I am seeking any/all prescreen tips! Like, seriously, anything. What to/not to wear; the background, to verbally introduce/or not the monologue/song,…D put to together a very low tech package for Summer Intensives, but I honestly will have no idea what we are doing. The dance submission, especially, is so not in my wheelhouse.
- Solid color background with no furniture or wall art in the picture. Windows in the background can play havoc with proper lighting and result in dark faces.
- Face should be well lit (no shadows), make sure one or light sources shine on the face. Light sources directly overhead will likely cast facial shadows, so avoid those. Daylight coming in from *behind the camera* helps a lot, especially * indirect daylight*. Fluorescent lighting is not the best choice, but will do if that's all you have in the room.
- Most mobile phones shoot excellent video.
- Stabilize the camera or phone using a tripod or by resting it on a flat surface (don't hold it by hand). You can buy cheap adapters to attach phones to tripods at a camera store or Amazon for around $5.
- Although not required, a plug-in directional microphone will greatly help the sound quality for a mobile phone and even for most digital movie cameras (they tend to have cheap, fairly weak omnidirectional mics). A good iPhone mic is a Rhode VideoMic Me for around $59 from B&H Photo and other online stores. The omnidirectional mics on phones and most video cams will pickup any background noise, such as an air conditioning fan or even the sound of air moving through ducts, so turn off your a/c or heater while shooting the video.
- Position the camera such that you don't have to use zoom (or not much zoom) and try to get at least 3 feet of space between the subject and the wall. This will ensure the focus is on the subject and the wall will be less in focus than the subject.
- Film the subject from the approximately the top of the knees up, filling most of the frame - try to avoid a lot of empty space above the head of the subject. For dance videos or if the prescreen requirements stipulate it, you will want to get the entire body in the frame.
- Dress as you would for an audition, some people recommend using the same clothes for the prescreen as the audition on the chance it will stir a memory of the prescreen in the auditors - although whether or not this will make any difference is clearly debateable. Avoid fine stripes or other detailed patterns as these may cause *moire patterns* on the video - where the pattern in the clothing appears to move on its own or blurr during playback. Make sure hair is out of the face.
- You will probably need to edit the videos to cut out space at the beginning or end, for example, or composite several pieces into one video (different schools have different requirements). You can do this using basically any video editing package. There are many available. You don't need a fancy one. iMovie on Apple devices and Microsoft Movie Maker on PC's work well (MS Movie Maker is available for free download if it did not come with your version of Windows, i.e., Windows 10).
- Generally you should provide a slate for each video. If the video includes more than one piece, then do one slate for all the pieces at the beginning. If submitting separate videos, each video should have a slate. Carefully follow any and all instructions for prescreens, *some schools may stipulate very specific requirements for the composition of the video*.
- Most programs that require a dance video give tips or a summary of what to include. It pays to get some professional help with choreography from a dance instructor so that the dance looks well-put-together.
Video tips from getacceptd.com and theatremania.com:
https://getacceptd.com/starting-prescreen-prep-tips-mary-anna-dennard/
https://getacceptd.com/submit-with-confidence-looking-good-for-your-performing-arts-digital-portfolio/
http://www.theatermania.com/south-carolina-theater/tmu/12-2012/the-dos-and-donts-of-the-video-pre-screen_63921.html
Video tips from Matthew Edwards at Shenandoah can be found using Google: “PUTTING TOGETHER A COLLEGE AUDITION SCREENING VIDEO” and look for the link from *auditioningforcollege dot com/i. Matthew’s blog is a great all-around resource.
Here’s a thread from two years ago. Some of the technology used then may be a little out dated, but the timelines, tips and general information are still useful. Some people choose to pay someone to do their videos, but doing the video on an iPhone is perfectly adequate. In order to get a good sound balance you might prerecord the piano accompaniment so you can adjust the volume and the piano doesn’t overpower the singer - very common in recordings with “live” accompanist.
Thank you, @EmsDad & @mom4bwayboy!!