How to Preserve Your Favorite Self-Tapes

Hi Actors!

Let’s make the absolute most out of your self-tape auditions.

I want to throw you all my creative tip about how to get auditions and reps to notice you and try you out. You’ll love this—this tip does NOT require you to have any professional reels at all.

Instead of throwing them out into the abyss, never to be referenced again, think about preserving your favorite self-tapes and MAKING THEM WORK HARDER FOR YOU.

If you’re trying to woo a rep or a Casting Director, there is one thing that will help tip the scales. Do this one thing. I know you might resist it, because it’s work for you and takes a smidgen of time, and it involves watching your past work (aye! I know!), but please please…trust me and do this.

First, let’s illustrate the problem that you are trying to solve: reps and CDs need reasons and inspiration to work with you or audition you.

Give them inspiration. Give them reasons. Give them proof.

They need to see it to believe it. They need ammunition to help pitch you for getting auditions with CDs or being considered more seriously by a director when you are in the mix.

When the director asks, “Can I see more of their work beyond the auditions?”… you want to have your work available to them to watch.

When the casting director says to a rep, “Can you tell me why you should come in for an audition?”…you want to have your work available for them to watch.

When a rep says to you, “How should I pitch you to CDs to get you in the room?”…you want to have your work available for them to watch.

And here comes the solution…

Solution: prove to them your talent and range by showing them samples of your on-screen work by way of your recent self-tapes!

T I P S

• Understand what kind of materials actually matter in the hiring process. I have tips in my free mini e-book How to Lure Reps & Casting Directors to You!
• Curate your self-tapes! Gather your favorite 5 self-tape clips together and put them on a private YouTube or Vimeo channel.
• Make it private! Make it a password-protected link if they are recent auditions of projects that have not yet been produced. Or, make a hidden page on your website only available by request, ideally with password protection on it.
• Update the collection! You can edit/swap out clips whenever an exciting new self-tape or class clip is filmed. Always aim to up-level your curated collection.
• Label self-tapes by types. Describe the type of the role: comedy/heartbroken lover or drama/corrupt lawyer, etc. Don’t list the project title if it has not been aired publicly yet—that’s the unofficial protocol. If it’s already aired, it doesn’t matter and you can title the show (just beware of comparison to actors who played the role). And if you booked it, then note on the clip that you booked it! That is so exciting!
  

Okay. So there it is. It’s actually a simple task. It might take you a hot minute, and some painfully-joyful reviews of your self-tapes, but it’s going to pay off! Hone in on your 10 favorite self-tapes or class clips, then narrow it down to 8, then to 5. You can do it!

Do this one thing, and you will be ahead of the curve and sooooo ready to roll!

xHeidi

Image: WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (1988)