check-ins around difficult material. Producers and agents can't see any of it.
• Producer requests: respond to genuine requests and record for parts that are actually being cast.

Established actors can sign up now and press "Transfer my data to Established Actors". Their details move across when that app is ready, so they don't have to wait or enter everything again.

Under 18? Not here. Under-18s will have their own Guardian Lounge, so they never contact adults without supervision.

Events Lounge (mentioned on these pages) is the app used to run live online events, such as chemistry reads with established actors and fan events.