Of course, your primary concern needs to be the development of good acting skills, which you can accomplish in acting classes in nyc that have experienced teachers and coaches. However, there is one skill you may have to develop on your own if your acting classes in nyc do not include it, and that is auditioning technique. The auditioning process has not begun to include audition tapes. Audition tapes need not be expensive, professionally shot videos. Enlist the help of a director friend, rent a simple camera and follow these rules.
How you appear is key, and lighting is a big part of this. Strong shadows falling in the wrong places can eliminate your chances of producers watching the tape all the way through. Looking completely washed out from lights that are too strong or close doesn't work either. Anything that takes away from your performance is lethal and bad lighting is one of those things. Nice, bright yet completely unnoticeable lighting is the goal. A professional acting program, especially acting classes in nyc, should have someone on staff that has experience producing tapes. They would be able to help you outline a simple lighting plan.
There should be two or three light sources. A light should be placed in front of the talent (you) one on either side, and far enough away to not cause shadows or hot spots. A light can also be brought in to illuminate the background. There are audition tapes that have dark backgrounds which can set a certain mood and this can work. Just be sure the overall tape is not too dark, or the contrast too great between your face and the background. Correcting the color with a white balance feature is the important next step.
Light sources, such as lamps, professional lights and daylight all have different temperatures. Daylight has a lot of blue in it and is very "cool." If you set up lights near a window the camera must correct for that. A mix of light sources is possible but, the camera must be "balanced" to correct for these color differences. By hitting the White Balance button you can adjust the camera to "balance" the color between those two light sources. Just place something white in the approximate place where you will be standing and hit White Balance. If you do not use this feature the color will be completely off, especially your skin tones. Forget to do this and skin tones and all other colors will be "off," which is very distracting.
How you sound is also very important. Distracting static, muddy tones in your voice, are all ways to kill what might otherwise be a good audition tape. A good way to get quickly dismissed is to have poor sound quality. The cleanest sound comes from a mic planted close the source of sound, in this case, you. Camera mounted microphones are not very close to the subject, so looking into the rental of a good quality Lavalier microphone might be worthwhile. Let's face it, acting is a form of communication and you cannot communicate clearly if you can't be heard. Acting classes in nyc sometimes have ways to help with this.
With these basics in place now is the time to think about content. Preparing for an audition tape is the same as preparing for a live audition. A coach trained in the Meisner acting technique should be able to offer a lot of great tips on how to prepare. The discipline of Meisner acting is one that helps create riveting, unpredictable performances, which is what you strive for. Anyone who has studied Meisner acting nyc will understand that acting is as much about what you leave out as what you put in. Editing the performance, leaving some elements of the character underneath the surface is key. What's underneath, unspoken, is as important as what's said and shown, maybe more so. An audience (which in this case is the auditors) will automatically begin to infer and look for clues they can infer about your character which engages them in your performance.
Sometimes, the requests are very specific, however a great actor will never be hindered or constrained by those ideas. More often, casting agents and producers ask for monologues not scenes. It makes sense to prepare something that involves your strengths. The greatest actors are well rounded and can include many layers of abilities during a short piece. The best comedians always have an underlying sense of tragedy, and the most dramatic performances are capable of lighter moments. Acting classes in nyc are led by experienced professionals who can help give constructive feedback. As actors we tend to be insecure and it's best to accept direction from the outside about what makes our audition tape stand out.
How you appear is key, and lighting is a big part of this. Strong shadows falling in the wrong places can eliminate your chances of producers watching the tape all the way through. Looking completely washed out from lights that are too strong or close doesn't work either. Anything that takes away from your performance is lethal and bad lighting is one of those things. Nice, bright yet completely unnoticeable lighting is the goal. A professional acting program, especially acting classes in nyc, should have someone on staff that has experience producing tapes. They would be able to help you outline a simple lighting plan.
There should be two or three light sources. A light should be placed in front of the talent (you) one on either side, and far enough away to not cause shadows or hot spots. A light can also be brought in to illuminate the background. There are audition tapes that have dark backgrounds which can set a certain mood and this can work. Just be sure the overall tape is not too dark, or the contrast too great between your face and the background. Correcting the color with a white balance feature is the important next step.
Light sources, such as lamps, professional lights and daylight all have different temperatures. Daylight has a lot of blue in it and is very "cool." If you set up lights near a window the camera must correct for that. A mix of light sources is possible but, the camera must be "balanced" to correct for these color differences. By hitting the White Balance button you can adjust the camera to "balance" the color between those two light sources. Just place something white in the approximate place where you will be standing and hit White Balance. If you do not use this feature the color will be completely off, especially your skin tones. Forget to do this and skin tones and all other colors will be "off," which is very distracting.
How you sound is also very important. Distracting static, muddy tones in your voice, are all ways to kill what might otherwise be a good audition tape. A good way to get quickly dismissed is to have poor sound quality. The cleanest sound comes from a mic planted close the source of sound, in this case, you. Camera mounted microphones are not very close to the subject, so looking into the rental of a good quality Lavalier microphone might be worthwhile. Let's face it, acting is a form of communication and you cannot communicate clearly if you can't be heard. Acting classes in nyc sometimes have ways to help with this.
With these basics in place now is the time to think about content. Preparing for an audition tape is the same as preparing for a live audition. A coach trained in the Meisner acting technique should be able to offer a lot of great tips on how to prepare. The discipline of Meisner acting is one that helps create riveting, unpredictable performances, which is what you strive for. Anyone who has studied Meisner acting nyc will understand that acting is as much about what you leave out as what you put in. Editing the performance, leaving some elements of the character underneath the surface is key. What's underneath, unspoken, is as important as what's said and shown, maybe more so. An audience (which in this case is the auditors) will automatically begin to infer and look for clues they can infer about your character which engages them in your performance.
Sometimes, the requests are very specific, however a great actor will never be hindered or constrained by those ideas. More often, casting agents and producers ask for monologues not scenes. It makes sense to prepare something that involves your strengths. The greatest actors are well rounded and can include many layers of abilities during a short piece. The best comedians always have an underlying sense of tragedy, and the most dramatic performances are capable of lighter moments. Acting classes in nyc are led by experienced professionals who can help give constructive feedback. As actors we tend to be insecure and it's best to accept direction from the outside about what makes our audition tape stand out.
About the Author:
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides nyc acting classes for serious actors. To learn more about commercial acting visit the studio website.
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