The idea of self-taping can be a little intimidating if a young performer has never done one before or if they’re more used to traditional casting room auditions. But fear not! We’ve put together this practical guide to arm you with all the information needed to ace a self-tape. It is important to note that online safety for children is always paramount, so an adult should be present in the space when filming a self-tape or attending an online audition if the young performer is under 18.<\/p>\n
The convenience of self-taping is that you can film at home, with no travelling required. Set up a self-tape area in front of a nice neutral background. Grey is ideal as it works for all skin tones and doesn\u2019t affect the colour on camera – we use Dulux grey steel 1 paint in our Spotlight studios.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t have a grey wall, it\u2019s a good idea to purchase a cheap grey flat bedsheet and tape it to the wall. Make sure it\u2019s flat so the creases don\u2019t create shadows in the background of your shot.<\/p>\n
Avoid using coloured backgrounds\u00a0as this could affect the white balance of your camera and make your skin tones look odd<\/p>\n
Make sure there\u2019s no posters, windows or clutter in the background that will distract from the performer.<\/p>\n
If you’ve been sent instructions for the self-tape, then make sure you read them thoroughly so you know what is expected. Make a note if a certain accent is needed or if there are any other details that need to be included in the self-tape.<\/p>\n
It’s important for the performer to know the scene that they\u2019re doing so it\u2019s worth doing a quick rehearsal either on or off-camera.<\/p>\n
The emotional journey is more important than getting the lines word for word – the person watching is unlikely to be cross-referencing with the script.<\/p>\n
Performers should\u00a0dress in neutral clothing that\u2019s appropriate to the character<\/a>. It’s not necessary to rent a costume as this can be distracting.<\/p>\n Only use props that are essential to the performance. For example, if the performer is sitting down and they’re drinking a cup of tea or something like that, they can have a sip of water just to break up the action but don’t fuss too much about finding the right props.<\/p>\n To film a self-tape, you can use one of the following:<\/p>\n Regardless of what you use to film, you should ensure the equipment does the following:<\/p>\n An ident or slate is an\u00a0introduction at the start of a self-tape and is a chance to show the performer’s personality. Typically a performer should state their name, the character they’re auditioning for, their agent (if they have one), a couple of profile shots and possibly a show of hands to the camera. They can make a good first impression by being professional, confident and\u00a0friendly.<\/p>\n If a full-body shot is required, you should film a wide shot of the performer and then walk forward to get a close-up. If you can’t get the performer fully in a landscape shot, tilt the camera up and down to show their full body. You can use the zoom function if you\u2019d prefer but it can be tricky.<\/p>\n For performers with disabilities, if there is a requirement to show a wheelchair, you can do this when you film the ident in wide-shot. Unless otherwise instructed, you can film the rest of the self-tape in midshot, with a focus on the performer\u2019s head and shoulders.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to always read the information the agent sends you as there\u2019s no ‘golden rule’ for idents and each casting director does things differently. For example, they may want a photograph instead of a video slate.<\/p>\n Remember that whilst it’s a good idea to make the self-tape as professional as possible, the casting director is not expecting it to look like a big-budget production. Try not to overthink the filming of a self-tape and don’t do too many takes. If you can’t get it in three takes, take some time out and try again later.<\/p>\n You should\u00a0always<\/strong>\u00a0film in landscape, which is the same shape as a cinema and TV screen. Filming in portrait actually causes issues for casting director’s trying to upload your file to the site they use to process self-tapes.<\/p>\n The casting director will want to see both sides of the performer\u2019s face so make sure the camera is at eye-level so it looks neutral. You can get a tripod for your camera or phone on Amazon for around \u00a315.<\/p>\n The performer shouldn\u2019t look directly down the camera lens unless they\u2019ve been directed to do so. Their\u00a0eye-line should be dropped just slightly to one side of the camera lens.<\/p>\n If the performer has multiple eye-lines, don’t complicate it too much by getting them looking about whilst trying to work out who’s speaking and at which eye-line. Instead, have one eye line to one side of the camera, then another on the other side of the camera.<\/p>\n Unless the instructions state the casting director wants to see a bit of physicality then don\u2019t worry too much about trying to capture action in the scene i.e. if the scene description says the character is running through a park, they don\u2019t necessarily need to see your child running into shot. Casting directors are often more interested in the face and the performance of the performer.<\/p>\n Unless requested otherwise, you should frame a mid-close shot. That means filling the screen with the performer’s shoulder to the top of the head.<\/p>\n When doing the filming, the performer should either be sitting down for the whole recording\u00a0or\u00a0be\u00a0standing up. Whatever feels comfortable. As you\u2019re filming mid-close, it can look really messy if a performer goes from standing to sitting or vice versa.<\/p>\n Ideally, someone should read in the lines of the other roles for the performer. Whoever is reading in should sit just next to the camera or perhaps a couple of feet back, so they’re not too loud on the recording.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s not enough time for the performer to learn the lines, a script can be held to the side of the shot, as long as it’s not covering up their face. If you have any questions about whether this would be\u00a0OK for the casting director then you can ask your agent.<\/p>\n If the performer has more than one scene, do a separate video recording for each one.<\/p>\n By reading this guide we hope that you can see self-taping as an exciting way to\u00a0audition, especially for those who would usually have to travel to castings.<\/p>\n We have lots more information and\u00a0advice about self-taping<\/a>, including some\u00a0helpful videos<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0a podcast episode<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A guide from Audio Visual Specialist, Nicholas Peel, on the basics of preparing and filming young performer self-tapes. The idea of self-taping can be a little intimidating if a young performer has never done one before or if they’re more used to traditional casting room auditions. But fear not! We’ve put together this practical guide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[262,53,70],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-essentials","tag-self-tape","tag-spotlight-experts","tag-young-performers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Cameras for Self-taping<\/h3>\n
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Filming an Ident or Slate<\/h3>\n
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Practical Filming Tips<\/h3>\n
Always Film in Landscape<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Make Sure the Camera is Eye-Level<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Framing the Shot<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Reading<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Scripts<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Filming More Than One Scene<\/strong><\/h4>\n