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Self Tape/Audition/Cold Read Workshop

Get Your Act On

Below is the equipment we have taken a look at.  As models/supplies are greatly subject to change, and I can practically guarantee not everything will be available.  However, with the detailed information below, you can get a good idea as to what we look for in each piece of equipment, which will hopefully guide you into making an informed decision.

Click a link to jump to a section!  Recommended items noted in Green

Quick LInks

General Equipment:

● Gear Ties        ←recommended

● Magic Arms and Clamps!                ←recommended

Audio Equipment:

● MICS

○ SHOTGUN MICS

○ LAV MICS        ←recommended

● CABLES

○ FOR PHONES/TABLETS and SOME COMPUTERS - TRRS adaptor

Backdrop:

● Backdrop itself…

○ COLOR

○ TYPES

● STANDS

Home Lighting:

● Bulbs

● Stands

Travel Setup:

● Gear ties again!        ←recommended

● Magic Arms and Clamps again!                ←recommended

● This Aputure AL-F7 light

● Not listed on here - a selfie stick!

Other Stuff:

● Tripod

○ Tripod head (optional)

● Phone holder adaptor (optional)        ←recommended

● Elgato Cam Link 4k (super optional)

General Disclaimers:

I have not (of course) tested all combinations of equipment with all cameras or phones.  Be sure to keep your receipts to return any items that do not seem to work!

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Quick Links

General Equipment:

• To hold extra equipment without needing to buy extra stands, I’d recommend playing with one or both of the following.  Your needs may vary!

• Gear Ties        ←recommended

• I recommend these no matter what!
• 2 sets for a total of 4 units should cover almost all needs
• Gear ties can hold phones, lights, mics, backdrops, and more!

• Magic Arms and Clamps!                ←recommended

• Only really need 1 arm and 1 clamp total…..
• This can be used to hold a shotgun mic, a phone holder, a light, and more, so additional arm + clamps might be useful

• But I’d recommend 2 sets to cover most situations

Audio Equipment:

• MICS

• While I now prefer using a lav mic over a shotgun, I have had plenty of good experience with a shotgun, but I find it harder and more cumbersome to get a shotgun set up and placed than a lav

• SHOTGUN MICS

• Just be sure this is placed as close as possible to you, and facing your mouth
• As is such, this usually requires extra setup work to get the mic on another stand, or arm + clamp or the likes, whereas a lav clips right onto your shirt
• Rode Video Micro is a great cheap option
• If you want one with more flexibility and wider use (short films, vlogging, podcasts, maybe? even a half decent VO mic? (needs testing!), I’d say go for the Rode VideoMic NTG

• NOTE:  The Rode VideoMic NTG also has its own special cable that can auto-adapt to phone, dslr, etc… and if going into a computer and some phones, it can even use USB to capture sound.

• LAV MICS        ←recommended

• For the lav mics, both listed options sound good so far, I’m just worried about extra interference I’ve seen from the Pro JK mic

• Without interference, the JK seems to sound good!

• Either way, position the lav mics at your sternum (mid chest) level, either directly center of your shirt, or on a seam or a clothing edge

• No need to clip it under a shirt.  That can make rubbing sounds.  I put mine right on top of my outer layer.
• It’s ok if it shows in the self tape!

• Ensure the lav mic head is not touching any fabric, or it may ruin your take
• And you can point the mic downwards to avoid any exhales you might do out of your nose ;)

• CABLES

• The RODE VC1 is a must         ←recommended

• It’s an extension cable of high quality and durability with gold connectors and shielded
• All mics perform MUCH better if they’re closer to your face.  Whether getting a shotgun or lav mic, use this to allow some extra reach

• FOR PHONES/TABLETS and SOME COMPUTERS - TRRS adaptor

• If you are only ever recording on a DSLR or camcorder, you won’t need one of these
• These adapt the normal mic cable (2 plastic rings on the metal tip) into one for phones, tablets, and some computers (3 plastic rings on the metal tip)

• UGREEN Headset Adaptor Splitter**        ←recommended

• This lets you plug either/both a microphone and headphones
• Usually, you have to unplug the mic to play back the audio, with this you can have your headphones in as well
• **This may not work on all phones, but it is my go-to and my favorite option

• RODE SC4**

• This is a higher quality cable for input.  However, this will only allow the mic to be plugged in, and not headphones at the same time

• This means, your phone might not be able to play sound unless it’s unplugged.  (Can get annoying, but not a deal-breaker)

• **This may not work on all phones

Backdrop:

• Backdrop itself…

• Main rule of thumb, avoid distracting backgrounds
• Next rule of thumb, avoid bright/white or dark black backgrounds
• For size, I like to get at least 7ft wide, and at least 5ft tall.  It doesn’t need to span your whole height, but I guarantee that extra width will come in handy

• COLOR

• I tend to suggest a dark, neutral gray.  Something that contrasts with your skin tone can help you gain more separation from the background
• Some other casting directors/cities in the world recommend a medium or dark blue

• (I still recommend gray tones :)    )

• Simple textures in the colors are fine and can add some depth (just make sure it’s not too distracting)

• TYPES

• I never found any on Amazon I like, but honestly, most king size bed sheets should do, even from Walmart or the likes

• Ideally go for high thread count
• Stay away from shiny materials, as this will create shiny reflections from your light
• You’ll also need to make sure you have clips to hang the sheet
• Otherwise, Muslin seems to be a good candidate for backdrop material

• Collapsible backdrops? - None have been tested or cross referenced for quality or price!

• Haven’t tried these yet, but they might be a great option for those with less space
• They collapse to a smaller size, and can be held up on a wall, curtain rod, or…
• T-Bar stand

• For the hanging rod, I personally use the Canadian Studio 10ft extending arm since it’s more adjustable than one with fixed poles

• I used to hang my bedsheet backdrop up on to the window curtain rod or on a closet door and such
• … and you can also hang up a sheet with Gear Ties 🙂

• STANDS

• I also have my own separate stands (mine are not listed here, b/c they’re much more expensive and much heavier duty)

• Stands should be minimum 7ft for the max height, to make sure any headspace will still show a backdrop.  A 6ft tall stand is cutting pretty close… but…. could work?
• The ones recommended here seem to have good reviews and get up to at least 8.5 feet

• If you have a way to mount a pole on the wall instead of using stands, try that out instead!  The stands take up a good amount of floor space, which can get annoying for most rooms
• The MOUNTDOG kit seems to be pretty good for all of it

• Mountdog tends to makes some good equipment
• Note that the cross bar comes in sections, so there are a few options for length
• It gets to 10ft tall, which is great!
• Seems to have good reviews!

Home Lighting:

• As tempting as it is to get lights because they’re cheap, I would recommend spending that extra bit of cash to get something higher quality, especially for LED’s.

• Not only will it make you look nicer (google CRI skin tones), but it will probably also last longer.

• I have one of these lights from the softbox kit, and an LED light as my other light
• At least 2 light sources are recommended, though you can get away with just one

• Ideally, you should have 1 softbox for a fill light, and another light as your key light

• You can do this with two softboxes too, one for closer to you, one for farther
• SOFTBOXES TAKE UP A LOT OF SPACE.  If space is a concern for you, or if you might travel and self tape frequently, getting the Aputure AL-F7 light & batteries might make more sense

• This kit is recommended because each softbox has 4 bulb sockets, allowing you many different brightness/lighting options

• Bulbs

• The provided bulbs are of varying quality
• Some will give a slight green tint, some will give a slight magenta tint
• It would be a good idea to buy separate bulbs to put in here, with CRI of 90 or higher

• I will be adding some bulb options to this at some point……..
• For color temperature, aim for Daylight, or “5600 kelvin” as a nice, neutral white

• Stands

• The stands included in the kit are not very good, but they do the job
• Weighing them down at the base could be helpful

• The listed kit of 3x softboxes is recommended if you will be splitting it with one or two other people.  OUT OF STOCK

• At this point, it becomes quite a good value, split three ways
• Otherwise, most Mountdog kits should be roughly the same quality

• But once again, I recommend a softbox with 2 or more bulb sockets!

Travel Setup:

• My personal travel kit comprises of 4 gear ties, 3 magic arms with clamps, a phone holder, a selfie stick (which I rarely if ever use now), one travel light, lav mic, and the associated audio cables.  It all fits in a bag that’s about the size of a kleenex box!
• Here’s a link to some examples of setups

• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QX4uIgWst4VkVCI7rKSS9MwB_Lb5sbas?usp=share_link

• Gear ties (again!)        ←recommended

• Having a 2 sets (for 4 ties total) can allow for a lot of DIY self tape cleverness
• I’ve used these with a selfie stick and a chair to make a tripod
• Or I’ve hung one end off a lamp/shelf, and attached the other to my phone as a tripod.
• I’ve also used it on 2 corners of a sheet to hang up a backdrop!

• Magic Arms and Clamps (again!)                ←recommended

• Only really need 1 arm and 1 clamp total…..
• This can be used to hold a shotgun mic, a phone holder, a light, and more, so additional arm + clamps might be useful

• I’d recommend 2 sets to cover most situations

• This Aputure AL-F7 light    DISCONTINUED

• It’s quite bright and quite small
• It can be run via batteries, or via the provided USB cable to a power bank or wall adaptor

• USB power may not be as bright as using a battery
• If you are using USB, use a wall plug or USB battery pack that gives out 2A (2 amps) or more.

• Toss a large white plastic bag on it, and you have a travel softbox!
• Batteries

• The listed batteries might allow it to last around 45min at maximum brightness, each….
• Honestly…. An external usb powerbank of 10,000 mah or larger would be more than fine, plus you can use it to charge your phone and stuff too.  As long as the usb power bank can output 2 amps or more, it should be great

• Not listed on here - a selfie stick!

• Mine is 3.5 ft
• I’d recommend one that extends at least 3ft, and is sturdy at different heights, so that if you only extend it straight up 1.5ft, that it won’t slide down
• Using gear ties, you can attach this selfie stick to a chair, lamp, bedpost, hang it from a curtain rod, ceiling fan, mirror, picture frame, etc, and make a quick, impromptu tripod!

Other Stuff:

• Tripod

• Should be able to go at least to your head height!
• Rough rule of thumb: the more expensive your camera, the more expensive tripod you should get

• Make sure to look at the reviews to see if people have used a similar camera to yours
• All should work for phones

• Tripod head (optional)

• This is an option if your tripod’s head isn’t very fluid, and you find yourself doing a lot of panning
• If you’re not also using this tripod for short films or if you don’t normally have someone running the camera for your self tapes, this won’t be very useful
• If you plan to buy this head separately, remember to first make sure your tripod’s head can be switched!

• Phone holder adaptor (optional)        ←recommended

• Self explanatory

• Elgato Cam Link 4k (suuuuper optional)

• This lets you plug the HDMI from your camera into your computer

• You can also use it to directly record your camera feed onto your computer using a free software like OBS

• HOW COOL?!

• You can also use your camera’s feed to be your video and sound for a zoom audition.
• It’s expensive though...  I own this because it serves multiple purposes, and many modern DSLR’s allow this via direct usb connection now