Twenty years ago, actors didn’t have much technology to deal with in their daily life. If they could operate a stapler, they were in good shape. So much has changed. We live in the era of the self-tape. So many audition requests go out these days that require talent to put themselves on tape with the sides that we provide. I sent over 100 appointments out last month that required actors to put themselves on tape because the producers decided that the pre-read portion of our casting process should be on tape with only the callbacks being in the room. So, if you want to be competitive it means you have to be able to use the latest technology.
Some of you may opt to pay for a studio that will put you on tape. I disagree with this approach for two reasons. One, many places pretend to be experts on the casting/audition process simply because they own a nice camera and some sound gear. Second, actors would be wiser to invest a little money and time to do it yourself so you can record auditions 24/7 and with total quality control. Many voice-over professionals have created mini-studios in their homes for just these reasons. Now, every actor has to consider doing it.The most common piece of technology that actors will need to master is their camera. The good news is that no one expects you to be a wizard of cinematography. You don’t need to master a Steadicam to shoot your audition tapes and you don’t need to spend a fortune on a camera. Most smart phones now have a picture quality that will make excellent audition tapes.
You can also use any digital camera or camcorder. Most people own at least one of these options, so you should be able to shoot your tape without spending a dime. Just make sure you know multiple ways to send these files. You do not want to be learning how to send a file the night it is due.
But the camera is not usually the problem for self-taping. The areas where many actors go wrong are in lighting and sound.
Sound is so important when self-taping. No matter the quality of your image on tape, all is lost if we can’t hear you. And by “hear you,” I mean hear your emotion and comedic beats and sarcasm and pathos. If the sound isn’t great, we may miss out on some of the specificity in your work. I want to hear your scene exactly as you intended to deliver it, so make sure you invest in the proper equipment to deliver it. Often, an external “mic” is the necessary addition to iron out any sound issues.Lighting also comes into play if you want to make the best self-tape possible. If you have opted for an inexpensive camera, consider external lighting sources to compensate. You want the picture to be clear and well lit. Practice is important because you want to be confident that the file you send us casts you in your best light. See what I did there?
And please make sure that you leave enough time to check all aspects of your audition. If there are issues with sound or lighting, you want to be able to re-shoot. Your set-up may be very professional but technical errors pop up all the time. Check every file that you send out.
For the record, you still need that stapler. Even though much of your submitting will be electronic, you want to bring a headshot and resume to every audition just in case. They probably won’t need it, but just in case they do, please don’t be that one actor that doesn’t show up with it. Those are the actors we remember for the wrong reasons.
No one expects actors to attain a filmmaking degree. Just make sure your self-tape auditions look and sound competitive and you will know that you are getting every possible consideration for every audition.
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