Get Taped! now offering VO and Teleprompter services

Brooke and I at Get Taped! have been upgrading our equipment. We can now record VOs for $10 a pop, and we’re super excited about offering a Teleprompter for $25/audition. This is in addition to our other services:

Auditions under 5 lines: $10

Auditions 5 lines or more: $20

Slates (aka the Talking Headshot): $75 through March 31st. Starting April 1 the price is going up to $90.

For a full list of services, please visit our website at www.get-taped.com. Also, for actors that come to us often, we are known for discounting our services. We are full-time actors ourselves, and are sensitive to the financial strain multiple auditions can put on an actor.

Lastly, it is relevant to note that we give you up to 30min for your audition appointment (60min for Slates). We aim to make the actor feel very comfortable. We also are willing to do several takes, and give you the option to watch back your footage. Arguably, we are the best readers in town because we actually engage the actor in the scene. Actors who have used other services prefer us almost unanimously. However, our slots fill up very fast when breakdowns are released, so contact us ASAP when you know you’ll need to Get Taped!

Educating actors through humor

Hi. My name is Matthew Cornwell, and I’m an actor.

Doesn’t it sometimes feel like you need a 12-step program just to cope with being an actor?

I’ve only been in Atlanta for 11 years, but in that time it has been a constant struggle to not become jaded as an actor. Being an actor alone would be enough, but being on the other side of the camera only exacerbates the problem. I worked behind the camera at Houghton for a couple years, I’ve been teaching beginner actors for over 5 years, and I’ve even run casting sessions at Stilwell when Brian Beegle was sick. What I’ve seen from both sides of the industry often infuriates me, saddens me, frustrates me, and constantly makes me question whether any of it makes sense.

However, this past May, I finally figured out how to channel all that negative energy into something positive. My wife, Brooke Jaye Taylor, and I decided to create a web series about all the nonsense that happens in this industry. Initially it was meant to be an educational tool, but it quickly grew into more than that. We call it Becky & Barry, and we launched our first episode yesterday (9/15).

If you’re an actor, don’t just watch it for the entertainment value. Realize that everything you see is based on an anecdote from real life. In fact, through discussions with Brian Beegle and Kelly Tippens, we quickly realized that no idea was too far-fetched. And after getting a sneak preview of the series, Mystie Buice gave us the perfect quote that sums up the series:

“It’s a ringside seat to the industry and all the lovable and maddening things in it.”

So enjoy the first episode (and many more to come) and share it with your actor friends, but ask yourself whether you are currently making the same mistakes as the actors you see in Becky & Barry:

http://blip.tv/beckyandbarry

Matthew Cornwell

WHY DO I NEED IMPROV???

While teaching class recently, an actor asked me point blank, “why do I need improv?” First, let me share some misconceptions about improv:

• Improv has to be funny

• Improv is about playing games

• Improv is like stand-up comedy

• Improv is separate from acting

I could detail whey they’re misconceptions, but for the sake of brevity, just know that the above statements are FALSE. Now, let’s move on to some of the benefits of improv training:

1) The most obvious reason: you have to do improv in an audition. So often commercial auditions involve some amount of improv. Also, it’s very common to be on a TV or Film set and be asked to improvise a scene, or the director might say “just add a little something extra”. No improv training? Well, you might clam up, or make very safe choices that don’t add anything, and certainly don’t make you stand out amongst other actors.

2) Improv training teaches you how to be present in the moment. The vast majority of actors do not understand how to be “present”. They sit at home rehearsing and rehearsing, trying to lock into place their perfect performance. Then they try so desperately to recreate that performance in the audition room. That’s not acting. That’s re-enacting. When auditioning or on set, you need to be ready to embrace the environment, and welcome new stimuli that will help to shape your performance in the moment, keeping it spontaneous, or even…improvised? If you fight what’s happening in the moment, you’re completely trapped in your head, and at best you will look like a good actor delivering a good performance, as opposed to a real character living and breathing on film. Sounds like Meisner, right? (and if you don’t know Meisner, you should) I’m NOT suggesting you ad lib dialogue in a scripted audition. In general, that’s not a good idea. I’m merely suggesting that the emotional content, the reactions, the physicality, etc, be improvised.

