Free · no signup · check before every tape
Is your self-tape setup ready?
Casting notices a bad setup before they notice the acting. Point your camera, say your slate, and get a tech score with the fixes that matter.
No account needed. A free account saves the score to your dashboard.
Check your setup before you tape
Framing, lighting, background, camera height and audio — scored in under a minute.
What we check
- Framing
- Mid-chest up, eyes in the upper third, landscape.
- Lighting
- Face lit from the front, brighter than the wall.
- Background
- Plain, uncluttered, nothing personal in frame.
- Camera & eyeline
- Lens at eye level, steady and level.
- Audio, measured
- Your voice level and room noise — actual decibels, not a guess.
Self-tape checklist
The score above checks the setup. Run this list with it, before you film and before you send.
Before you film
- Landscape, mid-chest up, eyes in the upper third.
- Lens at eye level. Stand about 5–7 feet back on the phone’s 1x lens.
- Face lit from the front and brighter than the wall. One soft light slightly above eye level. Ceiling lights off.
- Plain background. Nothing personal in frame.
- Reader right next to the lens, at lens height.
Before you send
- Slate included, unless the breakdown says not to.
- Only the scenes they asked for, in their order.
- Inside their time limit, if they set one.
- First frame is you, not a hand reaching for the phone.
- Watched all the way through on a laptop, and listened to on headphones.
- File named with your name, the role and the project.
Common questions
- How should I frame a self-tape?
- Mid-chest up, eyes in the upper third, landscape. Put the lens at eye level. Stand about 5 to 7 feet back and use the phone’s 1x lens so your face is not distorted.
- What does this self-tape check score?
- Framing, lighting, background, camera height and eyeline, and measured audio. It scores the setup. It does not score the performance.
- Should a self-tape be landscape or portrait?
- Landscape, unless the breakdown asks for a vertical frame. A portrait tape on a landscape monitor is mostly black bars.
- What should I check before I send a self-tape?
- Watch the whole file on a laptop, listen on headphones, include the slate unless they said not to, stay inside their time limit, and name the file with your name, the role and the project.
- Do I need an account to check my self-tape setup?
- No. The check runs without one. A free account saves the score to your dashboard.
Want feedback on the performance too? Try the full Self-Tape Analysis.