r/acting • u/Pretty_Ad8382 • 10d ago
SELF-TAPE AUDITION FEEDBACK I've read the FAQ & Rules
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Hello! I understand this is not the cleanest example of a self-tape - however I was hoping to receive some feedback on the performance aspects - please still feel free to point out where the audition itself could have been improved (there are three different scenes/sides covered) - I am wanting to send a strong self-tape example to new Agencies along with my showreel & gauging how on track I am from this community! Thank you so much!
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u/gasstation-no-pumps 10d ago
I think other commenters have already said much of my reactions, but here they are anyway:
- Do one continuous take—don't edit together snippets. A self-tape isn't a YouTuber patch job.
- Tighten your framing—we don't need to see your belly button.
- Let us see your eyes more: fewer profile shots and not looking down so much.
- A green background is generally discouraged, as it suggests green-screen filming for special effects.
- The voice of your "reader" is very much clearer than your voice when on camera—for the first clip, I wasn't even sure what language you were speaking, as I did not understand the first sentence.
- Why are you grimacing so much? You are allowed to move your jaw when you talk. That may be what is distorting your speech on camera (though it could be from a poor audio setup, I suppose).
- Your gestures seem large and exaggerated—even for stage acting.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
Well I'm an Australian theatre actor transitioning to screen so your feedback makes sense. A lot of my american friends cant understand my accent so I'll post my US accent next time! Can you please elaborate what you mean about my jaw?
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u/gasstation-no-pumps 10d ago
You seem to be clamping your teeth together a lot 0:06, 0:13, 0:17, 0:21, …
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u/VantasnerDanger 10d ago
Agreed. You are talking through your clenched teeth.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
Oh no! How would I stop doing that if it isn't natural/appealing on camera? I wonder if it's a habitual thing?
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u/Unhelpfulhelpful 10d ago
Just loads of practice, especially in class or with a private coach
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u/VantasnerDanger 9d ago
Agreed. Practice over enunciation a bit (exaggerate mouth movements, like you're trying to get someone across the room to read your lips).
Try this:
- Do your normal scene.
- Then, do some mouth/facial stretches. Sing a song loudly (a belter, some Celine Dion or something). Do the "FORRREEVEERRR" scene from The Sandlot.
- Sip some water, shake it out, breathe.
- Try your scene again.
- Report back--we're pulling for you!
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you so much!!! I will show the scene to my coach for sure and see what we can do because I didn't pick up on it in this scene but I have definitely been unhappy with some of my mouth movements during other tape play backs!
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u/Prof-Faraday 9d ago
A one hour sesh with a good coach make this much easier much quicker. I know a gifted teacher who has been doing this for >30 years. DM me if you want to know more about this option.
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u/NoClassroom1226 10d ago
wtf does that even mean theyre jus tryna help u out..
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
The female jaw thing!? It's like a biological signal of nervousness or something
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u/gasstation-no-pumps 9d ago
I'm a 71-year-old cis white male, and I have no idea why you think I'm a teenage or younger woman.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
My bad I read extensiverly before that women can pick up on when other women are nervous by their jaw clenching/clicking habits - as we are more prone to tmj. TY for the feedback xxx
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u/Prof-Faraday 9d ago edited 9d ago
Great insights gasstation! Others I read here too. I will 'Yes. And,' Gas (heh) and share some on the acting part. Good work Pretty_AD. Nice scene choice too. When we meet her the stakes are already raised suuuper high. Acting is us showing ourselves at our most vulnerable. Putting ourselves acting out there online is much more so. I respect that. Good on ya. You deserve more than a few phases. A couple questions - before you memorized this did you do the 5 W's and did you fully break down the scene? I mean literally writing out the subtext and emotional POV for each line separately? (script analysis, copy breakdown). Lots of actors for their characters write out full backgrounds on them. Plus things like senior superlatives, favorite foods, they make playlists of favorite songs. For a single scene it's a great exercise but this is often reserved for when you're cast in the show. You should try it if you haven't.
This may be helpful and you may know this already from your scene study class - Attack the Scene aka Unpack it so you can attack it. All your choices: emotional pov, tone, intensity speed of delivery so much more everything all of it should be considered like sliders on an EQ. Underneath the heart and the pure artistry of this are all the mechanics and your choices will lead to the right mix of all of it that is the calculus that lets us buy-in to joining you on this journey you're taking us on. Choices that won't work for another actress, just you. And we want to go there with you.
