Kym here. I have booked plenty of roles on a phone microphone and a bed sheet. I have also watched actors nearly lose jobs over a ring light.
So here is the set up I actually use, from the Journey masterclass on self tapes, with the numbers left in.
A self tape can be done with natural light and a phone propped on books. It is substantially better with the right gear, and none of it is expensive.
Full size tripod. Clips for a backdrop, or a backdrop stand. A cell phone tripod mount. A cell phone. A laptop for editing and for a remote reader. A shotgun or lav mic (optional). One to two LED panel or box lights. An iPad (optional).
Backdrop stands and clips run about $30 to $50 online and come double sided. A tripod alone will not hold your phone, so the mount is a separate purchase.
I do not use a microphone. The phone mic is great.
The travel version is a tiny tripod, a phone mount, an easy light and a bed sheet. Caught with no tripod at all? Cut a groove in the top of a plastic cup and stand the phone in it.
One flat or slightly marbled colour that suits your skin tone, hung so the bottom edge is out of frame. Blue and grey are the popular choices. White does not work for pale skin.
Do not shoot in a normal room or a kitchen. I know one Australian casting director who loves it, and no other.
A bed sheet clipped to a curtain rail is fine if you do not have the fifty bucks. A wardrobe door with no mirrors is at least plain. You are going for optimum, not a rule.
Face a window and put the backdrop on the opposite wall. Diffuse everything, because an exposed bulb throws a glaring light into your face.
Avoid direct sunlight, which is harsh and makes shadows. Do not stand directly under a ceiling downlight, because your eyebrows shadow your eyes.
Use two lights either side of the camera, far enough back for no hard shadows, or one light directly in front of you and above the camera. Then check that neither the camera nor the reader is casting a shadow on you.
If the image looks like it is twinkling or staticky, you need more light. If you are shiny and the detail in your face is gone, you have too much.
And the ring light. I am not a fan, because of the ring it leaves in your eyes. On a film we produced, two actors nearly lost jobs over it and one had to retape. If you use one, get a diffusing cover and keep it well back.
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A smartphone is all you need. Wipe the lens first, because fingerprints give footage a cloudy look people do not notice until too late.
Stay between 0.9x and 1.3x zoom, 1.4x at most. That puts the phone about a metre, or four feet, away. Zooming further costs the resolution you need to punch in later.
Level the tripod legs and sit the phone straight, with the camera at the level of your face. Put the lens on the same side of the phone as the reader stands.
Unless casting asks for a wide or a cowboy frame, frame from just below your armpits to a little above your head, and crop the headroom out in post. Space above your head is wasted space.
Lock the shot off. No camera moves, nobody follows you, never exit frame, and be in frame from the start. If the scene starts standing and ends sitting, use a stool so one frame holds both.
Before you shoot on an iPhone, go to Settings, Camera, Formats and turn off High Efficiency, because nothing but an iPhone reads HEIC. Record at 1080p, 30 frames per second.
This is the one most people get wrong, and it is the one that makes your voice disappear.
Please stand as far from the phone as I am from it, so your voice is not louder than mine. Please stand on the lens end of the phone, right next to it but at least two feet behind it. Please do not cut the take until I end the scene myself and look to you. Please check for shadows, both mine on the backdrop and yours on me.
If they stand beside the phone they are beside the microphone, and their voice comes out louder than yours, so the viewer cannot find a volume that works.
If there is a big height difference, put the lens between your face and theirs. The shorter person stands on a box, or the taller one widens their stance. Around 5’7” reading with 6’3” is where it starts to look silly.
If your reader is not an actor, tell them to do absolutely nothing and play every line deadpan. Do not read with your parents. Get them to frame you up instead.
For a remote reader, the laptop replaces the person. Put it at head height right next to the lens so people can see your eyes. If you have nobody, WeAudition has readers available straight away, and the payment goes to the actor doing the reading.
Tape during the day and face the window. Clip a bed sheet up as a backdrop, avoid the downlighting, and use a hotel lamp for extra light.
Try for a stool from the bar. Otherwise build your stand from a chair, a suitcase and some books.
Each take is its own file unless casting says otherwise, so they can choose which take to pass on. No fades, no transitions, no title cards. The slate is a separate file.
Crop in. A face filling 50 to 60 percent of the screen shows far more than one filling 20 or 30 percent. Check your head does not leave the crop later in the scene.
If you did not use a microphone, raise the volume to 200 percent. iPhone audio comes out quiet, and if casting has to reach for the volume they feel disconnected. One casting person told me 400 percent, but that peaked, so 200 is the sweet spot.
Export at 1080p minimum, never 720p. Set quality to custom and push the file size to around 350MB. The main casting site caps uploads at 400MB, so 350 to 400 is the useful band, and anything under a minute tends to land near 150MB.
Name each file with your name, scene number and take number, and paste the same name into the description field so it stays searchable. Upload in scene and take order with the slate, and always include a short thank you in the submission note.
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One flat or slightly marbled colour that suits your skin tone, usually blue or grey, hung so the bottom edge is out of frame. White does not work for pale skin. Avoid kitchens and normal rooms. A bed sheet clipped to a curtain rail works, and a stand with clips costs about $30 to $50.
No, and Kym advises against relying on one because it leaves a visible ring in your eyes, which casting notices. Use one or two diffused LED panel or box lights either side of the camera, or one in front and above it. If you must use a ring light, add a diffusing cover and keep it well back.
About a metre, or four feet, with the phone zoom between 0.9x and 1.3x (1.4x at most). Zooming further costs the resolution you need to crop in later. Put the camera at face height, level the tripod, and frame from just below the armpits to a little above the head.
On the lens side of the phone, right next to it but at least two feet behind it, and as far from the phone as you are, so their voice is not louder than yours. If they stand beside the phone they are beside the microphone. Ask them not to cut the take until you end the scene and look to them.
Export at 1080p minimum, never 720p, and raise the audio to 200 percent if you recorded on the phone mic. Push the file size to around 350MB; the main casting site caps uploads at 400MB. Each take is its own file, the slate is separate, and file names carry your name, scene and take number.
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