14 Apr Self Tape Advice: Brush Up Your Skills
Actors: Are you ready for some self tape advice? Right now, many of us are spending a lot of time at home. Even though acting schools are closed, actors all over the world are practicing their skills at home!
My acting studio in Los Angeles has set up online Zoom courses so that my teachings can be available to people all over the world! I am keeping a positive mindset during this time and am doing everything that I can to support my actors. The advice I am giving you today will be useful to you at any moment in time and any stage of your career – homebound, or not! Right now, though, you have a golden opportunity to practice your self tapes at home. If you’ve been thinking about brushing up on your self tape skills, now is your moment! Here is some self tape advice:
Lights, Camera…Action! Create Your Self Tape Studio.
Don’t have a self tape “studio” at home? No problem. In truth, you do not need to spend a ton of money on a self tape setup. You just need a few key things: lighting, a camera, good sound, and a background that makes you “pop.”
Let’s start with your camera. Most smartphones have fantastic high resolution cameras. Assuming you have one, you’ve got a camera! You will want a tripod stand for your smartphone as well.
You will also want fantastic lighting. This (and sound) is one of the key things that casting directors require. Survey your home, and find the room that has the most natural light. Depending on your skin tone, you can open and close the blinds a certain amount, and stand in either direct or indirect sunlight. Natural light is great — and free. If you don’t have a natural light option, you can also order a set of lights online. Many of my actors have done this. It’s a great investment since so many auditions are now self tapes.
Next, test your sound. If the room you are filming in is large and has a big echo, you may want to move to a smaller room or invest in a small microphone. Again, a fantastic one-time investment for the long-term.
Lastly, you will want to have a solid colored background behind you — preferably sky or royal blue, not white. If you don’t have a colored wall in your house, you can hang a blue sheet (or any colored sheet that looks fantastic with your skin tone) or order a photo backdrop on Amazon. (Some of my students have actually painted walls in their homes; of course, if you live with your parents or others, you will need to get permission to do this first!)
Sharpen Your Self Tape Skills.
Some more great self tape advice: as with anything, practice is key! Today, so much casting is done via self tapes. If you master your self tape game, you are one giant step closer to your acting goals! If you are not currently enrolled in an acting class, you could form a support group with other actors. You could give each other “assignments” and practice filming yourselves. You can then meet and share your footage on a weekly basis. Of course, if you are in a class you can share your footage with your teacher for review. I highly recommend taking our LIVE Online class that continues even after we revert back to in studio in person classes.
Experiment with Virtual Readers.
Right now, we are all learning creative, new ways of doing things that will help us out in the future. This is a great time to practice using an app that can speak your scene partner’s lines and act as your self tape reader. A great tool for this is the Cold Read App, which was created by an actual actor, for actors, and will also help you to learn your lines! A win-win.
A free option: you can simply call a friend on Skype or Zoom and set your laptop in a strategic place. Most likely, you will not be able to place the face of your helpful online reader at eye level, but you will be able to hear them, and you can use your imagination to create an invisible character to engage with — just as you do with monologues. I recommend putting a piece of tape or a marker on the wall to establish the location of your invisible scene partner and create a focused eyeline for yourself. Test your eyeline on camera a few times to see what works best.
Have Fun!
By working on your self tapes, you are making yourself a better actor and an excellent auditionee for free! And have fun while you do it! This is my biggest self tape advice…and my primary advice when it comes to anything acting-related. We should always be having fun.
I am wishing you much creative growth now, and always.