Aaron Marcus breaks down SAG-AFTRA's new self-tape rules: sides are capped at 8 pages for first auditions and 12 for callbacks, you have 48 hours to submit (72 for minors), and slates must include your name, height, and residence. Casting directors can't require stunts or nudity, and you can ask if a role is already cast or request an in-person audition instead.
Hey, in this video I'm going to be sharing with you the new SAG-AFTRA self-tape rules. These are rules that you absolutely need to know whether you're union or non-union. Stick around to the end, I've got a great bonus video for you. It's, hey, do you need help creating great lighting for home auditions? Here are 3 great fixes. Okay, let's get started. Hey, I'm Aaron Marcus and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. Uh, I am in, uh, giving workshops in Burbank right now, so I figured this would be an appropriate time to share this, uh, video, self-tape video with you and understand the new laws that SAG-AFTRA negotiated. So I wrote out a little cheat sheet. Uh, certainly these aren't all of them. I didn't talk about dancers, um, and there were some other things that I didn't get into. So I'm going to use My little card here and share with you some really important information. Hey, before I get started, if you haven't done this yet, don't forget, subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when I upload a new video. And if you like it, give it a thumbs up because that's actually very helpful. Okay, so the first, first new rule I'm going to be talking about is how long the sides can be. Those are the words that you use when you are auditioning. If it's a first audition, then they can't— it can't be more than 8 pages long. If you get a callback, then you can't have more than 12 pages to read. If it's a low-budget project, it can't be more than 5 pages long. Another rule: you have 48 hours to submit the audition, not including holidays, not including weekends. If you are a minor, then you've got 72 hours. This is interesting. I don't think I would ever do it, but I think it's interesting. If either you or your agent asks casting, hey, have they already selected the actor for the role, they have to tell you. It's just part of the negotiations. They cannot ask you to perform a stunt during your audition, which makes a lot of sense to me, but I'm glad it's an actual rule. And even just with wardrobe, I mean, they can't ask you to do anything in the nude. It can't be more revealing than just a bathing suit. In the slate— and I'm gonna just have to read this because there's so many things in here— I'm not quite sure why this is in there, but hey, look, it's a rule. I'm glad they at least have some of the stuff in there. So here are some of the things that they can ask you for in a slate: your name, your height, your residence, where you're shooting the audition, if you have any special skills. If you are a minor, then they can ask you for your age and a birth date. Also in the slate, They can ask for a slate with chest to the top of your head. They can ask for full body. That's really primarily it. Look, the world has changed. I have not been in a casting director's office for 5 years now. Now, if, if you don't have the ability to shoot a home audition or self-tape, you don't want to You can request to be seen by the casting director. Sometimes they will allow some people into a casting office. It is a limited amount, or sometimes they can offer you a live virtual audition so that way you can still ask questions, you can still get notes and things like that. But honestly, I do have some mixed feelings about it. I do Like the idea of not having to travel, you know, maybe 9 hours round trip or 18 hours or 20 hours round trip for an audition. And instead, you know, spend an hour, um, preparing, shooting, editing, and uploading an audition and have the rest of the day where I can walk my dog and do whatever else I need to do. So it is absolutely essential that you know how to self-tape, which is why— and if you look up here, I've got a great bonus video for you. And the exact title is, if you need any help creating great lighting for home auditions, here are 3 easy fixes. So anyhow, I hope this was really helpful. If you have any thoughts about home auditions, self-tapes, please share it with us so we can learn from you. And that's all I wanted to share with you today. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya. See ya.