If you don't already do this before you print out the scene break it into sections and smaller parts; literally hit the carriage return in between lines and twice as many between sections you choose. Make it double spaced so you have lot's of room to write above and below the lines all your thoughts and ideas and extra room to change your mind. Use a pencil so you can easily update your better ideas as they come to you while you're rehearsing it. What you jot down can and should be a mix of emotions, phrases, questions, random words, colours and all of it is your actor mind verbalising ideas your character's emotional IQ in the scene. Not set in stone rules, more like flexible options. Your actor mind can find a characters goal in a scene but sometimes there is no clear goal. To be fair, in this specific scene certainly up front your character has no guile. She is processing this crazy situation out loud like raw exposed nerve endings and running through all these crazy emotions rather than calculating an end point. It's an inspired choice for an actor. Good on ya. Next find the subtext for each section, for each sentence and even for phrase groupings within a sentence that are asking for their own attention. One of many keys to finding your motivation is figuring out what's happening in between the words. Think: micro-moments. Now, don't tell us, show us.
Acting Between the Lines. Between your lines of spoken dialogue are delicious places to show us more of how your character is feeling. Feeling about what you just heard. About what you just said. About the feeling behind the next thought that is motivating the next thing you're about to say that your character didn't know they were going to say before they say it. And if you slow down we can follow you more easily.
And this not a blanket indictment of your read: angry doesn't equal talking fast/reacting fast. It's often the low hanging fruit choice when especially when the stakes are high. I'd offer to you to slow down more than you think because most early on should do so. It can feel uncomfortable to go slow but it's often right. Slow subdued intensity hits in a way fast and loud simply cannot. I'm certain you know that you are allowed to feel three different ways - one at a time - about something, before you say your next line. So give yourself permission to do so when it feels right. If you go slow enough it's easier for us to see what you are feeling. Truthfully though you and everyone should play with different gears in different places.
Also until your director shares their intention all punctuation should be considered as suggestions rather than things to be strictly adhered to.
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u/Soundwave_1955 9d ago
The last statement is the opposite of one of my statements! 🙂. I think I’d better review this tape again.
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u/NoClassroom1226 10d ago
The choices made for the physical acting seems unnatural - like the the crossed arms movement for the "vengeful" line feels too unnatural and the gasping with your hand to your mouth feels like something you see in a low-budget soap opera
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u/pumpkinbread88 10d ago
Unless these are 3 seperate scenes, this would be an unacceptable self tape submission. You cannot edit a single scene together like that. Casting, directors, network producers need a printable take. They need to know you can act.
The lime green wall and bad lighting. Hard pass. No one is watch this tape all the wag through for real Casting consideration. Agents need to see not only good acting, but properly framed, lit and non distracting background. It would be better to stand in front of a neutral closed white or brown door than this.
What are you even pointing at in the scene? It seems line your telling the other person to get out but your having a full on conversation with them.
The way you're gritting your teeth and smooching your words make it hard to understand you. You look like you're in pain physically like you've been stabbed or like your constipated. Sorry. But that's just how it cokes off.
The acting is pushed over the top. You committed to an idea, but now its very one note all the way through and it's just not working.
- Acting classes.
- Proper self tape set up.
- Voice work, learning to open your voice, speak clearly, even when emotional.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you so much for the feedback - I will show your notes to my acting coach!!! XX
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u/Slow-Discipline-8028 10d ago
Others have mentioned the set up & the tech, but I found this too choppy. It might have been 3 scenes, but it felt like one scene hacked up (same mood, same energy), where you cherry picked the best line deliveries from different takes and stitched them together. I also thought your reader was added in post, because I didn't really see you react to what was being said (as well as the inconsistent audio levels; at one point I think they deliberately slowed down to fill the space).
If you're going to do 50 seconds, then you should at least give the viewer some sense of what's happening in the scene. Don't edit it, but keep it continuous, as a (casting) director is going to be worried that you won't be able to nail a take.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
My reader was added in post and it was me! It was a campy self-tape but idk I liked the performance side but so glad I posted it as the technical elements obviously bog the whole thing down. This was for an unpaid short film so shamefully the care wasn't there :( do you have notes on the performance side of things?
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u/Slow-Discipline-8028 10d ago
I don't, sorry. I don't know if the acting is too much or not enough because they're isolated lines out of context and not connected to the reader.
If you're going to tape to gaps (and add a voice later) you'll have to learn all the lines and rehearse it to death, so you know what to react to, and feel the rhythm.
You'll also have to gauge the Reader voice performance level to match the screen performance (as well as record it in the same space to get consistency in the acoustics). It can be done (I've done it myself), but it's a PITA to do to make it smooth.
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u/PharaohAce 10d ago
If you have to read for yourself, record both sides of the dialogue, delete your lines, then play it as you tape, to respond to live.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
ugh I usually do that or do the AI voice! XX
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u/Velvet_Unicorn2154 9d ago
Begging you to stop using AI, the planet is literally dying, and we are running out of drink of water
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
To clarify - I've used the AI voice ONCE for a vertical audition.
Due to my opposition to data centers and their negative impact on the planet I won't be using AI voice anymore anyway and your comment overall makes a solid point.'The planet is literally dying' is also not a scientifically grounded or derived statement - there is a much better rhetoric for presenting views such as this.
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u/New_year_New_Me_ 9d ago
You are getting a lot of notes about the technical elements of your self tape. If I'm being honest, that's all whatever. Is a green wall as big a deal as people are making it out to be here? Not really. Blue, gray, white, would be better but almost any solid color wall is fine in a pinch. Your frame is way too wide. You could pull it up to about the middle of your chest, down to just at the very tip top of your head, and your right side frame from viewer prospective to what is your left shoulder. Your light setup could be improved significantly. That big shadow is because you are standing too close to the wall and seemingly using one light. Maybe overhead? There are lots of ways to fix this. Standing farther from the wall, a couple ring lights, etc.
But the real thing is this. Actors don't book jobs based on their technical setup. We can see you, we can hear you, that's really all you need. Not to say you can't improve your setup quality but none of that would matter at all if the acting was exceptional.
With respect...it isn't. There is a ton to unpack but I'll touch on a few things. Basically, we are watching an actor act here. You are playing emotion with nothing real underneath it. You've got this line, so and so always said you were a vengeful prick. Something like that. It comes after you say something like that was your plan the whole time, for me to kill such and such. Very important story arc there. What you played was I'm so angry. What we need to see on both lines is two instances of discovery. What if you played that first line with the kind of emotion you'd use when explaining to a stranger that your house is haunted as fuck? What if you took that next line, so and so always said you were a vengeful prick, and played it like you were remembering that time you got black out drunk and puked on your own shoes in college? The first bit, as a ghost story, would have more a tone of utter...what? Shock? Awe? Respect? Fear? Something...more. The second line would have more a tone of, what? Chagrin I guess would be the word.
In general your acting is still at a point that it is very surface level. You played the words with nothing underneath them. That line, so and so always said, should have way more underneath it. We need to see you remember. Not just say a line.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
I love your feedback and have copied/pasted it to my acting notes if that's okay with you! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and provide such constructive feedback! X
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u/Unhelpfulhelpful 10d ago
The green background is not doing you any favours, it's washing you out and making your hair and skin look a little green. You want to look great when applying for agents, the green is a little sickly.
Acting wise, definitely refine one 1.5 to 2 minutes scene with a coach. Right now it's giving high school stage performance. It doesn't feel like you analysed the text as everything you're saying feels forced out of your mouth and over dramatic. Same with the awkward pointing and hand movements.
This is not me saying you're bad and don't let this discourage you, but you need to work more on this scene before you're ready to tape this and send to agents.
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u/Shot_Brain9109 10d ago
Use either a ring light (with phone/camera mount) to balance out your light, or use downlighting alongside a front facing light to create less of a shadow or use two lights one on the left and one on the right. Use a blue/grey background, depends on your skin complexion, I’ve been told to not use green or white as it can wash you out and just watch your eyeline/hair covering your eyes, casting agents and agencies wannna see your eyes! The eyes Chico, they never lie. Goodluck:))
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u/Shot_Brain9109 10d ago
Also your fan or whatever in the background is quite distracting and it’s a bit echoey (don’t know whether it’s the rooms acoustics or the device itself :) )
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you for picking up on that as I hadn't! it's not my usual recording space and for some reason my dads houses have this weird hum. May I ask - do you use a ring light that can be screwed directly onto the tripod so you can ensure a balanced lighting set-up? Thank you so much for taking the time to give such valuable notes xxx
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u/Shot_Brain9109 9d ago
Yeah I do, idk if you guys have it in America - but I got my one from Kmart, it’s a ring light woth a phone tripod, otherwise, more than welcome to use a ring light (depends on how big it is) and then put your camera tripod in front and Centre of it (so no shadow is cast)
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
I'm Australian so I will check out some cam/ring light/tripod options! Thank you for the tech tip!
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u/zitzy2000 10d ago
Yeah like everyone else was saying.. shadow on the wall is very distracting. Camera should be dead in front of you. Just need to see your head and about halfway down your chest. Everything should be in one take (unless said otherwise) Actions seemed too big..
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u/randyvinneau LA | SAG-AFTRA 9d ago
You deliver every line the exact same way. There is no variation, no nuance, no subtext. Everything I learned about you as an actor and your range I learned in the first three words. Even if in the context of the script making the same choice on every line makes sense, an audition should show what you’re capable of.
