Tips for Auditioning on Skype
More and more auditions are happening online. Apparently Jennifer Lawrence auditioned for her Oscar winning role in Silver Linings Playbook via Skype.
Of course, there are some very real downsides, it’s hard to develop a relationship with the casting director over Skype and the inevitable technical breakdowns can also make the experience unsatisfying for all. However, it reduces travel expenses and watching the person on a screen straight away, does lend itself to the final product. Whether or not you agree with it, it’s happening, so we as actors must respond.
I’m sure many of you are auditioning online for the first time, so I thought I would offer up some tips:
1) DO NOT DISTURB: Make sure you’re not going to be disturbed. If your kids are running around in the background, neither you nor the casting peeps will be concentrating on your acting.
2) QUIET PLEASE: Turn off your phone, same as any audition.
3) LOCATION SCOUTING: If possible take your computer to a place where the background is neutral.
3.5) COSTUMES PLEASE: Make sure you dress appropriately so that your stripes don’t clash with the spots behind you or vice versa – the same applies for wearing white, I would strenuously avoid it, it tends to ghost your face on webcams. Avoid busy patterns, or crazy logos or messages on your clothing. Same as a normal audition, dress to suggest.
4) CAMERA ROLLING? Check your equipment is up and running before the audition. Check the camera quality with a friend, check your audio – get to know the platform they’re using – the last thing you want is to be fannying around trying to make Skype or Zoom or Teams work while they are patiently waiting for you to audition. Consider doing a dry-run audition with a friend to become aware of any problems or opportunities when auditioning online.
5) IN THE FRAME: Make sure that you frame yourself well. They need to see your eyes and face, so I would work in a basic medium close shot framing from slightly above your nipples up to just above your head. The other option is from just above your collar bone, but that does seem very close.
6) EYE TO EYE: Treat the cam like a camera – when auditioning, don’t look down the barrel of the camera – you wouldn’t do it in the room.
7) LIGHTS, CAMERA.. Don’t forget about a light source in the room, don’t put a window behind you, it will cause them to be unable to see you.
8) SCRIPT HANDLING – If you’re just reading, try to keep the script off camera, work out how you’re going to hold it in advance.
9) BOTTOMS UP – Please wear trousers/pants, you never know when they might ask you stand up.
It’s mainly common sense, but it will hopefully give you some things to consider before your next online Audition!
If you need help preparing for your audition, get in touch. We work with clients all over the world via Skype or Zoom from Canada to Africa, The Netherlands to The Philippines, I’ve been helping professional actors score great roles remotely for a few years now.