Of course, your primary concern needs to be the development of good acting skills, which you can accomplish in acting classes in nyc that have experienced teachers and coaches. However, there is one skill you may have to develop on your own if your acting classes in nyc do not include it, and that is auditioning technique. A big part of the audition process are audition tapes. Auditioning via tape does not mean you need to spend lots of money on a professional production. All you need to do is rent or borrow a camera and ask some fellow actors or a director friend to help.
Everyone knows what a bad lighting job can do to someone's appearance. A poor lighting job will cast shadows and can make you look completely different. Looking completely washed out from lights that are too strong or close doesn't work either. If the lighting serves as a distraction to your performance you've wasted your time. Being well lit means that the lighting should be so clean it's unnoticeable. Acting classes in nyc often include people who are experienced at producing tapes. They would be able to help you outline a simple lighting plan.
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. The background can lit using a third light. Audition tapes online sometimes leave the background in the dark. Just be sure the overall tape is not too dark, or the contrast too great between your face and the background. The all important next step is the white balance on the camera.
This reads the color temperatures of the combined light sources. They range from being very yellow to very blue. If you set up lights near a window the camera must correct for that. By hitting the White Balance button you can adjust the camera to "balance" the color between those two light sources. Just place something white in the approximate place where you will be standing and hit White Balance. 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. A good audition tape is only as good as the sound, because your voice is your main instrument. A good way to get quickly dismissed is to have poor sound quality. The cleanest sound comes from a mic planted close the source of sound, in this case, you. 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. There are plenty of good acting classes in nyc that will help guide you through this process.
On to content, the all important piece of the puzzle, the character you are portraying, or a sense of who you are as an actor. Preparing for a live audition is slightly different than preparing for a taped one, of course. Coaches trained in Meisner acting techniques can help you prepare for those differences. An audition tape that is engaging, riveting, and fascinating is easier for actors that have studied Meisner acting. Anyone who has studied Meisner acting nyc will understand that acting is as much about what you leave out as what you put in. Of course, you can't cram every possible emotion that a character "has" into a few moments. What's underneath, unspoken, is as important as what's said and shown, maybe more so. Audiences like to work, think, and look for clues which is a way to engage them in your performance.
Sometimes, the requests are very specific, however a great actor will never be hindered or constrained by those ideas. Casting agents and at times producers, will ask for more general monologue audition tapes. Whether you have the gift of comedy, or a talent for dramatic roles, a great audition includes both. The greatest actors are well rounded and can include many layers of abilities during a short piece. 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.
Everyone knows what a bad lighting job can do to someone's appearance. A poor lighting job will cast shadows and can make you look completely different. Looking completely washed out from lights that are too strong or close doesn't work either. If the lighting serves as a distraction to your performance you've wasted your time. Being well lit means that the lighting should be so clean it's unnoticeable. Acting classes in nyc often include people who are experienced at producing tapes. They would be able to help you outline a simple lighting plan.
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. The background can lit using a third light. Audition tapes online sometimes leave the background in the dark. Just be sure the overall tape is not too dark, or the contrast too great between your face and the background. The all important next step is the white balance on the camera.
This reads the color temperatures of the combined light sources. They range from being very yellow to very blue. If you set up lights near a window the camera must correct for that. By hitting the White Balance button you can adjust the camera to "balance" the color between those two light sources. Just place something white in the approximate place where you will be standing and hit White Balance. 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. A good audition tape is only as good as the sound, because your voice is your main instrument. A good way to get quickly dismissed is to have poor sound quality. The cleanest sound comes from a mic planted close the source of sound, in this case, you. 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. There are plenty of good acting classes in nyc that will help guide you through this process.
On to content, the all important piece of the puzzle, the character you are portraying, or a sense of who you are as an actor. Preparing for a live audition is slightly different than preparing for a taped one, of course. Coaches trained in Meisner acting techniques can help you prepare for those differences. An audition tape that is engaging, riveting, and fascinating is easier for actors that have studied Meisner acting. Anyone who has studied Meisner acting nyc will understand that acting is as much about what you leave out as what you put in. Of course, you can't cram every possible emotion that a character "has" into a few moments. What's underneath, unspoken, is as important as what's said and shown, maybe more so. Audiences like to work, think, and look for clues which is a way to engage them in your performance.
Sometimes, the requests are very specific, however a great actor will never be hindered or constrained by those ideas. Casting agents and at times producers, will ask for more general monologue audition tapes. Whether you have the gift of comedy, or a talent for dramatic roles, a great audition includes both. The greatest actors are well rounded and can include many layers of abilities during a short piece. 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.
About the Author:
The Maggie Flanigan Studio provides acting classes for serious actors. To learn more about commercial acting class visit the studio website.
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