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Self-Tape

Five Common Self-Tape Mistakes (and how to fix them!)

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Hey Actors! When it comes to self-tapes, these are some of the more common issues we see, (and how you can avoid them!):

#1: EYE LINE

It’s easy to overthink where you should be looking when creating self-tapes of car scenes or working on a scene with multiple characters, but the easiest solution is to keep it simple. We (and the camera) need to see your face. You can acknowledge the entrance of another character by looking slightly off camera/to the opposite side of the camera, and then bring your eye line back to the reader. For car scenes, keep your face forward and engage with the reader in the moments when you feel you would’ve turned sideways to look at them. If you’re not looking at/engaging with your reader, your performance will start to feel one-sided. Always bring your eye line back to the person who is in the room with you.

#2: FANCY EDITING TRICKS

Title cards, cross fades, fade in/out, 4K are all not necessary. Casting Directors don’t use them… you don’t have to either. If we need to edit your tape, those fancy-looking tools can make it difficult for us to find a clean cut. They also add to your file size (significantly.) If you’re wondering why it takes forever to upload your tape, this could be why. Keep it simple with hard cuts and a slate instead of a title card.

#3: FLAT ENERGY

“Doing less” because the proximity of the camera makes you feel like you can be small is a trap into which MOST actors fall. However, your energy will come across as completely flat if you’re not projecting it past that device to your reader. If there is an energetic void between you and your reader, we will sense it in your self-tape.

#4: SPENDING OODLES OF TIME ON A SELF-TAPE

If you’ve done your prep and are as ready to audition as you would be if you went in for a live read, then your self-tape shouldn’t take long. Do not do more than three takes before you watch it back to see if you have it. (You probably do.) If nothing else, you will be able to see EXACTLY what you’re aiming for in the 4th Any more than that, the performance will start to dissolve. If you spend hours on your self-tape, you’ll either end up sending one of your very first takes or you will send a take where we can see your choices coming a mile away. (Also: preserve your relationship with your reader and be efficient with your time.)

#5: IGNORING DIRECTIONS FROM CASTING

This. Happens. CONSTANTLY. Be one of the actors we admire for their professionalism and follow directions, (and for the love of all that is holy, adhere to deadlines!) Also, we put important performance notes in our self-tape requests. Look there before you read through your sides for extra context and notes.

 

All of these things are easy traps to fall into because of timing, technical issues, trying to “stand out”… but when it comes to self-tapes, all Casting wants is for them to look like an audition that took place in our office.

Keep things simple, focus on your prep and read the notes from Casting.

Pilot Season Anxiety - Where are my auditions?

Pilot Season Anxiety: Where Are My Auditions??

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Pilot season is in full swing.

You’re reading the trades every day, seeing what’s been picked up and drooling over the auditions that are surely coming your way ANY SECOND. Or maybe they’ll come tomorrow. Or you know, it’s Friday at 6pm, so they will probably call on Monday. Ok, it’s Monday at noon, and you’re refreshing your email every five seconds, waiting for word of an audition, ANY audition… WHERE ARE MY AUDITIONS?!?!

You get the picture.

It’s easy to go a little bananas during pilot season. You know that this is the time of year that auditions rain down like manna from heaven. And you hear about your fellow actors and how they’re getting three auditions per day, (and complaining about it, to be sure.) You also know that you’re good enough to compete against any of them, so why aren’t you getting out?

There could be a few reasons, but first, I guarantee that it’s not because your reps aren’t submitting or pitching you. They’re submitting and pitching their brains out. (Remember, if you don’t make money, they don’t. Pilot season is just as important for them as it is for you.) They often call and email to pitch, even when casting specifically tells them not to, and at all hours of the day. All. Hours. Of. The. Day. I promise you, they are trying their damnedest to get you an opportunity on as many pilots as possible.

So here are a few other road blocks that may be keeping you from getting a series regular audition:

1. Your materials just aren’t up to par:

Your reel is old and/or doesn’t show you off that well. You have 20 headshots up on your profile, and we can’t tell which of them are current, (and maybe none of them truly portray who you are.) Your website is impossible for us to navigate through to find what we need. You’re using a self-tape in place of a reel, and unfortunately, it’s just not compelling material. If we are unfamiliar with you and none of these things are working in your favor, the audition gods will not smile upon you.

2. Casting doesn’t think you’re right for the character or world:

Based on the breakdown, you believe that you are clearly SO RIGHT for this particular role, and somehow you still can’t get an audition. Remember, trust Casting. We know this project intimately. We are also serving this script, these producers’ collective vision, and this network’s commercial and artistic desires. We have a VERY good idea of who and what we need. We may adore you, but if you’re not right for whatever reason, we’re not going to waste your time or ours. (Mind you, things change quickly during pilot season. So while you could be “not right” on Monday, by Friday, you’re exactly what we need. Or vice versa. See #5 for more on this.)

3. Timing:

Your rep may have called and/or emailed to pitch you RIGHT when we got caught up in a session/conference call/meeting/bathroom break/other deadline, and their pitch got lost in an avalanche of message slips or a deluge of emails that we can’t bring ourselves to look at until the next morning, when inevitably, something else pulls our attention and another day goes by without us seeing their pitch. It’s not because we don’t like you or your rep, it’s because there are literally 8,000 other things that have to happen at that exact moment. (Don’t worry: your reps will continue to call and email until we look at their pitches.)

4. Timing again:

We’ve actually already selected you as someone we want to read, but we can only see so many people in a day, and your appointment will go out when our uber-talented, but overworked/underpaid staff can find a slot for you. Be patient.

5. Casting SAID they would read you, but the role you are most right for is being offered out/is changing/is no longer a regular:

If an offer is out for a role, we try not to read people simultaneously (particularly if it looks like the offer person is engaging.) We will only audition that role if we are in a time crunch (or the offer person is unlikely to be interested,) and we need to have another great option. If a character is changing or sides are about to change or the prods have MENTIONED that they THINK they MIGHT want to change the character or sides, then we put a pause on that role and focus our attention on everything else. This will put people in a bit of limbo, but I promise that Casting is working their butts off to get clarity as quickly as possible. If a role changes from a regular to a guest star, then it’s priority is down graded. We will pick up reading people for it after some of our regs are set.

6. You think and feel that you are truly ready to be a series regular, but… :

This may not be your year to book a pilot. Plain and simple.

Now, to overcome some of these things:

1. Don’t compare your career to anyone else’s, ever: everyone succeeds in different ways, at different times. When your friend (who is not unlike you, type-wise,) tells you about their 10 pilot auditions, do not assume you should have the same. You are unique people, individual actors with dissimilar backgrounds and likely different reps. You are apples and oranges. Take a breath and try to be excited for your friend.

2. Update your materials: it may be too late for this pilot season, but if your reps give you that feedback, make that your priority number one.

3. Practice patience: do yoga, meditate, breathe, nap. This is a life skill that most of us don’t have. Now is a good time to work on it.

4. Change your focus: sitting around, pining for an audition will almost never result in one. Get your butt to class, pick up that script you’ve been writing, read a book, take your dog for a walk. Do ANYTHING other than twiddling your thumbs, waiting for an audition notice to come in.

5. Remember that other projects are casting right now: there are a gazillion series still in production, movies, shorts, web series, theatre… make yourself (emotionally and physically) available to those projects. Booking them can be just as rewarding.

Focus on being a good, professional actor, and do everything in your power to achieve THAT goal. (Go to class, read, do theatre, etc.)

If you do, the auditions (and bookings) will come, guaranteed.

Self-Tape Tips Part 8 - Am I Making the Right Choices?

Self-Tape Tips Part 8: Am I Making the Right Choices?

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One of the major complaints I hear regarding self-tapes, is that actors often feel like they’re acting in a vacuum.

Endless questions plague you…

  • “This character should clearly have a Southern accent, right?”
  • “Should I show the action in this scene? Do they want to see me fall?”
  • “This scene could totally be ironic and sarcastic, OR it could be heartfelt and genuine… should I do it the way it’s written, or the way I think it should be done?”
  • “How far should I go with movement/props/wardrobe?”
  • “The other character in this scene is obviously her brother… or is it her ex?”
  • “If I turn my phone vertically for the slate, will I be disqualified?”
  • “Why couldn’t they just have seen me in person?! I have so many questions!”

In terms of your character work and prep, self-tapes should be treated no differently than live auditions.

You can (and should!) use the following information to help inform your choices:

  1. The breakdown header: there is a wealth of information provided when you see who is involved in a particular project. (I ranted more about this topic in a previous post.) Header info is a great source when thinking of appropriate tonal choices.
  2. If you were given multiple scenes, each section will represent an important character aspect, trait or turn. We’re not giving you gobs of pages to test your memorization skills. Re-read the breakdown before you scan through your material, and look for different facets of the character in each scene.
  3. Any notes from Casting: if there’s a certain note that will undoubtedly be helpful to your taping process, we will provide it. (Why would we want you to audition without pertinent info? Who does that help?) If we want you to do an accent, or wear something specific, or treat the other character as your brother, even though he’s your ex, then we will tell you. If we don’t give you those kinds of notes, just use your instincts to make choices based on what you see on the page.
  4. When in doubt, use the material as your guide. Don’t assume that the stage direction or character description included therein is a ruse. This is not the SATs; the writer is not trying to trick you.
  5. Remember that we are hiring you as an ACTOR. Not as an editor, a cinematographer, a HMU artist, a set decorator, a stunt performer, etc. Make smart, simple choices on those things and let the focus be on YOU and YOUR PERFORMANCE.

