If you have been around Boost My Star for any length of time you know that the industry has taken a giant leap forward.
Changes that were supposed to take 10 years to implement were made in just under one year.
Even advances in production technology are happening at an unprecedented rate. For an industry that was already changing rapidly, the state of the industry can be somewhat intimidating.
Actors who are not fully keeping up with the changes often find themselves at a loss, not knowing why they are not making the kind of progress they should be making.
On the other hand, there is always a small group of actors that are always in the know and at the forefront of those changes, anticipating things before everyone else.
That gives them a huge advantage because it leaves everyone else trying to catch up to the things they are already aware of.
The actors in that group tend to be the ones that build careers as professional actors. Most actors are constantly working on perfecting their skill set and so they can be ready when the opportunity comes.
However, professional actors are just as focused on creating those opportunities. If you want to build your career as a professional actor, that is something you should focus on too. Here’s how...
First it’s important to realize that opportunity is all around you.
Even as the strike continues, many actors are finding that there are some unique opportunities that didn’t exist for them just a few weeks ago.
More on that in a bit...
Over the years I have seen that professional actors are not just focused on creating opportunities. They also focus on seizing the opportunities that everyone else ignores.
Here’s what I mean...
If you were to ask the average actor what opportunity exists in terms of self taped auditions, what would their answer be?
Many of them would say that it’s a more relaxed audition environment and that it also allows them to perform their audition multiple times until they get it just right.
While those are both very valid points, they don’t speak to what the opportunity is with self taped auditions.
The big opportunity is that self taped auditions are simply an entirely different form of auditioning. The fact that CDs are evaluating your performance through a screen instead of evaluating it live makes a big difference.
Think about the difference between acting for the stage and acting for the camera.
Both mediums have their own particular nuances. The same is true for self taped auditions and traditional auditions but most actors approach them the exact same way.
Because of all that has happened in the industry over the last few years, self taped auditions are quickly becoming the norm.
That means actors who are skilled at that particular form of auditioning will have a distinct advantage over actors who treat self tapes the same as traditional auditions.
There are many differences and I could literally write an entire book on self taped auditions but if you keep just a few key points in mind, you will likely be better positioned than most other actors.
Remember that when you are acting for the camera, your expressions, your voice, and even your movements are somewhat muted, at least when you are set up for a self taped audition.
To counteract that, it’s often beneficial to increase the intensity of how you are playing the character.
Thes can be somewhat tricky so a great way to figure it out is simply to set up your environment and perform your scene as you normally would.
Then, watch it and consider if increasing your intensity by 10% would make a positive difference.
Record your scene again. When you watch your new take, it will be obvious whether you are on the right track or not.
Sometimes, you may take it too far and play it with too much intensity. In that case dial it back and repeat the cycle again until you get it just right.
It sounds like quite an obvious exercise but you would be surprised at how few actors actually do it.
Most will simply practice their scene in the mirror, get it “just right” then record their self tape and submit, never considering that they were evaluating their performance live while casting will be evaluating it on a screen.
That’s the big opportunity with self taped auditions.
While most actors simply work on audition techniques, you can work on perfecting your technique for what is quickly becoming the dominant form of auditioning.
Self taped auditions were always going to be a part of the industry’s future, but that future took a giant leap forward and self tapes are over taking traditional auditions at a much higher rate than anticipated.
The actors that are serious about building their career are not taking the subject lightly.
Because self taped auditions are much more efficient than traditional ones, it is expected that there will be a wave of self taped auditions to make up for lost time, when the strike comes to an end.
Like I said, an entire book could be written on the topic of self taped auditions but what we went over today alone can be incredibly impactful.
Everything else will build from there and we will continue going over the details of how to master self taped auditions over the coming weeks.
For now, do the exercise we talked about today. Pick a scene and go through the exercise a few times.
It may seem tedious but the difference in your performance can be notable.
As the industry continues to evolve, self taped auditions will become a fundamental part of building an acting career.
Those fundamentals are the building blocks, something professional actors focus on consistently.
It will likely become as important as being highly visible to the industry where Casting Directors and industry decision makers look for talent.
Without being highly visible, it’s easy for actors to get lost in the shuffle, unable to differentiate themselves from everyone else.
That’s something we talk about constantly because, like the other fundamental building blocks, it’s something that is unlikely to change.
Having that in order can make everything else more impactful, much like having a stellar industry reputation.
Your industry reputation is something that is often evaluated along with a self taped audition.
While self taped auditions are more efficient and in many other ways work out better for everyone, they do lack the personal interaction of traditional auditions.
That holds true whether it’s a self taped audition or a traditional one, much like the strategy we went over today.
As you are putting it into practice, feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or even if you just want to bounce ideas.
Shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I will always help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top
Scott