Rules & Terms · plain language

How CrowdCast Studios works.

Last updated: 2026. This is a plain-language summary for players and families. It isn't legal advice.

1. Credits

CrowdCast Studios runs on credits. 1 credit = $1 USD. You buy credit packs by card through Stripe.
New accounts get 10 free credits. Bigger packs include bonus credits.
Credits are for use on CrowdCast Studios only and can't be cashed out, except royalties and unlocked fee-pool credits earned as cast, which you can cash out to PayPal from your wallet (1 credit = $1, minimum $20). CrowdCast Studios sends payouts by hand, usually within a few business days.

Lead and Supporting roles are auctioned. The highest bid when the auction ends wins the role — it's guaranteed.
Auctions run for two weeks. If a Lead role still has no bids when time is up, the auction stays open another week (up to 8 extra weeks) so it can find its star.
Your bid is held while the auction runs. If someone outbids you, it's returned to your wallet straight away.
Minor roles and Extras are won by audition: send a clip and an offer. The cast one tier above watches the clips and picks.
Your offer is only charged if you're picked.
If a Lead or Supporting role gets no bids, it can be claimed at its minimum price after the auction closes.

Every bid or audition has a small fee: $2 for a Lead, $1 for Supporting, Minor and Extra roles.
Fees are not refunded, even if you don't win. Credit packs are final except for billing errors, and movies are refunded only if they won't play. See the Refund Policy on the Contact page.
Fees go into the movie's cast pool, which CrowdCast Studios holds until the finished movie makes its first sale.

Outbid at auction close, or your audition wasn't picked? You get 10% of your bid or offer back as consolation credits.
Consolation credits can be spent on fees and roles in any other movie — not the one you missed.
You also get 24 hours of first dibs on roles one tier down in that movie.

Buy two or more Minor or Extra roles together at a fixed price and they're guaranteed yours — no audition.
Duos (Sis & Bro, BFFs) save 10%. Three or more roles save 15%. Your first package gets an extra 5% beginner bonus.
Bid fees still apply to each role in a deal.

Roles marked as kids' roles must be played by a child only with a parent or legal guardian's consent.
The parent or guardian confirms consent by name before any family deal, audition or take for a kid's role is accepted.
Parents should supervise all filming. We may remove any video that doesn't look safe or appropriate.

You film your own scenes on a smartphone or camera (1080p or better, landscape), in your own costume, at your own cost.
Backgrounds, crowds and interactions are added with CGI/AI by CrowdCast Studios.
Upload only videos you made yourself. No nudity, hate, violence against real people or anything illegal.
By uploading, you let CrowdCast Studios edit, combine and show your footage in the movie and its promotion.

Finished movies can be streamed (24 hours), rented (7 days) or bought (forever).
No one except CrowdCast Studios is paid until a finished movie starts selling.
If a sale is refunded, the royalty paid on it is taken back from the cast's credits (or deducted from future royalties). After that, the cast shares 10% of every sale (after payment-processing fees and refunds), split by role size (leads 40%, supporting 30%, minor 20%, extras 10%, shared equally within each tier, not by how much anyone paid), and the cast pool unlocks on the first sale.
The better a movie sells, the more the whole cast earns, but earnings depend entirely on sales and are never guaranteed. Buying a role is not an investment.