August 12, 2022
How to make a self-tape audition? In this video, we'll pursue that question. How to make a self-tape audition? Well, please call it a self-DVR audition. There's no tape. There hasn't been tape for decades, folks. Now, being an actor is about being specific. So, whenever I hear self-tape, you know, it it's become this acceptable thing but our world is the world of specifics. So, self-DVR, let's start with that. So, create a home studio, get audition buddies. Pals, that whenever you have an audition, you can go to them and vice versa. I'm not a believer in needing professional coaching for every single audition you have. If it's a really important audition, it's, you know, call back, etcetera, then you might invest in that. What I'm saying is. I want you to have a community of people, so you help each other and you're not paying. every time you audition. Because that's setting up this, oh my God, I gotta get this because I invested x amount of dollars into just the opportunity.
But you know, when you're an actor, I mean, ultimately, you'll be auditioning quite a lot. I believe that if you need to be coached for
every single audition, you're not ready to audition yet because you're not trusting yourself yet. Because in film and TV, particularly, you're
going to get revision pages in the makeup show and you can't call anybody. There's no time. So, you've gotta trust yourself enough to make those decisions. Well, here we are in the golden age of zoom. Okay, so, that home studio have a small lighting package. It's not a big investment, have a camera. But just get used to doing this stuff daily.
I also recommend, putting together a half a dozen virtual backgrounds. Do that so you have a library of them. Nothing too busy. Nothing that will cause you to pixelate around your head. You don't wanna do that either. Last minute, auditions, the benefit is yours. Actors always feel, oh my God, I just got this audition. Never say that to the people you're auditioning for because we know you just got the appointment. Because we said the breakdown out two hours. So, you couldn't have gotten it more than that, right? The advantages of the last-minute audition. If we need to see you right now, this is probably gonna shoot tonight. It might shoot in the morning. If we wanna see you in a week and a half, we have time to look for other people. Okay. So, embrace that and never apologize. Never come in and say, when somebody says I only got this, we're not expecting very much.
So, things to practice. Whenever, there are more than one other character in the scene your eyeline needs to change. You might be talking to your child. So, when the reader who is gonna be in one position, they're not gonna move, but you're, I, I told you I'm in a meeting. I'm sorry, It wasn't anybody really there. I just believe that I saw some. What is it baby? Five more minutes. Okay. I'm gonna have to wrap this up. It's a kid's birthday, or I might have chosen the other side of the lens. When you're playing eyeline, whether it's there, whether it's there, etcetera, you understand relationship. Which is critical for the camera, but moreover for your work. So, the self-record or the self-DVR digital video recording. You have the choice of looking into the lens or five to 10 degrees to the right of the lens. This is camera, right? 5 to 10 degrees to the left of the camera. On stage it's reversed. That would be stage left. That would be stage right. That would be stage left. That would be stage right. So, camera actor's perspective and remember, write this down. Careers are made of closeups. So, your left ear will not launch your career, right? Left ear does not launch career. So, I watch people take their off camera, they're talking to someone but you're only getting a portion of this. So, it's either here, here, or here, that's it. Now, if you're reading in person, and the reader is sitting over there. You could ask them to sit right next to the camera. If they would rather not do that read here, even though the reader might be over there because you're being recorded, and it's all about this. And find stillness because love and success cannot hit a moving target. More information about doing a self record and anything and everything else about acting you've ever wanted to know, subscribe below. So, back to relationship. In working, I recommend blue painters tape, not masking tape, because it can take the paint off your wall. Put an x there for another character.
Put a triangle or a square here. If there's another character. Yeah, Put a diamond over here so, you get used to practicing those eyel ines, for a self-record. If the audition is in person, you have practiced that way at home. But increasingly all auditions are this way. I'm remembering one particular audition, where I experimented with this on the paramount lot and I really believed there were those two other characters. It was on a sound stage, I'm Melrose. All the production team were sitting against the wall of a sound stage. So, there's no windows and there's certainly not a door and they are very close to the wall. When I played that other relationship and then I played the third one. I had a very good feeling when every single person at the table turned around to see who I was talking to. Well, they knew it's their stage. They know nobody's there, but I got 'em to believe they're somebody there. That turned out to be a booking. Okay. So, the power of the eye line, embrace it. One other thing about multiple eye lines. So, if there's the reader, I'm going to talk to that person who has the most dialogue.
But when he's playing other people he may not raise his pitch to play the little boy or the little girl. But I must create a whole different relationship in my mind about that. Even though that reader will most probably not be giving you anything. So, remember that careers are made of closeups, find stillness in your work because love and success cannot hit a moving target. You might be feeling all kinds of stuff, let it come out your face, and your voice, no extraneous movement. That's bleeding energy. It's okay to move if it's justified by the text and if it illuminates the story. But random movement, arbitrary movement is just bleeding energy and it's because you're feeling a lot and your ego is wanting to drain that energy out and is searching for a control. Let go of control, It's grossly overrated. Another thing, you know, part of what I love about having a library of film and all of you, if you didn't have a DVD library, you can stream. You know, watch your favorite films over and over and over again. I mean, there are certain films in my library that I've watched 20 times and definitely watch them with the sound off. Look, how much of the story is conveyed through images?
Look how still the actors are when they're speaking. Another time, watch the movie, turn the movie on, don't watch it. Just listen to it, listen to the voices how expressive, It's a really big deal. It's really big deal. It's the physics of performance. I can break down any really strong film and tell you why it moves you. Now, that's taken a few decades to cultivate that but I love to teach it because it really is physics. If something works, there's a reason and if it's not working, there's a reason. I challenge you to work more deeply than you ever have before. Remember, if you do what you've always done, you're going to get what you always got. Okay. So, come and learn what the work is and how to do it. Click on the link below.