Acting classes in nyc focus on developing your skills as an actor, especially the foundational skills that are required to practice the craft. 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. Poor lighting creates deep shadows in all the wrong places. Lighting can also go overboard, and cause a washed out appearance that seems "lifeless." This is distracting and will take attention away from your performance. 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. A third source of light can be focused softly to fill in the background and highlight the talent from behind. In some instances audition tapes leave the background completely dark which creates a certain mood. Just be careful that the contrast is not too great between the talent and background which is distracting. Correcting the color with a white balance feature is the important next step.
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. If you cannot be heard, you cannot perform. With so many good tapes to watch an audition with poor sound will be quickly rejected. The mic should be as close to the source of the sound as possible to eliminate stray noise. 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. Communicating character, and a sense of who you are as an actor depends on what you sound like so make it great. Acting classes in nyc sometimes have ways to help with this.
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 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. Using the Meisner acting tools can help create a riveting audition tape that does not seem rehearsed or staged. What you leave "out" of a performance is just as important as what you leave in, according to expert coaches of Meisner acting nyc. Trying to cram every emotion into a few minutes of an audition will seem false. Leaving some elements of the character out, is one way to engage your audience immediately. 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.
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. Poor lighting creates deep shadows in all the wrong places. Lighting can also go overboard, and cause a washed out appearance that seems "lifeless." This is distracting and will take attention away from your performance. 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. A third source of light can be focused softly to fill in the background and highlight the talent from behind. In some instances audition tapes leave the background completely dark which creates a certain mood. Just be careful that the contrast is not too great between the talent and background which is distracting. Correcting the color with a white balance feature is the important next step.
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. If you cannot be heard, you cannot perform. With so many good tapes to watch an audition with poor sound will be quickly rejected. The mic should be as close to the source of the sound as possible to eliminate stray noise. 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. Communicating character, and a sense of who you are as an actor depends on what you sound like so make it great. Acting classes in nyc sometimes have ways to help with this.
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 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. Using the Meisner acting tools can help create a riveting audition tape that does not seem rehearsed or staged. What you leave "out" of a performance is just as important as what you leave in, according to expert coaches of Meisner acting nyc. Trying to cram every emotion into a few minutes of an audition will seem false. Leaving some elements of the character out, is one way to engage your audience immediately. 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.
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 nyc acting classes for serious actors. To learn more about commercial acting class visit the studio website.
