Audition Tips and Tricks

May 17, 2022

Eyelines: Part 1
Generally speaking you want your eye lines, especially those that are the object of your intention, to be next to and relatively close to the lens. Anywhere between 4 inches and 1 foot from the lens is a great place for an eyeline. 
 For the most part your eye lines will consist of three major points of interest.

Beings - a person, multiple people, an animal, a spirit/ ghost that you can see…

Thoughts - memories or Ideas

Objects or things
Obviously not every eye line is going to be eye level, so where do you place those other eyelines? Here is a tip. Flip your viewfinder, or have your reader guide you through this procedure. Reach out and grab the edges of your frame, first start with the sides, then do the top and bottom. Take note of where your hands are when you are grabbing the edges, and just keep your eye lines within the box you have created. 
Break a Leg, and Have a great audition. 

4. June 7, 2022

Environment:

When preparing an audition, be sure to consider the environment of both where the scene takes place and where you were before the scene started.  

Were you inside, or outside?  Was it in private or public? Was it hot? Rainy? Cold? Snowy? Loud? Peaceful? Was it a place you are familiar with or is it foreign to you? Keep asking questions to determine how that environment affects your behavior at the top of the scene. 

If the environment changes from your moment before to the top of the scene, then ask the same questions about your new environment and how it affects your behavior.  

Where in the space do your eyelines live? In the context of the scene, how far away is your scene partner?  Are you in bed talking at a near whisper to your partner as you drift off to sleep or are you yelling at your buddy on the 4th floor balcony of your hotel room? 

Specificity is key, and specific details about your environment will help inform your scene.

5. June 15, 2022

Commercials: MOS Part 1a

So you got a commercial audition where they want you to improvise or act out a scene in the story boards, with no dialogue. Here’s what you do NOT do. Do not lip sync the scene. That’s just a big red flag of a reminder to the subconscious that nothing I am watching is real. Laugh if you’re laughing, sigh if you’re sighing, you’re not a mime. This goes for whispering as well. Only whisper if your character is whispering in the scene. Do not Aaron Sorkin the scene. Nobody wants to see your writing skills or if you can keep on talking without breathing, especially for a spot where your busy lips may distract from the message of the VO. Also reaction shots are just more valuable than words when telling a story with no words. Just be natural, keep your phrases short and concise, don’t directly talk too much about the product

6. June 21, 2022

Commercials: MOS part 1b

We talked about what not to do, here’s what you should do. Let’s say you got a commercial audition for car wax, and the boards show some person outside, putting the finishing touches on their car.  Ok, easy!  Grab a rag, pick an eyeline, with ease, wipe your “car” a few times with the rag, admire your accomplishment and the beautiful new shine, and scene! Print it! See ya at the callback, right?!?  But let’s instead say you got an audition for a grocery store, and in this spot, they want to see you in the kitchen with your family preparing a meal, then company arrives and you greet them, and then you all sit down and start eating a Thanksgiving meal.  All MOS (no dialogue).  How do you handle that?  First, consider the product and what feelings/ emotions/ themes does this spot try to evoke to help sell the product?  In the above example, if the product or client is So and So Supermarkets, you might decide the themes and emotions of the spot focus on family, community, holidays, togetherness, thankfulness, teamwork, Love and maybe comfort.  How can you clearly and truthfully communicate those feelings/ emotions/ or themes while moving the scene along? Remember, commercials need clarity.  You have to tell a story in 15, 30 or 60 seconds, so each moment must mean something and be clearly and efficiently communicated. 

So when should you use words in an MOS commercial?  Generally speaking, it will be one of three things.  1. To help clarify an action or trigger a reaction shot.  2. To assist with a beat change. Or 3 to round out the world, like in any good improv scene with improv basics like who you are, your relationship and opinion of the other characters in your scene, your location, your conflicts and/ or what you’re doing.

A shot where someone is smiling with arms open at the front door tells me someone is welcoming someone into their house.  A shot of folks laughing while passing food tells me you are enjoying time with your family and friends at dinner.  What does matter is how the few words you say help you live truthfully and connect one beat to the next

7. June 28, 2022

Breathe.

