TESTING YOURSELF: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SELF-TAPE
World-leading expert in the art of screen testing Les Chantery offers advice on how to create the most professional self-tape possible from wherever you are.
BACKGROUND The self-tape is all about your performance. If you stand in front of a bookshelf or in the kitchen, it will distract from what you are doing as the viewer’s eyes will scan to take in what’s in your environment. It is preferable to stand or sit in front of a plain background, such as a blue or grey wall. You can buy a collapsible photography background, which can be placed against a door or a wall to achieve this. It can be folded away after use.
LIGHTING AND SOUND If you are shooting at home, find where the natural light pours in. It is best to have the light streaming evenly on you from in front. If the window is to your left or right, there could be a risk of the light illuminating only one side of your face. If you don’t have access to natural daylight or are filming in the evening, you can use a ring light or a soft box. Play around with the ring-light position to minimise its reflection on your eye. These days, most cameras have an inbuilt microphone, but if your budget allows, it is better to connect an external microphone to the camera, as this will produce a more professional sound. Be sure to close all doors and windows to prevent ambient noise from creeping in.
FRAME Most self-tapes require the actor to be filmed in a mid-shot. Set the frame just beneath your lower ribs, with the top of frame a fraction above your head. Many actors leave too much empty space above their head, which can disempower how they come across on camera. If your camera person is in doubt about how to position the frame, have them shoot you a little wider; you can crop the frame afterwards and create a mid-shot.
READER It is best to use another actor as your reader, so you can have an off-camera performance to react to. Position them so that your eyeline is as close to camera as possible without looking down the barrel. If you do not have an external mic, have them step back a little from the camera, so their voice doesn’t dominate yours. Be sure to have them come in on their cue lines. This is about your performance and any lag time with their cues can create a dip in the pacing and rhythm of the action.
DON’T WAIT FOR ‘ACTION’ A person’s average attention span is around 12 seconds, so the beginning of your self-tape needs to capture the audience immediately. This doesn’t mean doing anything extreme; however, some actors wait until they hear ‘action’ called before they start acting. This can lead to a dull few moments. Self-tapes are stronger when the actor is alive and connected right from the top.
A little cheat activity is to press ‘record’ on your camera and start improvising the moments leading up to where your script begins. Once you feel connected, move right into the scripted dialogue, then you can cut out the improvisation in editing. This way, you are ‘in it’ from the start.
EDITING Depending on the casting director, you may be asked to upload individual ‘scenes’ and a ‘slate’ as separate files, otherwise put them all in one video timeline. Familiarise yourself with your editing software, so you can edit out anything at the beginning of your tape that isn’t part of your performance, such as waiting for ‘action’ to be called. Similarly, with the end of the tape, cut any footage of you dropping out of character. There is an editing saying: enter late, leave early. Edit your clip so it starts right at the first action point and cuts at the last.
GENRE There is an abundance of film and television shows being made today, in many different genres and styles. When you receive your audition material, research the production company, director and writer to get a sense of the project’s tone. The performance style required for a television soap is very different to what would be required for a gritty Netflix drama. Watch an episode of a similar show, to get a better sense of how to pitch your performance.
CHOICES The great acting teacher Stella Adler said: “Your talent is in your choices.” This is about your version of the character. The best self-tapes look like “conversations caught on camera”. Make decisions for your character which are human and truthful. Consider such questions as: what is the purpose of this conversation for my character; how do they feel about who they’re talking to; what do they expect the other person to say or do; what do they lose if they don’t get what they need; how urgent is this situation?
DESIGN The average shot length of English-language films has dropped from around 12 seconds in 1930 to about 2.5 seconds today. A self-tape is two minutes or more without any fancy edits or cuts, and if an actor stays on one level, it may be boring to the viewer.
