What I Learned Watching 900+ Self Tapes

Each month, right here at StageMilk, I watch and give notes to members of our Scene Club on monologues and duologues they submit for feedback. It’s an extremely rewarding task, as I get to see actors work at their craft, improve their skills and develop their own personal process. Recently, I did some calculations and worked out that I’ve been watching an average of 20 scenes every month for the past four years. That’s 240 self tapes a year: a healthy 960+ self tapes in total! Wanna hear what I learned?

The ability to self tape successfully remains a crucial skill for actors, given it is the primary means of auditioning for acting jobs as well as placements in classes and drama schools. While actors in general are more comfortable with self taping than they were even five years ago, many actors fall victim to the same problems in their tapes—problems that are completely avoidable with consideration and practice. The ability to learn from your own self tape can put you at a tremendous advantage in the industry.

As you might imagine, there is a lot of repeating advice I’ve given actors over the years. So here are ten important pointers: the things most actors either get wrong, or fail to get right (and there’s a difference.) Such details can immediately lift a lacklustre performance … or derail an otherwise successful one.

#1 Choice of Material

Choosing material for your showreel is its own topic and, if you follow this link, its own article on StageMilk. It’s not always in your control to dictate what you shoot for a self tape. But when you are able to choose your own scene, there’s a lot that can go right or wrong depending on that choice.

Try to choose material that doesn’t just suit you, but suits the medium of self tapes in general. Don’t yell, don’t cry, don’t waste time on backstory or context for a story that never comes to fruition. Keep your self tapes present, conversational and with a clear objective for your character to shoot for.

#2 Framing

A lot of actors find themselves locked to a particular shot size: usually a medium close-up or close-up that looks like something you’d see on television. This works perfectly fine, but don’t be afraid to switch up your framing depending on the material.

If you’re shooting an intimate scene, something quiet and inherently ‘cinematic’ you can keep the camera nice and close. However, something bigger—like an audition for a comedy or a stage play—will benefit from you having more room to play with. Tight framing can lead to tight performances, so give yourself some elbow room and feel how your acting loosens up.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of framing: frame in landscape, not portrait. Landscape is how we watch films, see plays, watch life unfold around us. Vertically-shot self tapes look like TikTok videos, and rob the subject of the video of their credibility.

#3 Sound and Picture Quality

No matter how good your acting is, there’s no point to your self tape if we’re unable to see or hear you. Aim for clarity on each front, and ensure that there are no distractions that detract from your acting.

I also feel it’s important to point out that sound and picture quality don’t mean buying the Most Expensive Microphone And Camera. Often your tape needs more light than pixels—a quick search on Amazon returns hundreds of reasonable options. As for sound, learn to be discerning about background noise, including those noises you might tune out every day: airplane noise, barking dogs across the road, your neighbour’s ska band.

Sometimes, you’ll have to reshoot. Sometimes, you’ll have to relocate or rethink your setup. I won’t deny that this is annoying … but your work deserves it.

#4 Grab Us from the Get Go

You’d be surprised how many actors waste the opportunity to capture their audience’s attention at the very start of their self tape. Grab us! Wake us up!

I like to think of the start of a self tape as a chance to meet the character for the first time: we should get a good impression of who they are and what they’re like before they’ve even opened their mouth. And what do we do when we meet somebody for the first time? We look them in the eyes.

Don’t waltz into frame, don’t faff about with props or secondary actions like driving or smoking or typing. Look at your scene partner and take us right into the moment before your character speaks—right when they decide to embark on the conversation that will change their life through the course of this scene. Good scenes are points of no return. Prepare us for that.

#5 Knowing the Given Circumstances

Without dressing up in costume and shooting on location, give your audience a sense of the given circumstances of your scene. Who are you? Where are you? When is it (be specific with this one)? What do you want from your scene partner? How do you intend to get what you want? And why do you want this, and why are you here in the first place?

Using given circumstances in your acting is a pretty fundamental tool, and something that often comes from some simple script analysis. So why don’t people use their GCs for self tapes? I honestly don’t know why they wouldn’t. Perhaps some actors think it’s a short scene, and the best thing to do is just to focus on the scene and not get bogged down in the larger story world.

I’d argue that a self tape scene is short, and so you want as much information as possible when going into it: how can you bring this scene effectively to life—without wasting a word the writer has provided?

#6 Vocal and Physical Presence

A common mistake made by actors in self tapes is forgetting to bring a vocal and physical dynamic to their performance. They seem to think that just because the camera is close and the microphone closer that they don’t need to move or speak up.

