Self-taping has become an essential need-to-know auditioning skill for actors. By practising and paying attention to detail, you can develop the skills needed to create compelling self-tapes that showcase your talent to Casting Directors who help you land your dream roles. This article covers some useful tips to help you improve your self-taping skills and achieve success in the acting industry.
- Introduction
- What Kind of Camera
- Audio Quality
- Choose your Filming Environment Carefully
- Ensure any area you use is well-lit
- Choose a simple background
- Noise
- Costumes
- Editing
- Practice your Performance Beforehand
- Recording
- Sending Your Self-Tape
- That's a Wrap!
Introduction
Mastering the art of self-taping involves understanding lighting, sound, camera angles, and framing. It also requires selecting the right equipment, rehearsing your lines, and ensuring your background is appropriate. With practice and attention to detail, you can develop the skills needed to create compelling self-tapes that showcase your talent and help you land your dream movie roles.
Self-tapes are incredibly important for Casting directors and producers because they allow them to review potential talent quickly and efficiently.
However, many casting directors say they will only present a self-tape to a client if it meets their standards. Therefore, as an actor, it is crucial to get it right and ensure that your audition self-tape is of the highest quality.
What Kind of Camera?
Don't worry about becoming the next Kubrick overnight. Just remember that any camera you use for your self-taped auditions must be of good quality, clear and not grainy or blurry. Technology is rarely an issue these days because smartphone cameras tend to be such excellent quality!
If you are using a smartphone, use it in landscape mode and on a stable surface. You can purchase a cheap camera tripod stand from Amazon for around £15 to £20. Here's one which also comes with a wireless remote shutter for ease of shooting different takes.
Audio Quality
It's also crucial to ensure that your audio quality is top-notch. Remember that the casting director not only needs to see your performance but also hear it clearly. If the audio is crackly, it will be difficult for them to understand your lines.
Most casting directors do not want to hear any empty spaces between your lines, so it's best to record with a reader. Make sure the reader's lines can be heard clearly but quietly.
If you have trouble finding a reader, you can record the other role lines on your phone, have someone dial in and read the lines remotely, or use a platform like WeAudition, which provides actors/readers for around $10 per month and is available worldwide.
Choose your Filming Environment Carefully
There are several things to consider when choosing a space for filming your self-tapes.
Ensure any area you use is well-lit:
Natural lighting is ideal but can fluctuate with weather changes. If sunlight goes in or it begins to rain, lighting will become an issue. One option is to use softboxes or a lighting ring, which can be an inexpensive option for adjusting your lighting to make it more dynamic and illuminating your face evenly.
Choose a simple background:
Ensure the background is plain and clutter-free. If you don't have a bare wall, you can purchase a photography backdrop, use blinds or a bedsheet. Perfect background colours are white, cream, blue or grey. All of this will keep the casting director's focus on you and how well you are performing.
Noise:
Additionally, ensure that the space you use is free from any background noise and isn't echoey, as that could distract from your performance. Choose a quiet area and ensure no ticking clocks, phones, pets, or other potential distractions are present.
Costumes
The way you present yourself in a self-tape can significantly affect how you are perceived. It is essential to demonstrate that you understand the character you are portraying to make your audition stand out from others. Wear attire appropriate for the role you are playing or similar to the photograph submitted for the part.
However, it can be challenging to find the perfect costume for specific roles, such as a Viking! To avoid any distractions from your performance, keep your costume simple and minimal. Remember, first impressions count, and this will help to keep the focus on you and your acting skills and increase the chances of future audition requests.
Editing
When filming, there's no need to film in full high resolution; around 720p should be fine. Set up and film in a mid-shot, have the camera at eye level so the casting director can see your face entirely and film in landscape. All of this will help speed up the editing process.
There's no need to purchase an expensive editing suite; you can use the iMovie editing software on your iPhone, or a free option I recommend is the Clipchamp app. Clipchamp is excellent as it also allows you to edit and compress your self-tape, reducing the upload time without losing any quality. This will help and be appreciated by casting directors who must download and sometimes upload your tapes to show production.