3) Without improv training, it’s a fair assumption that you have a pretty narrow emotional comfort zone. That is, you default to a select few emotions when working on a script, and most of your reads are very similar to each other. This is not catastrophic if you’re going out for the same roles on a weekly basis. But as we know, in this industry you’re going to be thrown curveballs periodically, and if you try to default to your same comfort zone, you won’t impress anyone. Improv forces you to be creative, and to stretch that emotional comfort zone. In a single improv class you have the chance to experience more emotions than in a whole year of auditions. Working that emotional muscle every week will have a huge impact on not only your range of emotions, but also your ability to react truthfully in the moment to what’s happening in the scene.

I could go on, but I’m afraid I’ve exceeded the attention span of the average person. The moral of the story is that if you have no improv training on your resume, you have not reached your full potential as an actor. And you can’t get a “quick fix” by taking a single workshop, or even a 6-week class. Improv will take months and months of training before you truly awaken your hidden potential. I personally learned from Brian Chapman at the Professional Actor’s Studio. Don’t take my word for it, though. Audit classes at as many places as possible. Wherever you decide to train, make sure the emphasis of the class is on good acting and good scenework. Beware of the teacher who is only concerned with being funny, or playing lots of improv games (unless your goal is to join an improv troupe and perform onstage). Improv is an art form, and you need to find a teacher who understands that before you can truly benefit from it.

Where’s your Actor Slate?

ATTENTION ACTORS!

Do you have an actor slate yet? If so, are you happy with it? Does it really, truly represent who you are? If not, you need one. Brooke Jaye Cornwell, my wife, uploaded her new actor slate to her personal website in mid-January, and already booked a job – WITHOUT AN AUDITION - from her slate.

As we all know, more and more auditions are done either at the agency, or self-taped (we offer that too!). The casting director and/or client never gets to meet you. The job of the actor slate is to allow potential clients to get to know you – the real you – in lieu of the meeting you in person. This is especially helpful for the out-of-town clients.

We shoot and edit our slates much the same way that Chelsea Studios does it for Actors Access in Los Angeles, but at a fraction of the price. For the month of February ONLY, we are offering this service for $50! After February, the price will go up. So ACT NOW! Your session will include a pre-interview so that you know what questions to expect, 20+ minutes of on-camera footage, full editing services to whittle that footage down to 1-2min, and delivery of your finished slate digitally. For an extra $25, we’ll edit 2 versions of your slate (a short and long version).

Contact us today to lock in your $50 rate (February appointments only). We can be reached at get_taped@comcast.net . Here is my actor slate that I just uploaded to YouTube:

Need copy of that TV show/movie now?

For those of you who haven’t the time or technical know-how to lift your footage from a TV show or movie that’s currently online, I’m offering the service for $5/scene. Only $10 for unlimited scenes in the same project. If you have a lot of footage to grab, I will work out a sweet deal that will be well worth the money. I will provide a full-quality version of each clip that can be used for a demo reel or Actors Access, as well as a smaller file that can be used as an e-mail attachment. In addition, if you have multiple scenes from the same project, I will edit them together to make one larger clip. Feel free to see examples on my website: http://www.matthewcornwell.com/matthewcornwell/Video.html

I have a Paypal account for simplicity, so that everything can happen electronically. E-mail me if you’re interested: mcornwell@mac.com

ACT NOW, because once the requests start piling up, I will likely need to raise the rate.

Getting your “copy” from the internet

I recently had the need to get copy for projects that were currently on the air. It took awhile, but I figured out a way to get footage from a website that is either using Flash movies or some other type of “embedded” file. First, you need to download RealPlayer Downloader and RealPlayer Converter. Open the Downloader after installation. Then, you need to search on Google for a link to your episode (or film) that does not have commercials embedded. So Hulu is out, as well as the network websites. YouTube works great, but I doubt you’ll find network shows on there that aren’t protected in some way. If you search long enough, you can find a website with an unprotected file. When you find the link, you’ll know because in the RealPlayer Downloader window, your video title will pop up, with the option to convert the file to something usable (NOTE: the whole video has to load first before you can convert it). That will automatically open RealPlayer Converter. The whole process can take a little while, especially if you’re downloading a whole episode. Once it’s downloaded to your computer, you can chop it up using your video software of choice.

In the end, you may not find the best quality file online, but it’s a great solution for getting your clips together NOW, instead of having to wait for the DVDs to become available.

Incidentally, there is software out there that claims to remove the “protection” from files that you’ve purchased (off of iTunes, for example), but it runs around $30. This method described here is FREE.

Shameless Promotions from Matt

Hey everyone.

