Video self-tapes have become extremely popular. Since the pandemic, they’ve pretty much replaced in person auditions. My agent recently held a Zoom seminar with clients to share some tips for successful self-taping, as she’s been seeing some pretty awful self-tapes being sent to her office. I know from experience that self-tapes aren’t really difficult to do, but they can look horribly unprofessional if they’re not done right.
First of all, if you’re self-taping for an audition, read all the requirements of what the casting director or client wants to see before you start taping. Don’t include anything in your self-tape that they didn’t specifically ask for in the instructions. For example, if the client didn’t specify that they want a full body or profile shot, don’t give them one. For most auditions, you’ll be filming yourself from the waist or mid-chest up.
The video resolution on most new phones is good enough to shoot quality videos for auditions or YouTube projects. Make sure you use the highest resolution setting on your camera phone when filming.
Here are 5 major things to consider when self-taping:
- The background.
You should be the star of your self-taping project, not the background. Stay away from busy backgrounds. Film yourself in front of a neutral wall with…
