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Hey actors it's Jeffrey Dreisbach!.

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And this is casting actor's caste

today's topic is one that becomes a big

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part of the industry today.

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And that is self tapes.

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You know them.

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You probably do them a lot.

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And maybe, just, maybe you're wondering

what they're really saying about you.

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Ah, so vocalaf, because I'm going to

tell you what your self tape reveals

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before you even start reading your

first line.

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This is casting actor's castle.

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Well, hello, and welcome to today's

episode of casting actor's Cass.

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As I said in the introduction, I'm

Geoffrey driesback.

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I'm a casting director with mcorkal

casting in New York.

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How are you?

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If you haven't done so already, please

check out the website, casting actress

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casts all one word dot com.

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Also, you can drop me a hello, a

question, a line, whatever you want.

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It's casting actor's cast a, Gmail dot

com.

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The website has all kinds of stuff

there.

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I'm not going to go into all the

details, but there's a form that says,

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dive into the talent pool.

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If you do that that's going to open up

some free bees for you.

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You're going to also see my book called

booktit the actor's playbook for

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getting cast.

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You'll also see a course on auditioning.

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It's a very extensive course, and I

really have to tell you, it's doing

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quite well.

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People are really enjoying it.

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So I think if you want to check that

out, I think you might find it pretty valuable.

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So let's dive into this,

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the self tape, what it really does say

about you.

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And I can tell you, after viewing

thousands

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of self tapes, that the information I'm

providing you is based on that

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experience.

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So don't

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be dismissive

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of a lot of self tape.

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Viewing has really produced some very

specific

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thoughts

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that you can literally change the way

you do the work.

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And

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what we call first impressions in the

digital world, because it's kind of freaky,

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it's a two dimensional environment.

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You're in a flat screen.

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But when your self tape hits my inbox,

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just remember that it's your first,

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it's your only chance to make an

impression.

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And so before I even hit play,

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I've already learned something about

you from,

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ok, I'm going to say it from your file

name.

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I learn so much from your slate.

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I learn so much from the way you frame

yourself, or your lighting

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that's right your tape speaks volumes

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before you do.

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So what we see before you speak,

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let me just say that you're set up.

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Reflects your standards.

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I promise you, no one expects a

Hollywood studio, but a clear frame, a

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simple background, decent lighting.

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They say, I care about my craft when I

see it.

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If your camera's at an odd angle, or

the lighting makes you look like you're

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in the witness protection programme.

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Well, that says something too.

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When you label

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the tape and you're going to send it,

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you're sending a link to the file, to

the casting director.

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Understand that your labelling speaks

volumes.

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If the file name says, final

underscore, final underscore, real,

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one.

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Dot mov.

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Guess what that tells me.

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It tells me you're rushing.

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If it says, Geoffrey driesback,

underscore, audition, underscore, name

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of role.

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See, I know you're professional and

organized.

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That's true.

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Your energy in the slate, for example,

your slate tells me if you're relaxed,

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if you're friendly and present, or if

you're just reciting your name through

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clenched.

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Teeth

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don't underestimate that.

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Also, I'm still getting so many self

tapes where you're making your name a question.

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Hi, I'm Jeff driesbach.

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You know what?

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For everybody listening to this?

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I promise you put a period at the end

of your name, and you're going to make

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a huge impact.

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Hi, I'm Jeff driesbach.

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When you put a period at the end of

your name, you're not projecting insecurity.

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Like that upspeak?

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Does it really serves as a great

grounding element

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for your acting?

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I promise you.

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Now, many of you are not even aware

that you're doing it.

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So please give that some practice.

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Give that a little bit of time.

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I think you're going to find it

extremely helpful.

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All right now, during the scene, on

yourself tape here's what we pick up

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instantly when I press play.

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I am not looking for perfection, I

promise you

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guess what I'm looking for?

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I'm looking for presents.

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Here's what I notice most listening.

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Are you really connected, or just

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saying your words, saying your lines,

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framing?

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Is your eyeline natural?

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And your camera at the right height?

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E, g, for film and television, the

camera needs, frame, needs to be at

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your chest, up.

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We only want a little bit of headroom.

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A head room is the space between the

top of the head and the top of the frame.

