Time and time again, I see actors make these common mistakes that could be holding you back from being taken seriously as a professional actor. Let’s face it—competition is tough out there! So here’s a quick list of common mistakes that even seasoned actors make and the (very) easy fixes.

1. Shooting in 4K. I know you’ve got a great quality camera and you wanna bring your best—but in this case, it’s actually a hindrance. Shooting in too high of resolution simply results in wasting time. If you’re uploading directly on to a casting site like Actor’s Access, they compress it anyway (but it takes longer to upload). If you’re sending it to casting via WeTransfer or Hightail, it takes them longer to download—and unfortunately, a reason to skip watching your self-tape all together.
   
   FIX: Save yourself the trouble and shoot in 720p. Use your smartphone and simply go into the settings and switch it from 4K or 1080p.
   
2. Using eyelines that are too far away from camera. I know sometimes the sides saying you’re talking to someone beside you, or that you’re reading a book or something, but that doesn’t mean you need to look beside you or all the way down. You need to learn how to cheat to the camera.
   
   Choose eyelines that ideally leave both eyes visible at all times. You should never look directly into the camera (except for your slate), but slightly to either side of the camera, or just slightly down.
   
   FIX: In general, adding a piece of tape to the back of your camera, or, if you are using the front facing camera, looking at the centre of the screen is usually a perfect eyeline. Play around with different eyelines if the sides are giving you actions. Do a rehearsal and record yourself so you can watch it back and see what works best for this particular audition. Do this BEFORE your first take.
   
3. Using your non-actor family members as readers. Listen, I get it, sometimes you can’t get into a studio or your go-to reader isn’t available. But it can be very distracting to hear the sound of a child reading for the role of a doctor or a cop. On top of that, many times this person’s read can interfere with your own performance, especially if they’re stumbling with their words or reading too slow or fast.
   
   FIX: Create an actor community where you can offer to read for actors when they need it and vice versa. It’s nice to have friends to rehearse with as well. But if you’re in a jam, there’s always We Audition. It’s a subscription based service where you can get a reader almost any time of the day (because it’s a global community and night time for us is morning time for someone else). An added benefit is that you can offer to be a reader and make some extra money on the side as well!

Let me know in the comments which tip was your biggest take-away!

Until next time—Break a leg!