Developing excellent acting skills, especially in professional level acting classes in nyc, can help build a great foundation. No matter how high quality the class, there is one thing acting classes in nyc are not responsible for and that is your auditioning technique. A big part of the audition process are audition tapes. An expensive, professional video is okay for an audition tape but, certainly not necessary. Just borrow or rent a camera, enlist the help of an aspiring director friend and follow these simple rules.
Everyone knows what a bad lighting job can do to someone's appearance. Shadows look like a ravaged complexion or dark circles under the eyes. Lighting can also go overboard, and cause a washed out appearance that seems "lifeless." If the lighting serves as a distraction to your performance you've wasted your time. Nice, bright yet completely unnoticeable lighting is the goal. If you are enrolled in acting classes in nyc or elsewhere, there is likely a teacher or professional who can assist you. Ask for help creating a simple diagram that outlines a lighting scheme.
Two or three small lights will do the trick. A light should be placed in front of the talent (you) one on either side, and far enough away to not cause shadows or hot spots. A light can also be brought in to illuminate the background. Audition tapes online sometimes leave the background in the dark. Just be careful that the contrast is not too great between the talent and background which is distracting. A white balance feature on cameras is used to correct the color.
This reads the color temperatures of the combined light sources. Incandescent lights are yellow, daylight is very blue. Let's say you set up the lighting, and you are also near a window. If you use both of these light sources the color will be off unless you "correct" it in the camera. The White balance button on the camera makes this possible. A pure white card or sheet of paper needs to be placed in the middle of the lighting sources. If you do not use this feature the color will be completely off, especially your skin tones. You want good clean skin tones, eye color and hair color, so you must not forget this step.
Sound is another very important feature. If you cannot be heard, you cannot perform. No one wants to sit through a tape that they can't hear. The cleanest sound comes from a mic planted close the source of sound, in this case, you. Renting a good quality microphone is a good idea, as the camera mounted variety are usually prone to pick up lots of static and stray noise. You aren't communicating with the audience if you can't be heard clearly. There are plenty of good acting classes in nyc that will help guide you through this process.
With these basics in place now is the time to think about content. Preparing for an audition tape is the same as preparing for a live audition. Meisner acting techniques can be helpful when preparing, especially for a specific character or role. An audition tape that is engaging, riveting, and fascinating is easier for actors that have studied Meisner acting. Keeping important elements under the surface, is something coaches of Meisner acting nyc can teach you how to develop. Of course, you can't cram every possible emotion that a character "has" into a few moments. Edit, put only a few ideas in at a time and let the rest emerge in the imagination of the audience. An audience (which in this case is the auditors) will automatically begin to infer and look for clues they can infer about your character which engages them in your performance.
At times, actors are asked to include something very specific, but it should still have your own ideas incorporated. More frequently actors are asked to turn in monologue audition tapes, just to give viewers an idea of their range and abilities. It makes sense to prepare something that involves your strengths. The best actors are those that are fluid and can show quickly how capable they are of acting in any genre. A great comedian always as an underlying sense of tragedy for instance, just like the deepest dramatic performances have moments of light-otherwise it becomes hard to identify with. Videotape your chosen material several times and enlist friends and teachers from your acting classes in nyc to review it and make constructive comments. The best audition tapes are those which have had input from lots of sources with the most constructive criticism incorporated.
Everyone knows what a bad lighting job can do to someone's appearance. Shadows look like a ravaged complexion or dark circles under the eyes. Lighting can also go overboard, and cause a washed out appearance that seems "lifeless." If the lighting serves as a distraction to your performance you've wasted your time. Nice, bright yet completely unnoticeable lighting is the goal. If you are enrolled in acting classes in nyc or elsewhere, there is likely a teacher or professional who can assist you. Ask for help creating a simple diagram that outlines a lighting scheme.
Two or three small lights will do the trick. A light should be placed in front of the talent (you) one on either side, and far enough away to not cause shadows or hot spots. A light can also be brought in to illuminate the background. Audition tapes online sometimes leave the background in the dark. Just be careful that the contrast is not too great between the talent and background which is distracting. A white balance feature on cameras is used to correct the color.
This reads the color temperatures of the combined light sources. Incandescent lights are yellow, daylight is very blue. Let's say you set up the lighting, and you are also near a window. If you use both of these light sources the color will be off unless you "correct" it in the camera. The White balance button on the camera makes this possible. A pure white card or sheet of paper needs to be placed in the middle of the lighting sources. If you do not use this feature the color will be completely off, especially your skin tones. You want good clean skin tones, eye color and hair color, so you must not forget this step.
Sound is another very important feature. If you cannot be heard, you cannot perform. No one wants to sit through a tape that they can't hear. The cleanest sound comes from a mic planted close the source of sound, in this case, you. Renting a good quality microphone is a good idea, as the camera mounted variety are usually prone to pick up lots of static and stray noise. You aren't communicating with the audience if you can't be heard clearly. There are plenty of good acting classes in nyc that will help guide you through this process.
With these basics in place now is the time to think about content. Preparing for an audition tape is the same as preparing for a live audition. Meisner acting techniques can be helpful when preparing, especially for a specific character or role. An audition tape that is engaging, riveting, and fascinating is easier for actors that have studied Meisner acting. Keeping important elements under the surface, is something coaches of Meisner acting nyc can teach you how to develop. Of course, you can't cram every possible emotion that a character "has" into a few moments. Edit, put only a few ideas in at a time and let the rest emerge in the imagination of the audience. An audience (which in this case is the auditors) will automatically begin to infer and look for clues they can infer about your character which engages them in your performance.
At times, actors are asked to include something very specific, but it should still have your own ideas incorporated. More frequently actors are asked to turn in monologue audition tapes, just to give viewers an idea of their range and abilities. It makes sense to prepare something that involves your strengths. The best actors are those that are fluid and can show quickly how capable they are of acting in any genre. A great comedian always as an underlying sense of tragedy for instance, just like the deepest dramatic performances have moments of light-otherwise it becomes hard to identify with. Videotape your chosen material several times and enlist friends and teachers from your acting classes in nyc to review it and make constructive comments. The best audition tapes are those which have had input from lots of sources with the most constructive criticism incorporated.
About the Author:
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides nyc acting classes for serious actors. To learn more about nyc commercial acting classes visit the studio website.
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