#267 Self-Tape Power Tips
Air Date: 6/15/2023
Are you sick of doing self-tape auditions with nothing or little to show for it? Do
you stress over how your submissions are being perceived by others. Do you think there might be something missing from your videos that put you in the “no” category? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place! Using today’s power tips for self-tape will quite possibly have you singing, “We’re in the Money” and not, “Stormy Weather”!
Tips for your self-tape:
1. Slate yourself appropriately for the material
2. Vary the shot for your slate
3. End card strategy
4. Full body scan’s are never a good idea
5. Props only if you have to or requested, pantomime is fine
6. Never enter or exit the frame (unless it is absolutely necessary)
7. Use your headshot when you can
8. Obviously you know about sound, lighting and framing
9. Follow the casting director’s request for “how To’s”
10. 3 take rule
11. Move on after submission
12. Streamline your process where possible (script/setup)
The best power tips are the ones you think through. Here are some examples:
“A self-tape submission is only a moment in time”
“I have done the best I can with this submission”
“I did not let the technical challenges prevent me from good choices in my acting”
“I show a unique point of view for the character”
“An audition is not an event”
“I have no expectations after I submit the audition”
“I can actually find it fun to self-tape”
Any opportunity to act is something to be celebrated. Knowing these tips, along with the right mental attitude will not only make this audition task more successful but it will change the overall approach to the work for the better. Just try it. Let me know your success story with your next self-tape request and know that with every power tip comes a power performance!
Jeffrey Dreisbach, Casting Partner, McCorkle Casting LTD
New York, NY
Great info!