Also, remember to refrain from using filters or overlays. Directors and casting managers want to see you. Camera effects can make it harder for them to tell if you're right for the part.
Lastly, it's essential to watch your takes multiple times to identify any areas for improvement. Sometimes, a recording you initially disliked highlights your talents, or you may find scenes that need reworking. Having the confidence to analyse your own performance is crucial to grow as an actor. If you're still unsure which to send, you can always ask your agent for feedback and help to decide.
Practice your Performance Beforehand
When auditioning for a role, treat it as if you were doing it in person. Prepare and rehearse your lines, and work on creating a compelling performance that engages the audience and conveys the character's emotions effectively.
As an actor, it is essential to have your lines memorised. If you constantly look at your lines when you're on stage, it can disrupt your focus and take you out of character. Another important skill for an actor is to learn how to sightread, also known as cold reading.
I recommend doing several takes of each scene and becoming accustomed to delivering the character's lines while discovering the nuances within the text. These subtle and complex variations in an actor's performance can make a significant difference in the final outcome of the performance.
Before a shoot, dive deep into your character to get a better understanding of their personality. You can interview yourself as the character to learn about their backstory or do everyday tasks, such as preparing a coffee, while being in character to help you get into the right mindset.
Recording
It's crucial to follow the instructions given by the casting director while making a self-tape. Not following them could result in your tape being discarded right away.
Casting directors can require close-up and full-body shots, body profiles and 3/4 shots, depending on the role. These instructions will be specific, so it's crucial to follow them closely.
Some directors may ask for a slate, while others may not. In case a slate is required, follow the given instructions precisely. You may have to introduce yourself by stating your name, agency, and height. Speak confidently, be natural, keep it short, and practice.
When recording the script, even if the first take seems satisfactory, record a few more takes to have multiple options for editing. This will save time and prevent the need for rushed retakes.
Taking breaks between takes, drinking water, and refreshing yourself is essential. Overdoing it can lead to exhaustion and may affect your performance. After taking a break, you can return to the material with a more balanced and fresh approach.
Sending Your Self-Tape
It can be tempting, after all the hard work that goes into a self-tape, to hit that send button without reviewing the material first. But it doesn't matter how much you've perfected that performance; always double-check before hitting send.
Most casting directors have different specifications regarding labelling and sending, so make sure to thoroughly read the guidelines that they have sent so as not to avoid any confusion and to maximise your chances!
Instructions may provide specific requirements for formatting the video, including file size, type and preferred filesharing method. They will also inform you about how to title your video before uploading.
Common free filesharing platforms are:
Wetransfer: Transfer up to 2GB free.
Dropbox: Dropbox Basic is the free version of Dropbox, offering 2GB of storage. You can refer others to earn up to 16GB of storage.
Vimeo: With our free plan, you can upload or create two videos per month and send download links for your self-tapes.
Art of Casting with Emmy Nominated Casting Director Louise Kiely
Some key moments are:
- From 07:41 What is a casting director's job?
- From 21:35 The importance of meeting the director
- From 32:15 What is a chemistry read?
- From 55:24 Casting for TV vs commercials
- From 01:08:13 Recording a scene for casting
- From 01:15:30 How can you tell if an actor has potential
That's a Wrap!
By now, you should have a good understanding of what to do and what not to do when creating the perfect self-tape. By following the guidelines mentioned above and checking out the tips from casting directors, you should be able to set up and produce some excellent self-tapes to help you succeed.
Puro Casting, Aisha Bywater, and Mark Summers, all offer excellent tips on creating a great self-tape that showcases your abilities to the fullest.
Remember: By making a good impression, even if you don't get the role, you can increase your chances of securing your dream role through repeated audition requests.
If you need more advice, why not read this article, Career Advice and Guidance for Actors?
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Wishing you the best of luck and happy self-taping!
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