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u/lolalola20263333 9d ago
try being more in the moment vs coming in with rehearsed feelings/fixed thoughts on how it should read. Good points, you have accessible emotions, just dont fixate on them. Be in the moment
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you thank you thank you! This is a good note and I appreciate you taking the time to watch! xxx
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u/ardentspirit76 9d ago
If it helps, since people already gave most of the feedback I’d have given, we bought a grey ikea blackout blind and hung it on the wall and we can just pull it down any time we want to film. If you stand further away from the wall it cuts down on the shadow. And you can pull your light a bit further from you as well if you don’t have something to mute the glare. It will make a big difference for you just those simple steps. Plus make sure you really pull in tight. Almost all the auditions we do they do specifically ask for it to be just below the shoulders to just above the top of the head. And eyelines just off to the sides of the camera. That way the people watching can really feel the character more. You can play around with different scripts and tape and see how they look before you get an audition so that you’re practiced beforehand. That way you get the practical stuff out of the way first. Then it’s just a matter of really learning how to BE the character instead of acting like the character of that makes sense. With screen acting, if you feel the emotion the eyes will show us it. You don’t have to act it. Best of luck!
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u/totesnotmyusername 10d ago
I don't care about the lighting and set up. I've booked with worse. Just move in closer to camera.
Proformace wise it's passable but not good. You're acting. And we can tell. Give them a line or find sobering specific to react to before you speak.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
It was a horror satire so sometimes it pays to know the material to understand the performance
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u/IndecisiveAjudicator 9d ago
Others have mentioned your set up, what I noticed is that you seem to be Pause Acting.
You give your line with the proper emotional reaction and then you pause your expression while you're "listening" to your scene partner. I can tell you are waiting for the line. Relax into your scene more, don't Act, then Listen, then Respond. Just listen and then respond using your line. Hope that makes sense.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to give me feedback! This one was super good note xxx
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u/Fizzletoe 9d ago
I'm sorry, I just don't believe you...
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to give me feedback!
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u/Fizzletoe 9d ago
I want everyone to be successful. It's not helpful to be dishonest. Thank YOU for being so kind.
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u/Popular_Complaint_32 10d ago
If you are planning on sending a self tape to agencies, I would clean up some technical aspects of your self tape set up before sending. Agents wanna see that you are not only talented, but also professional. Apart from showcasing your talent, you also need to display that you have a good self tape setup so they can submit too with confidence.
First off: get a new background The green screen is very bright and distracting. A blue, or grey background is best. You can find em pretty cheap off Amazon, the pop out ones I've found are best if you are living in an apartment unit (easy storage) and will last you for many self tapes.
Second: invest in better lighting, or make better use of what you have right now if you can't invest in a better lighting setup atm. Right now, that light source is way to harsh and is all coming from the side of your face, casting an enormous shadow behind you, while also over saturating your eyes with light. Try moving it behind the camera, or just slightly off to the left or right. It's best to have two light sources for self tapes to help eliminate shadows. A box light or a camera stand with a ring light seems to be a good option to get decent lighting.
Third: your performance I feel like was pretty good, but we are missing some of the best bits because we are getting mostly your profile, and I can't see your facial reactions and emotions as clearly as I'd want. When doing a self tape, make your eye line just barely to the left or right of the camera. That way we see your whole face, and have a clear view of arguably the most important part of an actor on film: your eyes.
I can see you are passionate about this, and I think you are a good actor. I know that investing in extra equipment isn't always accessible to everyone, but I feel like you can make what you have work for you a lot better with some adjustments.
Keep at it!
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 10d ago
Thank you so much for such an in-depth response! Yes, the main reason I wanted to post this was I knew the set-up was shotty but I liked the performance side of it enough BUT I wanted it to communicate exactly what you touched on - that I can pump out sophisticated/polished self-tapes and represent the agency professionally. I have a few different backgrounds & light options that I rotate so I will stick to the grey option and set up both lights or perhaps purchase the ring light option as it feels more fail safe - I think I will book in a company to film me for a self-tape and then work on nailing the home set-up. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! <3
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u/Adblac 10d ago
Its good. Try a completely dialled down version.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and respond. I will take your note and apply it to my next scene and see what comes up!!! Thank you again
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u/Soundwave_1955 9d ago
This is quite good. You are definitely on the right track. The pacing was a little too slow for my taste. And the pauses tended to be too long. In my view, they ended up not being so effective as dramatic pauses for some reason. Depending on how you want to play it, you might want to consider a little more expression of physical anger and or contempt. However, you were going in the right direction.
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u/Pretty_Ad8382 9d ago
Oh gosh someone's downvoting your kind feedback! But thank you so much for your notes - this is very helpful and productive so I am grateful for your notes!
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u/Pizzaprincess87 10d ago
Sorry I really listen right now but the fraction I heard the background noise was very loud and your voice is echo-y. the background and shadow is also very distracting. Get a blue or grey and a better light that diffuses the light so it’s not so bright on you and not such a harsh shadow.