Pilot season has us like ๐ตโ๐ซ so please excuse todayโs ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฅ๐ข๐บ Myth Debunker.โ
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Weโre coming in with a hot myth today ๐ฅโ
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Music, sound effects, title cards, setsโmake your self tape stand out as much as possible, right?โ
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๐ซ๐ซ๐ซโ
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๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ.โ
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While we greatly appreciate your passion, effort and creativity, the fact is: your self tape is an audition and nothing else. โ
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2 main reasons you should not add more โfluffโ to your self tape:โ
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1. Distraction. Any sort of music, sound effects or unnecessary props can be ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ distracting. We have hundreds of self tapes to watch, which is why itโs so easy for us to get distracted. Our focus needs to be on YOU and you alone. โ
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2. Time. We need to be efficient with our time. Adding title cards, painfully long slates and other unnecessary elements causes us to skip forward to get to โthe good stuffโ and sometimes we might skip over an important line in the process. ๐๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ. โ
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That said, props and subtle/appropriate wardrobe choices are still OK. โ
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The purpose of props and wardrobe should be to ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ the performance, not ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต from it. โ
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Keep it simple and remember what matters most: your acting and the choices you make. โ
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#themoreyouknow #wednesdaymythdebunker #thecastingdirectorscut #workingactor
Related reading: Does a Self-Tape Extension Mean You Did Badly?, Is an Unsolicited Self-Tape Better Than Nothing? and Does Sending Your Self-Tape Early Help?.
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