Acting classes in nyc focus on developing your skills as an actor, especially the foundational skills that are required to practice the craft. A solid auditioning technique is also paramount however and acting classes in nyc do not always include this in their curriculum. A big part of the audition process are audition tapes. There is no need for a professionally produced, expensive audition tape. All you need to do is rent or borrow a camera and ask some fellow actors or a director friend to help.
How you appear is key, and lighting is a big part of this. Strong shadows falling in the wrong places can eliminate your chances of producers watching the tape all the way through. However, if the lighting is too strong, you will appear completely washed out and “hot” which is just a distracting. Anything that takes away from your performance is lethal and bad lighting is one of those things. Lighting needs to be clean, and completely unnoticeable. Acting classes in nyc often include people who are experienced at producing tapes. A diagram of a simple lighting plan is something they can help you with.
It should involve three lights, relatively bright, or a light source from outdoors. Two soft lights can be placed on either side of the camera, about 10′ feet or so away, focused on where you will be sitting. Then a third light can be used to fill in the background. Audition tapes online sometimes leave the background in the dark. While this can work you must be careful to that the overall feel of the tape is appropriate and not distracting. A white balance feature on cameras is used to correct the color.
The color temperature of lights sources can be different. Incandescent lights are yellow, daylight is very blue. If you set up lights near a window the camera must correct for that. A mix of light sources is possible but, the camera must be “balanced” to correct for these color differences. 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. Distracting static, muddy tones in your voice, are all ways to kill what might otherwise be a good audition tape. No one wants to sit through a tape that they can’t hear. The mic should be as close to the source of the sound as possible to eliminate stray noise. Camera mounted microphones are not very close to the subject, so looking into the rental of a good quality Lavalier microphone might be worthwhile. You aren’t communicating with the audience if you can’t be heard clearly. Again, quality acting classes in nyc that include skills on how to be camera ready can help advise you on this.
With these basics in place now is the time to think about content. An audition prepared for taping has some slight differences. Meisner acting techniques can be helpful when preparing, especially for a specific character or role. The discipline of Meisner acting is one that helps create riveting, unpredictable performances, which is what you strive for. Keeping important elements under the surface, is something coaches of Meisner acting nyc can teach you how to develop. Trying to cram every emotion into a few minutes of an audition will seem false. Edit, put only a few ideas in at a time and let the rest emerge in the imagination of the audience. Doing your job as an actor is not presenting everything and making it easy for them, but drawing them in by making them think about the work.
Of course, if you are asked to prepare an audition tape of something specific, some sides or a scene, the tape will consist of this. 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. Enlist the teachers of acting classes in nyc, or wherever you study, to review your practice tapes and incorporate their suggestions. We are not always the best judge of of our own work and being open to direction is a part of being a professional actor.
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides acting classes in nyc for serious actors. To learn more about nyc commercial acting classes visit the studio website.