 What is a self-tape audition and how should you film your first audition or at least the first one that actually looks professional? A self-tape audition is an audition that you are going to film at home Usually you get requested to do a self-tape audition because you submit yourself on a casting website or somebody wants you to audition for their project and You can even film a scene or a monologue using the same format If you want to use it as a temporary reel to be able to show people your abilities and be able to submit to more projects In the self-tape audition requests that they sent you you're going to have some information And at the very very least you're going to have the script what you're going to perform Those are referred to as sides if they would like you to do a slate They're going to say it in the request and the slate is just an introduction of yourself and it can be as basic as Hi, I'm Belgium Rodriguez and just your slate can get us complicated as Hi, my name is Belgium Rodriguez. I'm based out of Burbank 510 I'm fully vaccinated and boosted and I'm fluent in Spanish as it was my first language Now to set up and do your self-tape audition You're going to need your phone your phone is a great place to record your audition as long as the Camera lens is not cracked and you're going to need somewhere to put your phone on So you can either use a tripod or if you really just want to use whatever you have at home because this is your first time Auditioning and you didn't even have a clue you were going to be doing this today Find a bookshelf or something high where you can put your phone eye level because you want to make sure that it's a good position You're going to want to have a blank backdrop completely blank Quiet room that's not too echoey and then a light source So this can be natural lighting or if you have a bunch of lights in your home You can turn them all on if you have a few days before you need to send in the self-tape audition Let me help you out get a tripod because your first self-tape ever is going to be so frustrating Honestly, a lot of them are going to be frustrating until you start getting the hang of them But having a tripod is going to make your life so much easier because you're going to be able to put your phone Exactly where you need it if you are in the position to start Leveling up a little bit and you want to purchase maybe a lighter backdrop or something. There is a temporary It's while supplies last Self-tape kit that casting workbook is selling. This is not sponsored But I do get a portion of the cells just so you know, I'm just sharing it because it is a really good deal I've talked about this in the past. It's a ring light a few tripods and A backdrop and the backdrop is blue and gray and I think it's a really good deal if you're in the US It's seventy two dollars with the code, but without the code. It's two hundred and forty dollars It's an extremely good deal if you want to buy a whole kit The backdrop will need a little bit of steaming just so you can get all the wrinkles out But I think for your very first Self-tape kit it is really good and then later if you want to invest in some other backdrops I really love these savage paper backdrops because they always look good You never have to steam them or anything and what you're gonna spend the most money on is going to be the stand to get A nice sturdy stand that won't wobble around but let's go back to whatever you have at home today for your self-tape audition You do want to find somewhere that is completely blank behind you the color doesn't really matter right now But if you can find a white wall or something that's not too distracting or doesn't make your skin color or whatever You're wearing look crazy Then just find a blank wall like this and you want to make sure your camera is eye level No The number one thing you can do to show people that you're a newbie is to film your audition Vertical if you do that you're just telling them like oh, I really I don't know what I'm doing And I didn't read the directions because they usually include that in the directions like please for the love of God Film it horizontally and then as far as your framing you can have a little bit of space above you Just so that they're able to see you know the shape of your head And then you can either do like this showing a little bit of your test or you can go a little bit further back And show a little bit of your waist Okay, that is way too far. You might one day have to film and audition vertically But in my experience I've only had to do that when I'm auditioning for an ad that's going to be shown on tiktok or Instagram Otherwise if it's theatrical 99.99% of the time they're going to be begging and hoping that everybody sends an audition horizontally If your room is super super echoey, there's a few things you can do You can put blankets or jackets all on the floor or you can invest in a really cheap microphone That you can attach right to your phone And then your third option is to edit the audio and post as far as editing your audition You do not have to say your entire audition all at once like your slate and then the first scene and then the second scene No, it's okay to shoot a few slates and then a few of the first scene Second scene and then when you're editing it you can cut it so that you choose the best ones and put them together To edit your videos you can do it for free on iMovie or Adobe Rush on your phone And I have a video here on how I edit myself tapes to make them look more professional