And please hear my endless drumbeat on slates:

YOUR SLATE IS FOR INFORMATION. Stop stressing about it. The information is hugely helpful to us, but it is not a performance and we are not looking for it to look beautiful. Info = important; your messy house = not.

If ultimately you STILL feel concerned or in the dark about something, don’t be afraid to ask!

You can have your reps reach out to Casting with your questions, or you can have them ask if it’s ok for you to call/email directly. The Casting team may not realize that there is something vague about the material. Again, we will never PURPOSELY leave out information that would have a significant impact on your choices.

Remember to trust your instincts (and the writers/Casting team,) trust your script analysis skills, and prepare your self-tape scenes the same way you would any other audition piece.

Auditions: Erica’s #1 Pet Peeve

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“What’s your biggest pet peeve?”

I’ve been asked this question HUNDREDS of times. Every Casting Director you meet will likely have a unique answer.

For me, the worst thing an actor can do is come in unprepared.

Let me clarify:

I’m not speaking to your memorization skills. Do I want you to be off-book so we can really play? Absolutely. But being prepared goes far deeper than that:

1. If you received a full script, did you read it?

Scripts are rarely distributed these days, since everything tends to end up on the internet. If we are lucky enough to send you a script we expect you to read it. A full script gives you total context; it’s a literal gift. But often, actors feel too rushed to read/skim a script AND learn their lines. Do your best. It will help you IMMENSELY.

2. If there are words or names in your sides that you are unfamiliar with, did you look them up?

(How to pronounce them as well as what they mean in that context?) If you don’t know what you’re saying, how will we believe that you are that character? If you’re supposed to be an expert medical examiner and you mispronounce “carotid”, it will quickly take us out of the moment and remind us that you are an actor. Could we just correct you and have you do it again? Sure. But we’d rather you do your homework, because if we correct an actor in the audition room, it often makes them freeze up a bit and inevitably, they’ll mispronounce the word again anyway.

  • Side Story: We once cast a pilot where we needed a “techie.” The sides these women had to read included the phrase “coax cable”. Inevitably, half the women pronounced it “coax” (as in “persuade”,) as opposed to “co-ax” (as in “coaxial cable,” which is a tool that a “techie” might use.) If they missed that one line, it immediately took us out of the moment.

3. Did you look to see who was involved in the project?

When you receive your appt. information, you usually receive the breakdown as well. The top portion of the breakdown holds a WEALTH of information. Such as:

  • What type of project is it? (Pilot, Feature, 1/2 hour, sitcom, single-cam, etc.)
  • Who are the prods, director and casting team?
  • Is anyone already cast?
  • Which studio/network is it for?
  • A brief synopsis of the story

If you don’t know who someone is, look them up! Do a search for the project in the trades to learn a little more about its evolution. Would you go in to interview at Google without looking to see with whom you were meeting, what kind of resume they had and what you could bring to their team? The breakdown header could help you understand the tone of the project, as well as being aware of for whom you might be reading.

  • Side Story: We once cast a pilot with a VERY well-known director who liked to be in the room for auditions. For some reason, perhaps because they were so focused on learning the material, many actors didn’t realize he would be in the room, (despite his name being on the breakdown/in the trades and us putting a sign in the lobby, saying who they would be reading for.) We’d walk the actors in to the audition room and they’d freeze when they saw the director – not exactly a wonderful way to buck the audition nerves. Eventually, he ended up sitting out of auditions and just watching everything on tape because he was concerned about how distracting his presence was.

4. Did you look to see if we’re ONLY reading certain scenes?

Oftentimes, we will give out more scenes than we know we want to read, mostly because it provides context. If we know ahead of time that we only want to read specific scenes/pages, we will tell you every way we can:

  • We’ll write it on the sides
  • We’ll put it in the audition notification
  • We’ll put a sign in the lobby
  • We’ll tell you when you walk in the room

I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve reminded an actor that we’re ONLY doing scenes 1 and 3, and they look at me like I’ve run over their dog, or they give me the, “oh really? But scene 2 is so great! I’d love to try it anyway…” (The answer to that is almost always no. Save your energy.) Pay attention to that stuff so that you aren’t wasting time rehearsing a scene that we aren’t going to run.

We realize that sometimes we do this to you at the last minute – we’re not trying to torture you by taking away a scene right as you walk in the door. There’s always a good reason for it, so try to not let it frustrate you.

So by all means, study your sides, but also arm yourself with knowledge about the project and creative team involved. It is the quickest way to up your confidence before you walk in the door or self-tape.