This Important Slating Technique Grabs The Attention of Casting Directors

Hey, my name is Aaron Marcus, and in this video I'm going to be sharing with you how a slate can make or break your on-camera audition. You know, whether it's for film or television, it can make a huge difference. And at the end of this video, I'm also going to be showing you 2 different techniques that successful actors use when they are slating. For film, TV, or even commercial projects. They're powerful and they'll be really, really helpful to you. They will be towards the end of the video. Before I officially get started, if you haven't subscribed to my channel yet, please subscribe. Click the bell, the notification button. That way, every time I upload a new video, you will be notified. And after you've watched the video, if you've found found it to be helpful to you, please like it, and that will help spread the information to other people as well. That's why I'm doing this, to share information with other people in the industry. So before I get into the techniques about slating, let me just quickly tell you what a slate is all about and why it's so important. So Slate is a way of identifying the actor for the audition, you know, and the slate can be many, many different things. Sometimes the casting director will ask the actor just to say their name. Sometimes it's their name and the role that they're playing. Maybe it's their name, the role, and their height. The reason why they ask you for your height is they want to make sure that you match up well with the other actors in the scene. It could be all 3 of those things and where's your location. It could be all 4 of those things and the name of your agent. Maybe it's even in your slate, they want you to say, are you willing to work as a local hire? Meaning that they don't want to fly you in, pay for transportation, put you up in a hotel. Maybe it's a smaller role. And they prefer to save money and try to cast it locally. It can be one of many, many, many, many different things. The important thing is, number one, always be honest, you know, with the information you're giving them. And 2, make sure that you follow all of the directions, including if, if you're doing a home audition and you're shooting the video, Um, you know, make sure that you even label your file properly if they ask for a separate file. Quite often they do. They'll ask for the audition in one file and then the slate in a separate file, and they will want it to be labeled a very specific way. Always follow it to the T because I do know sometimes casting directors will just toss, toss things out. They will delete things if, if things aren't followed properly. So that's the reason why people have you slate. Here's, here's something that's really important. It's a subtle thing, and it's something that I start doing recently. I wish I had done this for, for a very long time because I think it's powerful. If you are asked to slate your name and the role that you were reading for Instead of just doing what most people do— and once again, I'm not doing any acting here, I'm just, just saying it out loud so you can see it. You know, if I'm reading for the role of Dr. Barnes, quite often people, you know, would say, oh, hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, I'm reading for the role of Dr. Barnes, I'm reading for the character Dr. Barnes, whatever it is. I don't do that. Here's what I do. You know, hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, I'm Dr. Barnes. I'm not reading for the role of that character. I am that character. And I tell you, it's, it's subtle. It's very subtle, but it's, it's sending a message to both the casting director and hopefully the director will see it as well, that you are that character. You are the right person for this role. Now, saying that is not getting you the job, you know, but I think it sends a really positive message, and I think it sounds much, much, much better than, well, I'm just reading for the role of this character. So I wanted to make sure I shared that with you as well. So with the techniques, there are 2 philosophies with slating. And before I actually show you the technique, some people, they just give out the information without any thought at all. They just kind of mumble through it. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus. I'm reading for the role of Dr. Bart. And the key thing is, this is the first part of your audition. And if you lose people in the slate, you might lose them for your entire audition. If you don't pronounce things properly, if you kind of mumble your way through it, they might be thinking, wait a minute, who, who is this person? And then meanwhile, you're halfway through your audition, they're still trying to figure out who you are. It's complicated. You don't sound professional. So make sure people understand you very clearly when you are doing your slate. So the 2 ways that people typically slate— and, and I wouldn't say one is right and one is wrong, absolutely not, because people have tremendous success doing either technique. I'm going to be sharing with you— and by the way, just so you know, I never tell people what to do. It's not my place to do that. What I will do though is I'm going to share with you both options. I'm going to share with you 2 slating techniques that different people use, and I'm going to tell you the advantages and disadvantages of each and why I use one specific technique for every slate that I do. And then you decide. What's best for you, and you might even change it up, you know, just depending on the role. So some people, some actors firmly believe that they want to slate in character, so that way as soon as they start giving out the information in the slate in the character that they are reading for, people, people will immediately think That's the person. So let me just show you a quick example of slating in character, and then I'll tell you a little bit more about it. Okay, so let's say your character is shy, maybe he's nervous, maybe he's a little bit scared, and you want to slate in character. And let's say for this particular slate, the casting director asks you just to say your name. And that's it. So maybe it would go something like this. Hi, um, I'm Aaron Marcus. So that's one way of slating in character. Now the tricky thing with that is 2 things. Let's say you are an aggressive character, you're angry, and you walk in there, you insult people, you know, you're scaring people, you know, sometimes that could work against you. Once again, I know people who've had tremendous success doing it, and, you know, they go in there and people get it and they go, yeah, that's the person, and they get hired for the job. It's riskier. When you do that, absolutely riskier. The other thing is when you read in character, they might not be 100% sure of your acting skills, and they might think that is the person. And, you know, as you probably know, when you're on a set, sometimes the director might give you some information And ask you to make adjustments to your character. Sometimes they just feel like the character would be better doing something different, and they want to share that information with you and watch you, you know, make that change. Sometimes they just want an option, you know, a second option, just in case, because they're not 100% sure. Whatever it is, if, if they think that you are that character, that doesn't necessarily tell them that you are going to be able to make those changes on a set. Here's another way that people audition— I'm sorry, that people slate for their, you know, right before their audition. And it could be you go in and you slate as yourself, just warm, friendly, inviting kind of guy. And then Once you start your read, then you go into character. So maybe it would go something like this. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus. Then you look away, take a beat, boom, then you get started in character. Okay, so that's me slating as myself. Typically, the way that I view it is I think about I'm at a party. I meet somebody new. I introduce myself to them. And the way that I do it is I might say to that person, oh, what's your name? And they say, Jeff. