Self taped auditions are here to stay. That’s kind of a given and I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you.

We’ve gone over that in pretty excruciating detail, since this whole thing started a couple months ago.

Really, I’ve been sounding the alarm on that coming industry shift for years, but the industry was forced to address this and adapt to things like self taped auditions much faster than anticipated.

More on that in a bit...

You know Boost My Star is the go to place for information about the side of the industry that no one else dares talk about.

Everyone is hung up on production delays and the uncertainty about when things will get back on track.

While you could make a case for it, if you focus on that, you would be missing the bigger picture and you could be missing out on one of the biggest opportunities to make career progress quickly.

If you take a step back and try to look at the grand scheme, a few things will become incredibly obvious.

For one the industry never stopped moving.

Production deals were made, projects continued to move through the pipeline, scripts were purchased, stories were optioned, agents signed new talent, and series found new ways to wrap up their season.

Even Casting Directors stayed busy and many of them are busier now than they have ever been.

Here’s what that means for you...

If you have remained active during this time, then you know that things are running a bit differently now.

While there is a lot happening right now, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing...not by a long shot. Navigating the waters of the evolving industry is taking everyone a little bit of getting used to.

Many actors are starting to get used to submitting self taped auditions, but what no one else is talking about right now is the follow up casting meeting. See, if you want to make any kind of meaningful career progress you have to master the Zoom casting.

Since it’s now evident that most of the industry’s workflow will be done remotely for the foreseeable future, callbacks are evolving into a sort of Zoom follow up.

There is only so much that a CD can discern from your self taped audition.

They are trained to pick up on subtleties that come across during a traditional audition that simply don’t come across on tape or even over the phone.

So, the industry is adapting to the times and coming up with ways to accommodate the circumstances. Zoom provides a sort of middle ground between a face to face and a self taped audition.

Of course that can be a double edged sword.

Have you ever had a bad audition, where you felt like the CD was only letting you finish out of courtesy?

Everyone has! It’s just a part of growing as an actor. However, self taped auditions don’t have feelings and CDs can (and do) hit the “next” button mercilessly.

That’s the end of the road and you don’t have any way of trying to resurrect your chances. You can’t ask to read again, as you often can when you’re in the room.

Whatever ends up “on tape” is what will be and it’s the only chance you get. From there, it’s in the hands of casting and you will either be passed over, or put into a “maybe pile.”

That’s where the Zoom follow up comes in.

See, self taping doesn’t give CDs to the opportunity to make any kind of judgement on you as a person.

In order to make a decision, CDs have to get to know you. They also have to like and trust you, because at the end of the day, when they make a recommendation for you to move forward in the casting process, they are putting their stamp of approval on you.

If you were to be cast and then drop the ball, the weight of that would end up on the shoulders of the Casting Director.

CDs are looking for clues when they make small talk during an audition.

They are being more cautious now and they try to confirm what they were able to discern about you, without meeting you in person, and that’s a tricky task.

The industry has always been built on reputation and now more than ever, you have to ​make sure that your reputation matches your goals.

In the past, you could afford to have a reputation that was less than stellar because CDs had the opportunity to meet you.

You were able to talk about your acting strengths and the reasons why you would be a great fit for the role.

I have known many actors that were horrible at auditioning but they could charm their way to being booked.

Self taped auditions don’t provide for the level of personal interaction that facilitates trust building and if we do ever go all the way back to a traditional audition system it could take years.

Personally I don’t believe we’ll ever go fully back to that for a number of reasons.

You should be focusing your efforts on adapting to where the industry is headed. It used to be all about getting a call back, because that meant you were making progress.

Now, it’s all about getting that Zoom follow up.

When you do, be yourself but turn things up a notch or two. Remember, things are kind of muted on screen so you have to overplay your emotions and actions a bit.

We’ll go over the specifics on that next time.

For now, remember that production schedules are going to be pulled forward. I know, all we hear about are the delays but that has only created a bottle neck.

Studios are looking to cut production times as much as possible. That’s both to trim budgets and also to push through as many projects as possible in a short amount of time.

That is creating a perfect set of circumstances for actors. Many Casting Directors are choosing to cast the same actors for multiple projects, since the anticipated shooting schedules are going to overlap like never before.

Of course none of that matters, if you are unable to capitalize on the opportunities and move through the new audition process.

Getting a Casting Director to watch your audition tape is only one part of the process. You also have to somehow demonstrate to them that you are up to the task and worthy of moving forward to the next step.

Here’s how I can help you with that.

We focus on it heavily, because it is the go to place for industry decision makers to get an idea about where you are in your career and evaluate your body of work.

So make sure you are on track with that, because ​otherwise it could derail everything and keep you from moving forward through the new audition process.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be going into that in much more detail but you have to build everything on a solid foundation and this is the place to start.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything we went over today. I’m always happy to help in any way I can, even if you just need someone to bounce ideas with because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott