Self-Tape Season

Have you ever had a lifelong dream? A super-objective, if you will? Since elementary school, I knew that I wanted to work in film and theatre. At first, it was just acting, but then it grew into costuming, cinematography, sound design… all of it.

When the pandemic hit, I had been working as a freelance actor, production assistant, and boom operator; I also had a part-time job working wardrobe for the Broadway tours that came through town. At first, everything was just going to be postponed for a couple of weeks.

Now, over a year later, things are starting to pick up again! I haven't had many chances to be back on set yet, but someone once told me that the job of an actor isn't primarily to act, but to audition. I’m jumping in and calling it “self-tape season.” A self-tape is when an actor films an audition themself, instead of actually going somewhere in person. I’ve been sending self-tapes for years, because of being in North Carolina. If the job required an in-person callback or if I got the part, I would travel for it. Since the pandemic, self-tapes are the rule, rather than the exception.

Still from a self-tape... yep, that was mid-song!

So how does an actor make a self-tape? We get a small portion of the script, called sides. It might be about a page, with some of the character’s lines. I always prefer to memorize my sides. Then, I set up my lights and camera in front of a wall, drag someone in to read the other lines with me, and shoot!

Ah, the grace and beauty of the self-tape

I usually use a 2-point lighting setup. This means that there are 2 main sources of light. I like to have one soft light, like indirect sunlight through a window, and one hard light from my light kit. It’s a really simple setup for film, but I like having just a touch of shadow across one side of my face. Nothing too dramatic, just enough to see the shape of my features.

An example of lighting more dramatic than I intended

I’m still perfecting my self-tape game, from getting better sound equipment to experimenting with lighting setups. I recently got a green-screen backdrop that I have yet to try, so we’ll see where that adventure takes me!

xo,

Cecilia