Just wanted to let you know about my ongoing improv shows with the troupe PLAYING IN TRAFFIC at The Village Theatre (www.villagecomedy.com) on Thursdays @ 8:30pm, and at the Professional Actor’s Studio (www.proactorsstudio.com) on Saturdays @ 7:30pm starting May 2. You can find all the info at our website, www.pitimprov.com

You can also follow me on Twitter for updates, and musings about the industry:

http://twitter.com/MatthewCornwell

Follow-up to being prepared for auditions

The quote from the casting director posted earlier could literally be from every single casting director in the Southeast. I’m sure they all face the same problems with actors. I know I’ve been paired with actors who are unprepared (and it’s infuriating), or simply overheard them in the waiting room confessing to not preparing. So here’s some more reality checks:

1) Get a cell phone that allows you to check e-mail. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for not checking e-mail everyday. Unless you are booked out for certain dates, and will be out of the country, there’s no reason to be unavailable. As we all know, the digital age has allowed clients to give shorter and shorter notice for auditions, so if you’re serious about this industry, you better get an e-mail enabled phone (I recommend the iPhone

2) For 30sec or 60sec commercials, memorize the script. Chances are you have under 10 sentences to commit to memory. If there’s a lot more, still attempt to memorize it, especially if you have the luxury of more than 24 hours.

3) Never blame it on the agent. If you show up to Stillwell, and Melissa asks if you got the script, and you say “no”, or “my agent didn’t send it til an hour ago”, you don’t think that will get back to Houghton? So not only are you coming across as unprepared, but you’re also damaging your relationship with Houghton.

4) Just because Houghton sends you to read Person #1, don’t be surprised if the casting associate makes you read Person #2. Don’t be adversarial and say “But my agent told me to prepare #1″, just do what they say.

5) Halloween only comes once a year. That’s the day you can wear whatever costume you want. Auditions, however, are not the place to get overly dressed up (unless instructed). Don’t mistake a hospital commercial as a chance to stop by Party City and buy a white coat and stethoscope. The safe answer to “should I dress the part?” is that you should dress towards the character with clothes you would normally wear in public. Auditioning for Army Wives as a soldier? Wear a green t-shirt, not full battle gear. It’s a judgment call, but just don’t go overboard.

Protocol for Auditions, esp. callbacks with the Director

The other day I got to run camera for an audition while the Director was in the room. It allowed me to see how actors behave when the client is in the room. Here are some things I felt needed to be addressed:

1) Always bring at least 2 headshots to EVERY AUDITION, including those at Houghton. I got a couple blank stares this time around when I asked for 2 headshots. Yes, normally we don’t need them, but always be prepared. And don’t make us pull from your folder at Houghton. That’s depleting the headshots we need to send to clients.

2) Do NOT bring baggage into the room. I’m referring to the bad (or good) things going on in your life (although bringing lots of personal items into the room is not favorable either). Sometimes actors decide to offer up how their day/week/life is going, and usually it’s unprovoked. Especially if what you have to share is negative, keep your mouth shut. If things are that bad, don’t come to the audition. 

3) On the same topic, don’t engage in a lot of small talk with the client, unless they are driving the conversation. There’s a good chance that 5 or so people are in the waiting room, so minimize the time you’re in the room. A short audition is not a bad audition. In fact, the actors who were in the room the shortest amount of time were the best prepared and gave the best reads.

4) If you get an e-mail from Houghton about an audition, and there is nothing to indicate that it’s an improvised audition, that means there’s a script. That means you should look for an attachment. If you don’t find the attachment, or can’t open it, you need to e-mail the agent back immediately to resolve it. What you should NEVER EVER do is wait until you’re next at the audition and then tell me (or Vince or Chase) that you didn’t get a script. It’s extremely unprofessional.

Overall, and I’ve said this in a prior post, when I open that door and say “next”, you should be prepared to come straight in and knock it out in one take. Don’t ever let me or any casting director, producer, director, etc., know that you’re about to give anything but your best. Don’t give ANY excuses, and don’t blame your agent for messing up your appointment time or not getting you a script.

Eye contact? We don’t need no stinkin’ eye contact!

Okay, so this tip may initially seem contradictory to what some of you have been taught as actors. Basically, my advice is the following:

STOP STARING AT THE OTHER CHARACTER SO MUCH

Too many actors think that 100% eye contact = a connected read. WRONG! Don’t believe me? Next time you’re in a conversation with someone, I want you to notice how much eye contact you get from them. Better yet, stare at them constantly, never break your eye contact no matter what! Feels unnatural, doesn’t it? Then why do it in the audition or on the set????? Still don’t believe me? You ever watch a scene filmed in a moving car? Weren’t the two characters connected even though they rarely looked at each other?

