Stop spiraling about "4 seconds"

Focus on YOU and your process instead. Some thoughts on the casting interview that went viral about how long they watch tapes.

Sometimes I really miss the days when casting directors were less accessible to actors. When they were just behind closed doors doing their jobs.

Fifteen years ago, when I started my acting career in New York, I had to put Google alerts on casting directors to learn about them and what projects they were working on. I didn’t even know what most of them looked like and I couldn’t even find pictures of them online.

That, of course, changed when social media became more prevalent. And it completely EXPLODED when the pandemic hit. As we all struggled to pivot and find ways to stay financially afloat with productions halted, many CDs flocked to social media.

Some were in search of community. Some were really looking to help actors and share valuable insights about the casting process. Some offered free generals to keep themselves busy and meet new actors. Some turned to coaching and teaching to make ends meet.

We are really lucky to get to see them on our feeds. We get to learn so much about their process and their own struggles. Alexis Winter is one of my favorites. -I've learned so much from her, not just about casting but about what it's really like trying to make it as an indie casting director. The struggles they have are not much different than the ones we face as actors— it really helped me to humanize the whole casting experience when I saw it from their point of view.

But with great power comes great responsibility…

The Casting Director “Brand”

Real talk—not everyone came into this space with pure intentions. Some folks saw the dollar signs and jumped. They knew the industry was going through a rough patch and casting jobs were getting scarce. So they turned their attention to a market that pays way better than casting jobs do right now - ACTORS.

Podcasts, YouTube Channels, Classes, Workshops, Intensives, OH MY!
Seems like everywhere I turn, there is a casting director promoting something.

Look, I get it - folks gotta eat, and I'm not gonna knock the hustle. But there's a big difference between teaching a one-off class between casting jobs and building an entire brand as a casting director who constantly sells services based on their casting credentials to actors who are DESPERATE to be seen and validated.

I personally believe that if you are going to pivot, then go all in and stop casting projects. Otherwise, it creates a conflict of interest and leaves the door wide open for exploitation.

What are you actually paying for? Be clear about your goals.

Let’s be honest: Most actors invest in offerings taught by casting directors because they want to be seen by them in hopes that they are remembered and it hopefully leads to them getting offered a job in the near future.

Let me tell you something: As a business owner and a working actor—the amount of time it takes for me to create social media content is EXHAUSTING. It’s sometimes really hard to find the balance and give my all to my own acting work—which is one of the many reasons I’m moving my advice/tips content to Substack. I need to reclaim my time.

So I can’t help but wonder when some CDs are focusing so much time on their social media presence—where are they finding the time to actually cast projects? Because I don’t think you can do both—at least not well.

So, I ask again—what are you paying for? Get specific. And it can’t be something that you can’t control—like whether or not you get called into the office.

Let’s say they hired social media managers and are able to both teach and cast projects at the same time—are the odds of you getting called in for an actual audition in your favor? Nope.

Last month, I did an informal survey on my IG stories. And here are the results from a sample size of 100 actors:

Many actors DM'd me saying they spent thousands of dollars with no results. This is partly because many who invest in these workshops aren't quite ready to showcase their work and/or be on set - they need more extensive training. The ones who did get called in to audition through these workshops either already had a relationship with the casting director or actively followed up and stayed persistent after meeting them.

With those odds, I would rather you take that money and invest it in maxing out your ROTH IRA every year. At least that will guarantee that you are a millionaire by the time you retire than playing Russian Roulette with these classes. Invest in your future—not shortcuts.

Words matter.

Which leads me to my last point, just because you have worked in casting does not mean that you should be teaching and/or talking publicly about the casting process.

Fun fact:
To date there is no formal training program to become a casting director.

The good casting directors have had formal theatre training and/or they were actors themselves before they pivoted. Understand the nuance of story. Have studied film. Developed their eye and taste from decades of working with and watching actors. They can make excellent teachers.

And others have not.

Some, despite training and experience, don’t have ANY idea how to talk about the process and/or the sensitivity it takes to give actors notes without completely destroying an actor’s self-esteem. They may not mean to cause harm, but they absolutely can and do.

Which is why when this video went viral and sparked yet another self-tape debate article on Deadline it made me really upset.

