Crush Your Self Tape Auditions With A Professional Backdrop!

Throughout 2020 shutdowns and quarantines, self taped acting auditions became increasingly commonplace for working actors unable to meet with project casting directors in person. Audition videos are filmed remotely and then submitted online for potential roles.

Despite the change in circumstances, this shift toward self tape auditions has generated some unexpected beneficial outcomes:

Because there is no direct interaction with the casting director(s) at the time of recording; actors have to put forth their best work in the self tape to stand out.
Time/Location/Availability barriers are removed with the ability to record the audition at the time most convenient for the actor.
A great quality audition tape can be created on a budget with just a few pieces of home studio equipment.
When not character-specific; a single self tape audition can suit different projects for multiple role opportunities.

Seamless Backdrop

A vibrant seamless backdrop is the simplest, most significant improvement over recording in front of living room, office, or kitchen clutter. Measure the size of your available filming space and opt for the largest backdrop width that it will accommodate, to allow yourself more room to move about. If you need to be able to take down your film set and store it away compactly between use, consider easy-to-collapse options.

A large window can be a great source of soft, natural light. Be sure to position yourself out of direct sunlight with the window to the left or right side, versus behind or straight in front of you. If no window light is available, consider a daylight balanced LED light kit to provide even, bright, white lighting across your face and background.

Check out a few tutorials for selecting the best home studio gear for self tape auditions: