Selftapes are a tricky thing for a lot of people. They were especially tricky for me until I figured out how to format selftapes on my phone. So this is the article dedicated to good-looking selftapes! Read on to learn how I make selftapes on my phone, quick and easy!
If you’d like to learn how to make your own reel as well, check out this previous article!
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The things you’ll need to make a darned-great-looking selftape are:
- A smart phone
- A plain background
- A good light source
- A tripod for your phone
- A freebie smart phone app that cuts videos (I use YouCut on my Android)
Don’t worry—I haven’t forgotten about my #1 tool for selftapes, it’s coming up!
A lot of these things you can fashion for not-so-much money.
Most people already have a smart phone, and if you don’t have one, ask a friend to borrow theirs for 30 minutes. With the smart phone, I suggest downloading a little freebie video trimming app so that you get a clean, edited video, and you don’t have to upload your media to a different platform, like a laptop.
For the plain background, I use a curtain—specifically the dark brown curtain in my parents’ room, because a lighter background doesn’t look as good on me! Haha!
Now, this is where my #1 tool comes in: light and a tripod. Unless you already have professional lights, this one might be a little hard to do. A tripod is slightly easier to make up, if you’ve got a music stand, or a tall dresser with your phone taped to some books. What I use as my #1 tool for selftapes is the Neewer Ring Light Kit.
I’ve been using it for almost a year now, and it’s been so helpful. It’s more than paid itself off. It’s a great light source (with a dimmer) and a phone tripod! A video or picture with and without this tool is night and day:
With ring light on the left, and without on the right.
And just to make sure that I didn’t waste my money, I said to myself, hey wait! What about my smart phone flash? So I tried that, and this is what happened:
With ring light on the left, and with phone flash on the right.
The phone flash was way too strong! This was taken in the morning, there’s no way I was that greasy! This is why you need the dimmer on the ring light. You test the levels until you have the perfect lighting. And all of that can change with what you’re wearing or what your background is, so you really need to be able to change the lighting!
The Neewer Ring Light is pretty easy to use; initially you put all the pieces together, plug it in, turn it on, and WHAM! You’ve got a ring light. And the carrying case makes it so convenient if you need to film something outside of your home. I’ve taken it to my singing lessons multiple times now so that I could record a selftape in my lesson.
So, if you want your selftapes to look as professional as you can get them, I highly recommend the Neewer Ring Light.
Now for the selftape action:
1.) Set up/find your solid-colored, plain background.
Sometimes it’s as easy as finding it, sometimes it’s as hard as setting it up. A plain wall will work. A plain curtain will work. If you don’t have a curtain rod or curtain, Walmart, Target, and Amazon has all those things!
2.) Set up your Neewer Ring Light.
For a regular selftape close-up, it’ll be about 3 feet away from you.
3.) Put your phone in the Neewer Ring Light’s tripod and adjust it.
You’ll want your phone to be level with your head, which is something you adjust on the ring light stand initially. Then, you can adjust how much room you want above your head by taking a video, walking into frame, and checking the video. This bit is trial and error if you’re alone, but once you get the hang of it, you can speed through it.
4.) Take the actual selftape!
Press that record button, get in frame, and start! Have fun!
Some Casting Directors like you to slate, and they’ll usually tell you in the selftape request if they do. Don’t forget the slate if they wanted it! And take note of if they wanted you to put it at the end or beginning; these little things matter.
5.) Edit the video.
Initial editing doesn’t require an app, because most smart phones have an edit option when you’re viewing your videos. I trim my clips (sides and slates) using the phone itself first. Make sure you trim the beginning right up until you start the sides, and the end right when you finish. You don’t want them to see you out of character entering or leaving the frame, or just a blank backdrop. That’s boring!
If you haven’t downloaded a free little video trimming app, (I use YouCut, very easy to use) this is when you’ll need it. For YouCut, make a New Project (+), select your videos in the order you want them to be cut together, press the arrow at the bottom of the screen, watch the video through to make sure you like it, and then press Save. I then change the size to 720P, because any bigger is a hassle to download onto Actors Access (that’s usually where I’m sending my selftapes). It’ll then save it, and you have the option to post it on YouTube right there on the app! If your agent has you send Unlisted YouTube video links out like mine does, this is very convenient!
So there you are! A selftape how-to, complete with the tool that actually saves my life every week, the Neewer Ring Light Kit. Seriously changed the game for me.
I actually booked Macbeth with help from this baby! Don’t believe me? Here’s the selftape that did it, using the Neewer Ring Light:
I hope you all enjoyed this article! I had a blast writing it; I really stand by this product. If you liked this article, leave a comment! And don’t forget to subscribe to our email list below so that you never miss an article! Make sure to check out our Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest as well.
Until next time!
