I have noticed that casting agents are having actors submit self-tapes more and more often. I have mixed feelings about this because it is nice to have the person to person contact. Read the room. Take direction after my first attempt. And get to know the castings agents in person. Build up a rapport with them.
On the other hand it is nice to not have to drive the long distances to get to auditions. You can work at your own pace and rehearse or do several takes before you get one that you are happy with. You don't have to worry about a whole outfit, just your shirt, make up and hair. And you can film it at your leisure. Whenever it is convenient. Which for me is usually late at night.
The down side is that there are some actors who have better equipment than others and sometimes that can be to their advantage. I think having better quality camera, lighting, sound and background shows that an actor is serious about it and more professional. Right now I only have a blank wall in my bedroom. A standing lamp. And our tablet to film and use the built in sound for that. I also need to figure out a teleprompter. Right now I tape my sides (excerpts from the script) on a music stand and read them off the paper. Sometimes my agent says I am not loud enough. So, I have to make sure I am projecting.
I know self-tapes are convenient for casting agents. Probably a lot faster for them to scan through the audition videos and then narrow it down to who they want to see for callbacks. Then they can get the client involved when they know they have great options to choose from. I do go in person for callbacks most of the time or I am just cast from my initial self-tape. I really want to up my game though and get better equipment. On my list are a ring light/tripod that holds my phone. I think my phone has a better mic than our tablet. A backdrop/greenscreen. And a teleprompter app for my tablet. That will save a lot of time so I don't have to memorize everything perfectly. That can be hard with how fast they want your audition in. With a teleprompter it is harder to tell you are reading from a script. I'll keep you posted!
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