What 100% eye contact really equates to is “actor trying to maintain focus by staring at the other person”. You need to be relaxed and natural with your eye contact. Sure, different scenes will affect how much eye contact you give, but don’t fall into the trap of giving it 100% of the time. 

A great concrete example is the scene in “Heat” between DeNiro and Pacino. This is a great scene in the movie. The first time these guys have ever been on film together. They’re playing a cat and mouse game as Pacino (the cop) chases DeNiro (the bad guy). They take time out to have coffee. Here’s a YouTube link:

Notice how natural their eye contact is. Don’t you agree they’re connected throughout this scene, even when they don’t look at each other? So again I ask you, why would you burn holes in the other character by staring at them so much?

NOTE: the same can be true for not enough eye contact, especially if it’s because you’re stuck in your script. There’s definitely a balance to be found.

If this concept seems odd to you, or you’re confused, then it probably means you need some private coaching.

How bad do you want it?

It’s been awhile since I last posted. Today I want to address the overall preparedness of the actors I see when I run camera. Disclaimer: my posts are never directed at anyone in particular. They are based on numerous auditions, and trends that I see amongst all actors. So please do not take this stuff personally. Incidentally, if you do take it personally, this is probably the wrong business for you.

Lets first talk about acting in general. In a nutshell, you need to be crazy to pursue this as a career. You’re welcoming failure into your life. Lets face it, if you book 1 out of 10 auditions, you’re doing great. That means a 90% failure rate. What other industry celebrates that?

With that in mind, something drives you to keep trying. Maybe fame, or money, or the art. Doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that you have chosen to pursue this, but many of you sure aren’t showing it. If you’re booking like crazy, you probably don’t need to read on. But if you are at a point where you’re wondering why you’re either (a) not getting sent out, or (b) never booking, then read on. I’m going to address the three major categories we get sent on as actors: commercials, industrials, and TV/Film.

For commercials, preparing is generally the easiest. The copy is short, a lot of times the dialogue is less than 3 lines, and “look” has so much to do with your success in that area. Comedy is king, so having that inherent comedic timing will get you far. I’m not overly concerned with actors auditioning for commercials.

For industrials, things are different. You could have upwards of 2 pages of copy or more. Most of the time they want great memorization skills (in addition to great diction, presentation skills, warmth, professionalism, etc.). So if you see an audition notice that requires memorization skills or ear-prompter, don’t bother showing up with your script in hand (and don’t ask me for a copy of the script). Memorize it. Even if it’s 2 pages. Even if your internet broke last night. Even if your printer was out of ink. Even if you had a big meeting at work and had to rush to Houghton on your lunch break. Bottom line: How bad do you want it?

TV and Film is the big one. It’s not only what actors desire the most, but it’s also where they fall short the most. Within 5 seconds of the start of your read, I know your chances of a callback. And it’s not because I’ve learned some magical technique for analyzing actors. Instead, you have to realize that you can not fool a single viewer into believing your read unless you’re PREPARED.

Now, the word “prepared” has a more complex definition when it comes to TV/Film. I can take 5 minutes and be prepared for a Ga Lottery commercial. I can take an hour or two with a 2-page industrial and spend all that time memorizing and voila! I’m prepared. For TV and Film, though, that won’t cut it. First and foremost, get off script. Period. No excuses (remember: how bad do you want it?). Some casting directors may not mind if you’re on script. So what? Would you rather be handicapped by your script, or liberated from it so that you are free to make real, instinctual choices? Some casting people may prefer you hold your script. Great! Hold it, but still have it memorized.

Now, not everyone is perfect. Circumstances do arise to prevent you from having the time to memorize. Then you need to stop right now and check out my previous post about good and bad cold reads. Because if you walk into an audition that I’m taping, and you have your head buried in your script on the first line, your tape WILL NOT BE SEEN BY THE CLIENT. Not because I’m mean, but because it is impossible to create a connection with the reader (and therefore the audience) with your head buried in the script. As a side note, it may come as a shock that we don’t send every single read to the client. The reason is that if we feel you fell short, it not only hurts your chances of being requested by that casting director in the future, but it also hurts Houghton’s reputation.

