The Ultimate Self Tape guide for actors in 2023
The Ultimate Self Tape guide for 2023
What is going on with YOUR self tape Set up?
You need a self tape set up at home and you need it to be professional and look great.
Well, I have operated Self Tape Success, my self tape studio for actors who need self tapes and coaching for over 5 years. I have done thousands and I mean thousands of self tapes so I know EXACTLY what you need for a beautiful self tape. I’ve seen everyone from Shaggy to Prianka Chopra here and every day I coach working tv and film actors. Humble brag - Check out my testimonials to see all my wonderful clients at the links below. But enough about that. You want to know - how to have a standout self tape set up and I can help. And stay around for when I talk about artistic choices in self tapes.
So what are the fundamentals of a standout self tape? And I mean aesthetically. Acting and auditioning is a whole other beast.
For a stand out self tape you need the following:
A Camera
Tripod
Backdrop
Lighting
Sound
Artistic Choices
Framing
And an editing program.
Let’s start with the obvious. Camera. If you’re not a camera whizz you may want to stick with an iPhone or Samsung phone. The new ones have amazing quality. But if you’re wanting to invest in say a canon you need to get one with as great auto-focus. The canon R5 cinematic would be the top choice but it’s also VERY expensive and unless you’re a photographer or film maker it’s one hell of an investment. Now there are so many cameras to choose from so I’m not going into that but just know if you’re investing in a canon or Sony it MUST have a great autofocus so you can move back and forth.
You will then need a tripod. I’ve included links below to all the products I like but the reason you need the tripod is not just for camera but so you can adjust the camera for sitting or standing depending on your scene.
Next - backdrop. The easiest backdrop would be a wall in your home but DO NOT pick white or cream. Grey and blue would be the standard. Now the general rule is blue for comedy and grey for drama but here at my self tape studio we generally stick to JUST grey. Why? I prefer it aesthetically, blue often feels very commercial to me - meaning casting directors always use blue when casting commercials but that’s just me.
Now, you may have seen those actor's audition who got booked on game of thrones and were sitting in a hotel room and everything looked badly lit and you think “well how come I can’t just film my tape in my kitchen?” Well, you can but some of those actors already had acting credits and were most likely filming something at that time (hence being at a hotel) and were with a good sized agent and had a little more leeway on what they can get away with.
The reason we want a nice clean background is to make you stand out and pop. We don’t want them distracted by some nasty stain on couch or some glimpse of a framed picture of your cat.
So you can either choose to paint a wall at home or invest a backdrop set up. Links below.
Lighting. OK I am not going to go too deep into lightning. I personally use the generay dimmable lights. I love these and the link for them is below. You could also use a ring light but generally, I like two lights on each side of your face so you are evenly lit. If you can move forward from the camera you can generally light it so there are no shadows - just play around and if you want to really step it up - use a backlight. A back light is a light behind you. Why? It helps with pop and it looks cinematic.
Let’s talk about artistic choices with self tapes.
Now, these are not a complete no no but when is the right time? I recently auditioned for American Horror Story NYC. Here is my audition vs what they filmed. Now, do you see how the dark lighting matched up with the way it was filmed?
Since I am an acting and audition coach and this was a horror show and the scene was set in bar. I could tell they would have dark moody lighting. Now, was it even necessary for me to do this? No!
But I felt it helped me get into the vibe and energy of the scene. I think artistic choices with adding sound, music, fun lighting or a an actual location can be really fun and help you stand out but you have to ask yourself why am I doing this? If it’s not in line with telling a story then don’t do it! It’s always going to be a risk and most casting could say DON’T do it!
Next - Sound. The sound from your camera will suffice but yes you can totally step it up but using a lav microphone - like this. But what is most important with sound for me (since I live in New York City) comes in post-production when you’re editing. I highly encourage you to use a “noise reduction.” This can be done in all editing programs which I will get to in a min.
Framing. You want to frame your audition in one of these three ways. Head and shoulders for scene with little movement and highly emotional. Chest up for most auditions and waist up for comedy as you will most likely be moving. But at the end of the day - casting usually specifies how they want the audition framed. SO always read what casting wants for framing.
Finally, editing.
I recommend iMovie or CAPCUT to edit. I have always used a fade in and a fade out but please read the instructions for your auditions in case they don’t want a fade in for fade out.
I always bump up the contrast a little to make it a bit vibrant. You can play around with color depending on tone of the show and movie. Blue shades for cop shows, dramas and warmer tones for beach vibes, out doors, and comedies. And remember to to do that noise reduction!
Here are a couple of examples from my recent self tapes. Enjoy!
Well that’s it for this week! Don’t forget acting is a collaboration so hit me up for coaching on your next audition.