It’s also a common place we see what I call the ‘Netflix whisper’—that painfully boring style of acting that has actors say everything in a hushed volume because that’s Dramatic And Deep. More often than not, you risk sounding weak, and boring. And hasn’t your character shown up in the first place because they want something?

Sure, you don’t have to project to the back of a theatre venue. But a commanding voice is an asset to any character you’re trying to sell as persuasive and engaged. As for physicality, give your audience a sense of your character’s stance and body language. A wider framing helps with this, and can even prompt you into making some more interesting physical choices.

#7 Anchoring Your Eyeline

Your eyeline should be at camera-level, just to one side of the lens. There are very few exceptions to this rule. I’ve seen hundreds of self-tapes ruined by actors who don’t know where to look, or flit their eyes about like they’re performing a monologue to a passing bumblebee.

Anchor your eyeline, and give your audience the impression that they’re watching an actual conversation. By looking at the same level as the character, you maintain a neutral stance rather than dominating (low-angle shot) or oppressed (high-angle). By looking just off-camera, you allow the audience to feel immersed in the action without being spoken directly to. Talking into camera casts the audience in a role they’ve not agreed to play in your story. What’s more, it breaks the fourth wall and reminds us that your performance is nothing but make-believe.

If you need to look away from your scene partner, that’s fine provided that you find your way back to their eyes before long. Have a damn good reason to look away from the other person in the scene; like physical movement or prop work in your self tape, it rapidly diminishes in its effectiveness the more you use it.

#8 Pursuing your Want

What’s your objective? What do you want in the scene, and from your scene partner? This is the most important aspect in all acting, for without a clear goal in mind your character has no purpose to exist in the scene.

I bring this up in a self tape context because a lot of actors forget to identify and pursue objectives in self tapes—much like the given circumstances we spoke about above. It’s as if they are too caught up in the showcasing of their abilities to use them in pursuit of a goal. Perhaps it’s because self tapes are so short, and feel like fragments of larger stories?

Regardless: every scene, every moment in a story no matter how short, shows a character pursuing a want for the sake of propelling the story forward. Ignore your objective and watch your scene become drained of pace, tension and stakes.

#9 The Final Moments

Do you know how many times I’ve seen an actor deliver a brilliant performance in a self tape, only to throw it away at the very end with some immersion- or tension-breaking lapse in focus? Too many times. Enough to include it on this list.

Pay attention to the end of your self tape scene. It’s your chance to leave your audience with a lasting impression, and to have them think about the implications of the scene they’ve just watched. How has your character’s life/circumstances/wants changed? What’s different? (Bluntly: what was the point of us sitting through that?)

In giving feedback, I often liken it to that magical moment when you sit in the dark of a cinema. You know that gripping moment of silence before the credits roll and the lights come up? That’s what you want to create for your audience at the end of your self tape. Don’t smash-cut to black, or your agent’s contact details. Let us sit in the magic you’ve created—for one precious moment or two.

#10 Connection and Warmth

Finally, a piece of feedback I give to every actor when the subject of self tapes comes up. Find connection and warmth. If you can prioritise and maintain these two things, you’re going to separate yourself from so many of your peers—some of them as good an actor as you, if not better.

Seek connection above all else. Acting is all about communication, and what happens when your objective is blocked by the obstacle of another human being. To move forward in a story, in a performance, you must connect with your scene partner. It’s most of what casting directors are looking for in self tapes: can this person act opposite somebody else and really sell that sense of connection?

Likewise, find the warmth. What’s the glow, what’s the spark that you bring to your acting? How do you approach your craft with a sense of conviction and joy? Warmth doesn’t mean “happy”, and filling your showreel with comical characters. Warmth is about the love and respect you have for your process as an actor.

There are some terrific examples of self tapes online that are worth your time. Few reach the power of this clip, below, in which Henry Thomas auditioned for Steven Spielberg’s E.T. He’s honest, he’s connected, he’s warm. It’s no wonder he booked the job in the room…

Conclusion

So there you have it: ten pieces of advice from my watching of nearly 1000 self tapes! Originally, this article had an eleventh section: I moved it down to our conclusion because I think it’s a lovely, hopeful way to end:

Learn what you do well from your self tape, as much as what you need to improve.” No matter how green you are, or out of practice, or ill-prepared or not-in-the-damn-mood, there’s always something positive to be found in your work: find it! Drink your own Kool Aid and own the things about your acting process that you really do well.

Lastly: to any actors reading this article whose work I have critiqued over the years, thank you for trusting me with your work and giving me the opportunity to be part of acting journey.

Good luck!