In a self-tape, we don’t see what you are reacting to (your reader). As a result, it is important to pitch your performance so that you have range and change. Changes in pace and energy will hold the audience’s attention. Although this is usually a ‘no-no’ in acting, it is okay in a self-tape to make choices ahead of time, even if they are not based on what your reader is giving you. If your mother is your reader, for example, she may not be providing what you need to react to, so you will have to ‘have your own back’ and be sure your choices are coming across as you intend. This is about your version of the character, after all, not about how well you bounce off your reader.
ENVIRONMENT The self-tape is an artificial medium; you aren’t on set dealing with the real environment that your character’s in. Too many actors sit or stand in a self-tape, without physically deciding what makes you, the actor, feel like you are in the world of the character. Your character might be in a kitchen or a car, but you’re sitting or standing in front of a wall. Make a decision about how you want to sit or stand, so that your body feels like it is in the environment. For example, if your character is in bed, instead of just sitting in a chair, you could sit with your legs tucked up under your arms so you appear more relaxed, as you would if you were, in fact, in bed.
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT THE AUDIENCE SEES Think of a self-tape as a ‘point of thought’ shot. In TV and film, the director will usually show the audience who your character is speaking to and what they’re looking at. There is a cutaway to show the character’s point of view. However, a self-tape doesn’t have these cutaways; all the audience has is you, your thoughts about who you’re speaking to, what you’re looking at.
Your eyeline is important in communicating points of thought — how often you look at your reader and for how long will convey a specific message. There is no right or wrong here, but it will reveal how your character feels. In the same way that if your character sees other things, such as the house they’re looking for or a dinosaur that’s approaching, it is your eyeline and thoughts about these things that will inform the viewer about what’s going on for you. Practise working on eyelines, where your thoughts are best placed on camera.
IT’S ALL IN THE EYES Being visual media, film and television are more about what we see than what we hear. And we are looking at your eyes! Shifting around or making lots of unnecessary head movements can be distracting. Again, there is no right or wrong, but it is important to have mastery over your screen craft.
Get to know your face and what it reveals on camera. Watch your self-tape with the volume turned all the way down to see if you are moving around or if you have any tics that are distracting the audience from connecting with your eyes.
ENERGY Don’t push or overperform. The casting director wants to see your version of the character, not a showcase of your entire talent catalogue. Be careful not to over-project your volume or over-animate your face because you are wanting to ‘perform’. Think of your self-tape as a private conversation between you and your reader. Your character is dealing with a situation and the reader is the only person you need to affect. You don’t have to speak louder or over-illustrate facially what you are thinking and feeling. The camera will pick up every detail and nuance; trust that it has your back. Just being in front of the camera already makes you interesting, so behave truthfully and be mindful of pushing too much because you want to show everything.
THREE MOMENTS It’s often said that a great film has three outstanding scenes which elevate the overall film. If you think of your self-tape as a mini film, it can be powerful to have three moments which lift the entire take. Having a strong beginning is one moment, which is why it is important to start connected and alive in the body. Having a strong ending is another moment. You might leave the frame or add an extra moment of behaviour to cut on. And the third moment is any other point in the script where you feel the situation peaks, where it is most intense. What you do around this peak moment is up to you. In short, begin connected and alive, find the peak moment, end strongly.
F**K IT Always do what I call a ‘f**k it’ take. Once you feel you have a useable take, do one more where you throw all your work away and do whatever you want without an attachment to the result. You might not use this at all; however, because you have the security of that useable take, you can play or experiment more in this ‘f**k it’ take. You might even make discoveries or choices which surprise you and the ‘f**k it’ take could end up being your best one. Do this take without the expectation of a result. Worst case scenario — you can delete it!
Les Chantery is the core film and TV tutor at NIDA, where he teaches screen testing with the graduating BFA Actors and the Diploma of Stage and Screen. He also teaches classes at his private Sydney studio, The Actor’s Station, and online, focusing on self-taping and screen testing. His clients have booked work in many projects, including Euphoria, The Wilds, Thor 2, Home and Away and Neighbours.
