Just a few years ago, it was a safe bet that when you went in for an audition, whether it was a pre-read or a producer session, you'd be face-to-face with the people deciding your fate. Love it or hate it, you'd be greeted in the audition room by any number of people waiting to watch your performance. It felt a little like putting on a two-minute one-person show for a super small audience.
Not anymore.
These days, it's far more common to walk into the room and see one or two casting people and a camera. No producers crammed on to long couches. No meeting the director. You just go on tape.
There are lots of places where you can find info on lighting and sound if you're putting yourself on tape. I want to talk about the ACTING. In some ways, auditioning on tape is different than auditioning in person. And in some ways, it's exactly the same. Let's talk about both.
How it's Different
First, there are what I think of as the "soft" differences. You can't use your small-talk charms to endear yourself to the decision-makers before you begin your read, which is a bummer. (Unless you hate the small-talk part, in which case it's a huge relief!) You can't get a feel for the room, which can be invaluable, especially when you're reading for comedy. And you don't get to meet as many people in person, which means you can't later say "we've met before." That said, most actors are less comfortable on camera than in person, so if you can get good at being one of those comfortable people, you'll have a leg up on most of the other actors reading for the role. (After all, no decision-maker wants to hire someone for an on-camera job who looks nervous on camera!)
Then there are the "hard" differences. On tape, it's more important that the camera can see your eyes as much as possible, so you want to be more off-book than you might if you were reading in-person. If you have a tendency to move around a lot when you read, work on changing that. Stillness and occasional, deliberate movement work best on camera. If you're talking to more than one person in the scene, keep your eyelines simple. Put them on either side of the camera lens, not on either side of the room. Also give extra thought to your wardrobe. If the decision-makers are only going to see you on-camera, you don't want a busy pattern or distracting color to negatively affect their perception of your work.
How it's the Same
The biggest mistake actors make when adjusting to reading on camera is making their performance too small. Somewhere along the way, someone told us that acting on camera is "smaller," and we took them too seriously. Time to break that habit!
You will almost always be framed between a medium shot and a loose close-up, from your mid-chest to your head. In terms of intimacy, that's about the same as if you were reading for someone seated a few feet away. Unless you know you have a tendency to be too big, you do NOT have to make your performance "smaller" when reading for camera. Do it just like you would if the decision-makers were there in person. If the scene requires any big movements, like if you plan to stand or sit, enter or exit, bring something into frame, punch someone, etc., let the camera operator know what you plan to do and where it happens in the scene, so they can follow you.
In terms of attitude, the rules are exactly the same. Be the solution to their problem.
Sound good? Sure! But the best way to get comfortable reading on camera is to... you guessed it... read on camera. Put your iPhone on a table, read sides, watch yourself, and read them again, making adjustments to see how they read when you watch them back. Go WAY bigger and smaller than you think is reasonable. You might be surprised to learn how far you can go. Experiment with volume, movement, eyelines, and clothing. Think of it as rehearsal. The more comfortable you get being on camera on your own time, the better able you'll be to bring the right attitude with you next time you go on tape.
Got questions about how to get good at reading on camera? Ask away!