TIMING - Give yourself enough time. So often Self tapes are coming in at the last minute. Get it to us with enough time for us to feedback and for a second take to be done and uploaded before the deadline.
PREPARATION - Read the whole scene including directions. Look for the clues in the writing.
STYLE - Think about style of performance, is this a gritty BBC drama, or a comedy for dave?
BEGINNING TO END - Take note of where they want you to start and end. Make sure you include all action within that section too. Is there action before or after the dialogue? If there is…Include it in your tape and show your reaction - there might be more to the scene than just your words.
BE OFF BOOK - It’s so easy to see when you are reading the script. Give yourself the best chance of making the scene seem authentic. Theatre is OK to have script in hand, but be familiar.
BACKGROUND - Must be clear (white, blue or grey wall ideally). No furniture or posters etc. It might be worth setting up a little studio space in the house as more and more auditions are self-tapes and you then don’t have to move things around every time.
FRAMING - Head and shoulders, always landscape. A full length can be filmed portrait if tight on space, but must be a separate take to the rest. Always be in shot, don’t start off camera or wander out of frame - CDs don’t have time to wait for your to enter, they just want to see you.
LIGHTING - Natural daylight is best, but if timings dictate this can’t happen, soft lighting without too many shadows is second best. Make sure you are not backlit by a window or lights.
SOUND - Be in a quiet room with as little sound as possible, close windows, turn off air conditioning.
CAMERA - A big expensive camera isn’t essential. Cameras on your phones tend to be good enough now, but make sure you aren’t recording in HD as files are far too big. Have it on a tripod or prop it up on something that keeps it still at eye-level.
EYE-LINE - The character you are talking to should be to the side of the camera. If there are multiple characters, make it clear where they are. Don’t place them off to your side (meaning you’re filming in profile) as we miss what you are doing. Don’t turn away from camera - cheat it so we always see your face well.
READING PARTNER - If there is dialogue, it is preferable to have someone read in for the other characters so that the timing can feel natural and authentic, and so we can see your reactions to what they are saying. If this is impossible, having someone read in over the phone/zoom or recording yourself and acting along to playback is helpful.
EDITING - Don’t cut too early, stay in character at the end for a beat before finishing. Edit out the moment where you reach in to turn the camera off so we start and end clearly with you in character.
TAKE 2 - Always worth sending a couple of takes of each scene to us so that we can give feedback and make suggestions on what we think is best.Make sure they are different versions and play with it, no point sending us the same interpretation multiple times.