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That makes a big difference.

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Also being asymmetrical in the frame,

looking in the direction of where there

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is more space.

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That is a perfect frame, whether it's

for theater, which would be from the

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waste up, or film and television.

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Moving on from there.

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Transitions,

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do your

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emotions

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that you're playing

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within your character

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shift

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believably.

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I talk about gearshifts all the time in

several episodes, and I would hope that

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you'd want to go back and check out

some of these previous episodes about

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doing self tapes.

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There's a lot of information that I'm

just not going to get to or repeat to

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day.

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But if you're relatively new to

listening, you can go back into the

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archives, cassing actors, cast dotcom,

and you can check all of the episodes

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out.

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But anyway,

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it's about the emotional shift when you

go from one thought to another, are you clear?

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Or

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let's talk about authenticity.

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Too many times I see actors trying too

hard,

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or they're letting the truth land very,

very quietly, almost too quietly.

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You see yourself tape should say, I

know the craft, I respect the process,

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and I'm some one you can trust to

deliver.

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That's what I need to know in yourself

tape.

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So I'm going to come back in just a

moment with the story.

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Yourself tape tells,

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welcome back.

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Every self tape

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tells a story beyond the script.

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You see a rush.

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Tape says,

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I didn't make time for this.

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A well prepared one says, I value this

opportunity.

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A creatively alive one says, I love the

work.

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That's what I call the joy of

performance

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when I see that that's another layer

that I am definitely attracted to as

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aghasting director.

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Guess what?

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Cassing directors can tell the

difference between a good performance

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and one in which you love

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playing the character.

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We can know that instantly.

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We can tell that absolutely instantly.

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So

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how to let yourself tape

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speak well for you

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that's our next segment.

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One, prepare the moment before

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you see when you hit record,

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you need to be absolutely ready

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when you're nervous.

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That grounded beat before starts right

away and tells me that you're

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not focused

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when you ground yourself.

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And give me a clear moment before

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you are very much grounded.

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And I am with you from the very

beginning of that audition.

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Number two, please be generous to your

reader if someone's helping you I need

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you to listen to them.

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I need them to pull your attention.

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It's all about connection,

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especially in this kind of two

dimensional weird notes called self tape.

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Your putting yourself completely

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into the scene

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speaks volumes about your technique as

an actor.

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Number three, keep your tech simple and

clean.

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Please do yourself a favor.

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Avoid gimmicks.

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Let your acting do the story telling.

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I can't tell you how many times I'm

seeing transitions from the slate into

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the acting.

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It's almost like it's so over produced.

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It's drawing attention to itself and

not drawing attention to where it needs

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to be drawn to, which is you

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and how you're playing the part.

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Number four, and naturally,

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I don't want you to break character too

quickly.

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That little extra beat of stillness at

the end is cinematic

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gold.

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I've got a story about that.

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I once received a self tape from an

actor.

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This was an actor, I didn't know.

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The background was very simple, but her

energy was really calm and confident

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and alive.

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She made a small,

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beautiful choice at the end of the

scene.

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She looked

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just

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very focused,

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and she took a quiet breath

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and didn't rush to cut.

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That extra second told me everything

about her patience and her instinct.

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And yeah, she booked it.

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She did.

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So

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I have some closing thoughts.

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So what does your self tape say about

you?

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Hopefully, that you're focused,

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that you're prepared

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and that you're passionate,

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that you bring care to the work,

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and that even though a screen

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you make us feel something real,

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remember you're not judging your

technical setup.

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We're not judging your technical setup,

we're judging your connection.

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And that, my friends,

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maybe that's what gets you remembered.

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Thanks for tuning into casting.

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Actors cast.

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If to day's episode helped you see self

tapes in a new light, shared with your

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actor.

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Friends, leave a review?

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Boy, it really does help if you leave a

review, especially on iTunes that sort

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of the gold standard, speaking of gold

standards, it would really help me get

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to more actors who might avail

themselves to this podcast effort on my

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part.

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Thank you so much for tuning in.

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Until next time.

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This, and this is Jeffrey driesback

remining.

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You stay creative,

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stay authentic

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and keep that camera rolling.

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Because your next tape might just be

the one that books it

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bye for