#93: Dear Julie… better self tapes?
Wednesday 11/6/24
DEAR JULIE: How can I get better at self taping? It takes me forever and I don’t get many callbacks or next steps.
Wow, a great question. I have several things you can do - please this is BROAD feedback since I haven’t seen your tapes.
Get feedback from friends, directors, professionals, etc. What do they see?
Ensure your sightlines are strong. If you are looking INTO the lens, commit. Look away with purpose. If your “other” feels better off to the side - again, commit. Don’t let your eyes wander if you can. I put a post it with a dot on it on my wall when people come to me to tape.
The team just needs to see and hear you clearly, but are you experiencing any quality issues? Sound? Image?
How’s your memorization? I don’t always memorize sides, but I will try and utilize a “grab and go” method
WRONG NOTES ARE A NON STARTER. You have to sing correct notes.
What’s your acting like? Remember that film is a different medium so you can do so much less than on stage. Storytelling through tape is CRITICALLY important and I would absolutely encourage anyone to work with an acting coach on your songs and helping you translate it to film. I find a lot of people are too big the first take of something we try or when they send me tapes for feedback.
Mostly, do not overanalyze self tape results too much. Theatre is a live medium. Focus on getting better, of course, it’s all a skill… but also try to secure an agent so you can get appointments, make sure you are getting good footage of you performing in shows or concerts, and make sure your socials, website, reels are all A+!
Dreams Don’t Die
Julie