For almost every self tape, the best camera is the smartphone you already own. Shoot horizontally, in HD, on a tripod at eye level, then spend your effort on light and sound. We went through the self tape do's and don'ts of 19 casting directors: not one asked for a dedicated camera, and 11 put light or sound at the top of their list.
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Yes. Kym Jackson says almost every actor she knows tapes on an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy, and there is no reason to buy a separate camera.
Our self-tape expert agreed that modern smartphones are more than adequate, noting some now shoot 8K video, far more than a self tape needs. Casting director Bonnie Zane put it simply: a clean, clear tape can be on your iPhone, and it doesn't have to be expertly set up. It just can't be dark and shiny.
Not that we could find. We read the self tape do's and don'ts and "professional self tape" answers of 19 casting directors. None asked for a particular camera. Two, Bonnie Zane and Rachel Sutton, said outright that a phone is fine.
What they named, over and over, was what a camera can't fix. Eleven of the 19 put lighting, sound or both first. Meg Morman said that if she can't see you, she can't use your tape, and Gayle Pillsbury still gets tapes that are out of focus or full of outside noise.
And Risa Bramon Garcia and David Newman both warned against letting the technical side matter more than the story.
HD is the safe standard. Shooting at 1080p and 30 frames per second gives casting a sharp picture without huge files. 4K looks lovely, but the files are several times bigger and slower to upload, and casting will usually watch your tape in a small window anyway.
Export settings and file size limits come from the casting office or the platform you upload to. Our guide to how to send a self tape covers file names and sizes.
Horizontal, every time. Kym says to hold the phone landscape, wider than it is tall. Our self-tape expert put it as "like a television", not like a social media story, and Bonnie Zane's rule was to always go horizontal, never vertical.
The one exception is the full-body slate. If casting wants to see your height and build and the room is too small for a wide shot, Kym suggests a quick tilt down and up rather than turning the phone. One casting director told us they like a pan up and down for slates, and that the request usually spells out what they need.
On most phones the main camera on the back is the better one, with a sharper sensor than the selfie camera. The catch is that you can't see yourself. That's why a reader or a friend usually presses record and checks the frame before stepping back.
If you tape alone with the front camera, do a short test and watch it back on a bigger screen before a full take.
Kym calls a tripod the first thing to buy. It doesn't need to be expensive, just steady, with a mount that holds your phone, because a tripod alone won't. She has taped on holiday with the phone propped on piles of books on an ironing board, and says a tripod saves you that hassle every time.
No tripod with you? Use something tall, wedge the phone between heavy books with the lens end on top, then buy a small travel tripod for next time.
At your eye level and close enough to see your eyes. Meg Morman frames in-person auditions from about the armpits up, with a little room above the head, and wants tapes to match. Rachel Sutton said if you stand ten feet from the camera and she can't see you, she moves on. Scot Boland added that if you start wide, step in closer at some point.
Keep the reader near the lens and at your height. Lisa Beach wants your reader at eye level, not on a laptop down at your desk, or all she sees is your chin and nose. For framing details, see our self tape setup at home guide.
For the tape itself, it's the weakest option. Rachel Sutton put taping on your computer on her list of things that look terrible. Built-in laptop cameras are usually lower quality than a phone's main camera, and a laptop on a desk shoots up at your face.
The laptop still has a job: if your reader joins by video call, set it at head height right next to the phone so you can look just off the lens at them.
Most of our experts treated it that way. Kym doesn't use a microphone for tapes because her phone's mic picks up her voice fine. The real problem, as John Frank Levey pointed out, is that the microphone is on the camera, so a reader standing behind it sounds far louder than you. Kym's fix: the reader presses record, then steps back until they're as far from the phone as you are.
Choose a quiet room without echo; Lisa Zambetti warned against bathrooms. If you want a mic anyway, Kym suggests a clip-on lavalier (hers is Audio-Technica), but most actors won't need one.
Bonnie Zane noticed more actors setting up decent cameras at home, and if you also shoot your own content, one can earn its keep. For auditions alone, upgrade your light, sound and reader first.
Paid self-tape studios are an option when you're away from home, but our self-tape expert said that with a good setup at home there's no need, and for a busy actor the cost adds up fast. Josh Einsohn's rule applies whatever you shoot on: watch it back before you send it.
Yes. Almost every working actor we know tapes on a smartphone, and the casting directors we read never asked for a dedicated camera. Shoot horizontally, in HD, on a tripod.
The phone you already own, used well. Put your money into a tripod, soft light and a good reader before you think about a separate camera.
Horizontal. Hold the phone landscape, like a television. Only a full-body slate might use a quick tilt, and the instructions usually say.
1080p HD at 30 frames per second is the safe standard. 4K works but makes bigger files, so follow the casting office or platform limits.
It is best avoided. Laptop cameras are usually weaker than a phone and shoot up at your face. Use the laptop for a remote reader instead.
Usually not. A phone mic in a quiet room works, as long as your reader stands as far from the phone as you do.
Your phone is sorted. For everything else that goes into a strong tape, grab Your Free Self Tape Guide.
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