How to Self-Tape at Home

Start With the Casting Notice

Read the notice before you set up anything. It may specify framing, what the slate should include, the file format, a size limit, a length, how many takes to send and how to send them. Where the notice and this guide disagree, the notice wins.

Framing

• Shoot horizontally unless the notice asks otherwise.
• Frame from the chest up, with a little space above your head. If the notice wants a full-length or profile shot, it will say so.
• Put the lens at eye level. A tripod works, and so does a stack of books. A steady frame matters more than an expensive camera.
• Leave your hands free to move without leaving the frame, and stay far enough from the lens that a gesture does not cut your face off.

Eyeline

Your eyeline is where the other character is. Look into the lens and you appear to address the viewer, so unless the notice says otherwise, look just to one side of the camera at a fixed point near lens height. Choose the point before the first take and keep it for every take.

If a friend is feeding you the other lines, seat them beside the lens at the same height, so your eyeline is the same on every take. If you are alone, tape a small mark to the wall. When the scene sends your eyes elsewhere, that is a choice, and the fixed point is where you come back to.

Light

Face the light. A window in front of you, with the camera between you and the glass, gives soft light on your face. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette.

• Do not mix daylight and warm lamps. The colours fight, and the skin tone shifts from one side of your face to the other.
• Watch for moving sun. If the light changes while you tape, pick a time of day when it holds, or close the curtains and use a lamp.
• A white sheet or a lampshade will soften a harsh source.
• Check the light on a played-back clip, not on the live preview.

Sound

Poor sound is hard to repair afterward, so deal with it before you record. Turn off fans, air conditioning and anything that hums. Soft surfaces such as rugs, curtains and bedding cut the echo of a bare room. Put the microphone as close as you can without it showing, and record ten seconds of your loudest line. Listen back on headphones for echo, hiss and distortion before you commit to a full session.

Background and Wardrobe

Use a plain, uncluttered wall in a mid tone. Wear something that suggests the character without being a costume, and avoid pure white, busy patterns and visible logos. The viewer should be thinking about the scene, not about what is behind you.

The Slate

A slate identifies you at the top of the tape. The notice usually says what it wants. Common contents are your name, your representation and the role, and sometimes your height or location. Say it plainly to camera, hold a still beat, and then begin the scene. Keep it short, because the slate is not the performance.

Takes

Do several takes and rest between them. When you choose, pick the take where you were listening and responding, not only the one with the cleanest delivery. Send the number of takes the notice asks for, and no more.

File Naming and Sending

If the notice gives a naming format, use it exactly. If it does not, a simple, readable pattern works: first name, last name, role and project, joined with underscores, with no spaces or special characters. For example, JaneDoe_Detective_HarborLight.mp4.

1. Check the notice for the file format and size limit. MP4 is a common format. If your file is over the limit, export it again at a smaller size rather than cutting the performance.
2. Play the file from the first frame to the last, with sound, before you send it. If you can, open it on a second device.
3. Send it the way the notice says: an upload to the platform named, a link, or to your agent, who submits it.
4. Send with time to spare. A deadline is the last moment a tape is accepted, not a target.

Casting offices hear from your representation. If you have an agent or a manager, send the tape to them to submit rather than writing to the casting office yourself.