Now that you’re memorized, the rest falls on your extensive training…wait…what’s that? You haven’t taken a class in years? You’ve never taken a class? Okay. No worries. You can’t afford classes, or they don’t fit into your schedule, or you took classes in college, so what’s the big deal? I mean, you audition 5 times a week, that’s real-world training! You don’t need a class, right! Hmmm…..interesting logic. If you trained for a marathon 10 years ago, could you wake up tomorrow and run 26 miles? Just because a basketball team may play 2 games a week, do they stop practicing? You need to realize that if you aren’t training regularly, your acting muscle has atrophied. Now think of the actors you’re up against at Houghton, AMT, People Store, and the other 45+ agencies in the Southeast competing for those roles. How can you ever expect to book consistently for TV and Film unless your acting muscle is in shape? Heck, it needs to be on steroids. So again, I ask you: HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

Lastly, I do realize that the auditions at Houghton can be deceptively relaxed. That is, you feel like you can show up late, ask someone to print you a copy of the script, have 7 takes before getting it right, etc. But think about it for a second. It’s YOUR AGENT. If you show up late and unprepared for them, that puts a bad taste in the mouth of the very person you need to be impressing the most! The audition represents ONE JOB, but the impression you leave with me, Chase, Vince, Verda, Deb, Mystie, Sally, and Gail will affect EVERY FUTURE AUDITION. So being unprepared at Houghton sends a clear message that you really don’t want it bad enough…

What makes a cold read bad?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of actors I see on a weekly basis (both in the classes I teach and at Houghton) that do not have good cold reading skills. There are a lot of factors that can make a cold read bad, but today I just want to focus on technical aspects. Specifically, staying out of the script. Below is an example of a bad cold read (done for the purposes of this post):

Bad Cold Read

Now watch the better cold read:

Good Cold Read

It should be blatantly obvious what the differences are. The read itself could certainly be better, but the first thing to notice is that I am out of script on the first paragraph. Keep in mind that I spent less than 10 minutes looking at the script before taping the second take. The lesson is that you should ALWAYS HAVE THE FIRST FEW SENTENCES MEMORIZED. If you don’t, you make no connection with the audience (or your scene partner if it’s for TV/Film) from the outset, and you fight an uphill battle to salvage that callback.

By starting with your eyes out of script, you establish and IMMEDIATE connection, and the audience is engaged. Furthermore, by establishing that connection early, the decision-makers will be more willing to cut you slack when you have to look down at your script later. And you should be familiar enough with the copy that you only have to glance down for a few words here or there.

My first take is atrocious, but you’d be surprised how many actors think that’s an acceptable cold read (or they’re unaware of how buried they are in the script). This becomes even more of an issue with TV and film sides. If you want to ensure your audition gets sent to the client, then you better have spent time with the script. Enough to enable you to establish a strong connection from the start.

One last thing to notice is that gray is not a good color to wear against that blue backdrop

A quick note on slates

Just so everyone knows, at Houghton your slate is framed most often like this:

Usually it’s even tighter than that. This means that it doesn’t matter what your pants look like, or whether your shirt is tucked in. It also means that when I am framing you up, you shouldn’t move at all from that position when you slate. Too often I cue the actor to slate, and they shift their weight to one side, which sometimes takes them completely out of frame.

One last note on slates. Pay attention to what I ask for. Often I will ask only for name, or just name and Houghton. Some actors decide to tell their life story in their slate. While some of you were taught to be original in your slates, don’t make it longer than it has to be. If you take longer than 3 seconds to slate, you’re doing too much.

Some quick acting notes from Matt

When I started taping at Houghton, initially it was all commercial/industrial stuff. When I took over taping TV and Film, some issues started to arise with auditions that I hadn’t noticed previously. I’m going to try and impart some tips to everyone using this blog. Here are some initial thoughts:

1) Take control of your audition. Unlike auditioning at Stillwell or a client’s office, you have the benefit of being in the room with someone from Houghton. You should enter that room having full knowledge of what you are going to do. You know the setup in there. Don’t come in asking “so what are we doing?”. That is a death sentence! Even if you give a good read, you will never stand out among the dozens of other “good” reads that the casting director will see.

2) I cannot stress enough that taking a class that focuses on cold-reading skills is paramount! Would you enter a weightlifting competition without going to the gym for several months/years beforehand? Your acting “muscle” needs the same workout. And while weekend workshops have their place, without constant reinforcement, your acting “muscle” will never grow. Some of you are getting smoked by your peers in that audition room because your “muscle” is flabby. Okay, enough with the analogies

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more tips!