@entertainersmom I agree about the pre-screen. As for the CC cruise, I for one will be spending all my $ on college tuition!
@EastchesterMom you hit my big complaint dead on - we took the schools at their word - use my high-def but consumer grade camera with its built-in mic. then i read the forum in which parents were discussing how their kids use special software to edit and improve the video, bought special lights, rented pro-cameras and stereo mic set-ups or hired a studio. ânakedâ in front of the auditors seems fairer and truer. I think they should hold 3 more unified rather than assuming everyone lives near chicago, new york or la â perhaps add from miami, dallas, vegas, denverâŠ
I can imagine the prescreen becoming much like coaching in years to come- coaches help kids polish themselves to be more competitive, and now prescreens are a part of that. I predict that the next service coaches will begin to offer are good looking videosâŠ
@toowonderful - I think that is already happening!
Pre screens were the most stressful process ever: luckily I passed them, but I was so worried if the people with fancier videos would win out over just a regularly recorded one on my digital camera.
I think that becomes the question- and please understand I am not knocking the idea of coaches. My own kid had people helping her choose her material and prepare- they just were part of her school. But if you need that in order to be competitive is that changing the process?
toowonderful, I guess it is the ânewâ process. Iâm also sorry the prescreen of just a year ago ie. filmed on a laptop and edited by son, may now be obsolete.
Agreed- glad we got done when we did!
Me too!
Absolutely HATED prescreens. And Iâve said repeatedly: why canât everyone do what UArts does (or did 2 years ago; donât know how it is now): make prescreens OPTIONAL!! If I want to spend the money for my child to go audition in person because that works best for us for whatever reason, why canât that be our choice? Anything else says itâs for the benefit of the school, not the kid. At UArts, if you pass the prescreen, itâs an automatic callback. If you choose to forego the prescreen, you risk being cut before the callbacks, but you get to appear in person. Makes so much sense!
Makes a lot of sense! Then they can narrow down the people a lot faster for callbacks, not having as many. Itâs also confusing when you feel that your audition was way better then the pre-screen of you that got approved, and you still donât make it. Oh the college processâŠ
This is getting crazy! My son also did prescreens on his laptop in our kitchen last year and no coach. How will kids manage if professionally produced videos are whatâs required to compete?
Agreed, @bromquest ⊠last year was hard enough without having to worry about the PPP threat⊠Professionally Produced Prescreens!
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This process is separating the haves vs the have nots as each year ticks by. I certainly expect most videos to be PPP this fall. Iâm glad I was in this cycle! Having said that, I donât see this as any different than any other activity that kids get involved in at a high level. Summer programs, JO volleyball, AAU basketball, USTA Jr. Tennis, language Immersion programs, etc. These things all serve to give the student an extra advantage and cost a lot of money.
As far as college audition coaching, we did not have one and many auditors said they found S authentic. Now, I donât know if that was because of lack of coach or some other trait they liked, but we wondered because it was said multiple times. I suggested to a friend one year behind us she should NOT try this without a coach. I felt out resourced by all the coached families. My S did not feel pressure, but I certainly did. Coaching would have been worth it to sleep at night.
@IfYouOnlyKnew I too have recommended coaching to people I know! In Annoying Actor Friendâs book, he/she/they/it says to ask yourself âhow much of a #hotmess are you?â before getting a coach. I think not having one means putting in a LOT more effort in the search for material and schools that are good fits, especially on the part of the student. I did all the research and more, but I had serious doubts about whether I was competitive vocally and getting a coachâs opinion probably would have helped a ton. Although maybe said coach would have told me not to bother!
Prescreens are interesting to me. Someone told me at Unifieds that a bunch of schools hated prescreens and thought they were totally ineffective and were planning to ditch them next year, which I think is interesting if it is true. I totally understand typing people out (and believe me, I am grateful for the money saved) but I agree that it makes things a lot harder for kids like me whose personalities play a huge role in their auditions. Because then the advantage goes to whoever has the coach that can teach them how to shine on camera, or whatever. @Calliene UArts does have a great system! In my completely unbiased opinionâŠ
When my S did his prescreens we used an iphone mounted horizontally on a tripod on top of a table. We filmed them in an unused ballroom with a piano (against a beige colored wall) at our local Jewish Center. . We hired an accompanist for a couple of hours for the songs. We taped the songs and cuts 3-4 times each and did one âpiano onlyâ recording of each song for practice and the unifieds. After the songs the accompanist left and we filmed the monologues. We used iMovie to trim the videos and for the transitions. We filmed the dance prescreen at a rehearsal space in Manhattan.
We did have to re tape one of the monologuesâŠwhich was easy enough to doâŠhe just wore the same clothes and we went back to the Jewish Center when the room was available.
As long as you use a tripod and be careful to keep away from windows (during the day) using a smart phone should be fine. The ballroom we used was an interior room (no windows) so light wasnât an issue. Also because the ballroom was carpeted we didnât have any issues with echos or the sound quality.
Also when doing prescreens bring a couple of different color shirtsâŠtake a photo against the backdrop to decide which color contrasts best with the background and prevents the subject from looking washed out.
The pre screens came out greatâŠclean but simple. The only expense was the accompanist for 2 hours.
Many professional gigs require video submissions. Itâs not going away A nice cottage industry for some technically-inclined artists ?
Some coaches are already recommending people to record prescreens. We investigated this for a minute - it was going to cost too much. Then I found a local person who has a company recording promo videos for companies, etc. He had a studio with choice of backdrops, great equipment - for $200 he recorded and edited my daughterâs videos, helped with slating and uploading them. We had recorded tracks that we used instead of the accompanist. To me,compared to what we were spending on application and audition fees - it seemed like a wise invesent.
We used my Android phone on a small cell phone tripod set on some stacked boxes. Live accompaniment for the vocals and recorded for the dance. I bought a couple of cheap can lights at Ace and positioned them to give some more front light. He passed all his prescreens.
Just because others are saying they had theirs professionally produced and used a coachâs recommended videographer, etc. doesnât mean that the schools shouldnât be taken at their word. This is their choice (usually determined by a lack of trust in what the school is asking for) - not a request for pro work by the school. As long as the auditors can see and hear your son or daughter, the look and apparent talent is what is going to get them through to the next phase.