First, because it villainizes casting in a way that is unfair to the countless of casting professionals who go above and beyond to see as many actors as possible and truly love what they do.

Listen, I know us actors have been fucking beat down by the last several years with COVID, then strikes, and now a full on contraction. We are hurting out here. And we are looking for people to blame.

Casting is not it.

And that video (which they've now taken down from their social media and to their credit have since done an IG Live to address the backlash HERE) is a perfect example of people not being tuned in to how sensitive and nuanced an actor's process is. Because what they're saying isn't necessarily wrong.

But their tone was WAY off. And the way they were laughing about the whole thing was disrespectful to all the time and care actors put into their self-tape submissions.

What do you mean they’re NOT wrong?

Here's the thing - casting directors were always making these quick decisions, even back when you were in the room. And it is not just casting by “looks” as many people have interpreted those comments to mean. In 5 seconds, I can tell from a tape whether you understand camera technique, feel comfortable in front of camera, and understand pacing. Your headshot got your called in because of your look. Now, we are talking about craft. Are you ready to be on set?

With self-tapes, casting can now be more efficient with their time because they have to be. Not because they're being cruel, but because capitalism has hit their workflow too. They're being asked to do way more these days with less time, less staff, and fewer resources.

So for your mental health—stop taking it personal and learn how to make your process more efficient so you aren’t as emotional invested and vulnerable with every audition you get.

Every casting office is different—so you can’t make blanket rules about how each of them view tapes. Just know that they are doing their job the best they can and trust them when they say they view all of the tapes. They just don’t have to view the entirety of your audition to make an informed decision.

The real question you should be asking is “How competitive are my tapes?” and stop acting in a vacuum. Get in a community of actors that inspire you to level up your self-tapes.

Developing your critical eye is a necessary skill to be a working actor.

Since 2020, Alyshia and I have been teaching our annual #SelfTapeMay class. Each year for the month of May, we assign an audition challenge each week and then showcase notes from a selected sample of tapes. We receive sometimes over 100 tapes each week. We watch them all and we see the same mistakes time and time again because actors don’t know what they don’t know until the see it.

I mean just look at the difference from week 1 to week 4 below. This actor has been on Broadway for years, but didn’t understand how to use the frame to make an impact with his auditions until he got in a class that focused on holistic training. He’s talented AF, but wasn’t capturing it on his tapes. He needed some tech skills in his toolbox.

We have been talking about “the 15 second rule” since our very first class. You must be able to capture their attention, showcase camera technique, script analysis, and your role in moving story forward all while being fully embodied in those first 15 seconds. That’s a tall order—especially when you don’t know how to assess your work and just go on whether the take “felt” good to you.

When we interviewed actor/director Keith Powell (who played Toofer on 30 Rock and now directs for TV) for our Practice Track membership he said he can tell in a “millisecond” if a tape is book-worthy. You can watch the excerpt of his interview HERE in a reel I made about the biggest 3 mistakes actors make on their self-tapes.

The problem isn’t self-tapes.
The problem isn’t casting directors.

The problem is capitalism has dehumanized the casting process for all and we aren’t going to fix it in a Substack or an IG reel or by throwing casting professionals under the bus. Systemic change takes time and us coming together.

So, in the meantime, you must adapt your process if you want to keep pursuing this career in the midst of this upheaval. You need new tools and some perspective in a supportive environment.

I urge you to step away from the mindset that says “What’s the point of doing this audition—if they are only going to watch 4 seconds?” That mindset keeps you result oriented and not growth oriented. Stop worrying about what they are doing with their time. Worry about your time.

Do it for you. This is a time to step into a character’s shoes. What you say you love to do, right? Don’t make your love for this art conditional i.e. you are only happy if it leads to a booking. It won’t sustain you in the long haul.

I promise you the skills that you practice with every self-tape will show up for you and make you an excellent collaborator on set when you finally book a job. They aren’t a waste of time. They are invaluable to your growth as an actor.

You got this!

Love y’all 🫶🏼

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P.S. You can get on the waitlist for our #SelfTapeMay class HERE.
I will also send you a discount code for subscribing to my Substack when class enrollment begins in April. ❤️