The most common slating practice

So you are walking into your ‘self-tape’ room of your apartment or living room. You have been rehearsing the lines for the audition in question, where you must play the basketball coach for the minor league team.

The whole script for the short film was incredible. And the backstory that this basketball coach has an alcohol problem, which he must hide behind everything else truly adds an extra layer to the characters complexity that made for some interesting rehearsals.

The whole workup to getting into that more cold and authoritative character took you some time to figure out. But once the memory of the old football coach came about from middle school, coupled with the history teacher that did smell of booze all those years ago — suddenly you have a clear person combined with both of these characters to draw from in your performance.

But before you film your self-tape it’s time to do the slate. Naturally, this slate will be submitted with the self-tape for this short film opportunity. Aside from the slate helping casting professionals keep track that you are the person who did the self-tape, and you are who they think you are, let’s unpack many other important questions that need to be addressed in making the perfect slate and how to go about doing that.

From basic instructional questions that need to be handled to the less defined areas of slate making — let’s explore how to make the perfect slate below:

1. Follow the slate instructions verbatim.

This means, if you are asked to list your name, your height, and then your age — that is exactly what you need to state and in that order.

2. A slate is a professional introduction.

A slate is not just a way for people to put a face to a name. Though that is highly important. It is a great way for an actor to make a first impression, introducing themselves and sharing their name in a way that can have a highly impactful effect in being remembered for that project and future to come.

3. Make the slate about the casting professionals and not you.

Being alone in your room, staring into a phone or a camera, the whole experience can be nerve-wracking and highly uncomfortable. You might be fixating on that pimple on your cheek which decided to arrive on the worst of days. And you may be worried about your hair or how wrinkled your backdrop might actually be. Instead of considering all of the things you are worried about, think about the person you are talking to. Stay focused on them and let your introduction be led with that feeling above everything else. Really, the fact that it feels like your receding hairline just increased higher on your forehead is not something they or anyone else will be thinking about. So just let go of all of that and think of them and only them when you are speaking.

4. Say your name like you mean it.

We all utter our first and last name thousands upon thousands of times in our lives. We say our names so often we do not even realize how we are pronouncing it or whether we are really enunciating it at all. Instead, we just go on auto-pilot and blow through our names as though the listener is just as uninterested as you yourself, for they too have heard it more times than they wish. This is furthest from the truth. Be clear in your pronunciation. Say your name slowly and clearly and try and connect with that imaginative person who is hearing it for the first time — because that will more than likely be the case.

5. The subtext to the slate is everything.

This means everything you are not saying but feeling and communicating with your eyes and your expression says more than the words you say. Saying, I am John Smith, I live in New York City, and I am 6 foot 2 inches can actually say, “I am excited for this opportunity. I want you to choose me because I am prepared and reliable.”

6. Have the character you are auditioning for bubbling underneath.

This means, as you give the required information for your slate — do it slightly in character. This will allow there to be far less of a build up to prepare for the self-tape to follow, rather than a huge shock between the slate and the audition itself where you hulk out of the ordinary person introducing himself to this larger than life, domineering basketball fanatic with a closeted whiskey problem. This also shows the casting director that you are prepared, you are living in character, but while still being you all the while which is never a bad thing.

Conclusion:

A slate is not just name, city and height. There are many other insights that casting directors draw from through an otherwise banal 15 second activity. Be sure to be sensitive to everything. Do not make it about you. And be sure to keep in mind of the above and you should be achieving a pretty darn good slate that will enhance your overall audition experience and get you that much closer to booking the role!