Breath is life. And it’s a big part of what gives life to your words. But that can be a double edged sword. Sometimes, an actor's breathing may appear unnatural. This could be due to nerves and may manifest by the actor taking a breath between every sentence or a big breath before each line. Perhaps they are focused on a specific line reading instead of their scene partner and intentions, so their breathing doesn’t seem to match the intensity or fit within the given circumstances of the scene. Before you audition, find a few minutes to just breathe, relax your face and body, and ground yourself. If you need help with this, look into Meditation, Alexander Technique, or Yoga. Determine what physical state your character is in at the top of the scene. If it’s an intense scene, where your character’s blood is really flowing, maybe do some jumping jacks or shadow boxing before the camera rolls. Get that heart rate up. If it’s a still and intimate scene, spend more time slowing your breathing, relaxing and establishing eye contact with your reader before the camera rolls.

8. July 5, 2022

Framing.

Always look for specific instructions from casting and follow exactly how they want you to frame your audition. But if there are no instructions, what do you do? Well for starters, the top of the frame should almost always be right at the top of your head, give or take an inch. Just make sure your entire face can be clearly seen. Typically you want to be in a medium closeup. Sometimes more of a medium, sometimes more of a close up. Here are a few guidelines that will help you determine when to do what with your framing. Frame your audition closer to a medium shot If: it’s comedy; You’re high energy. It’s a physical audition and you need to show casting how you look fighting or dancing; You are shouting in the scene; You have a lot of action and business; or You’re auditioning for a commercial where they need to see you interacting with a product. Frame it more of a medium-close or a close-up If: It’s drama; If you’re still and you don’t rock or sway; If it is more intimate and you are whispering; or if you’re trying to hide your stage business because you’re miming it. Stay focused, stay in frame, and break legs.

9. July 12, 2022

Don’t Cut Yourself!

When you’re taping an audition Don’t cut yourself unless something goes terribly wrong. And Terribly wrong means completely uncorrectable, but if you stumble over a word or make a minor mistake, like missing a cue by a beat or having to scratch an itch or sneeze, try not to cut yourself immediately. I have seen hundreds of people lose their best take of the day because they thought that losing a word meant that the scene was completely lost, and often times that is not the case. The truth is when something unexpected happens in the scene it can lead to some of the most natural moments we have. But when you are focused on everything being perfect what usually tends to happen is we get a stale version of what could have been a wonderful audition. You never cut yourself on set, only the director does that, Right? So, don’t cut yourself in auditions. The best auditions aren’t when we are acting, but when we are just being natural. Making mistakes, and learning how to fix them is the most human thing.

10. July 19, 2022

One Liners

What do you do when you have very little information and only one line to say. I’ve seen one liners that had no scene description, stage direction, or only just a location. So, for example you know you’re in a convenience store, but you don’t know what’s going on in the moment before, the moment after, or what the story is about. You might know it’s a comedy or a drama but that’s all. So, How do you make a strong choice? Pick 5 to 6 active verbs to use in your audition. Then say your line using one of those active verbs. Then another. And so on. Until you get through all your active verbs. Then you can go back and watch those five or six takes and you’ll be able to narrow down one or two of them to submit. For example when I auditioned for my role in hbo’s watchmen it was a one liner. And I didn’t have a whole lot of information about the scene because that is a very tightly guarded story, which it needed to be, because of how strong their fan base is. My line was essentially “The hurricane took everything again.” That line comes with a lot of questions for me. How many times has this happened, how often, what does everything mean? Among others. I’m not calling the casting Director and asking her to send me the script because that’s an unreasonable request. But I still wanted to make a strong choice in my audition. So I picked a few active verbs. Like to beg and in one take I begged. To Demand and then I demanded in one take, I even used active phrases like to give up, or to lay my cards on the table. And then I went back and I watched all my takes and I was able to narrow down and see what worked. Then I narrowed down my favs until I had two solid choices to submit. If you do this properly you’re going to feel better about every single one liner you submit because you’re always going to be sending in a strong choice. And ultimately there’s no way for us to know if we’re ever right or wrong unless we book the role, but we can know that we’re sending them something with which to be proud. Now that you are certain, Break a Leg!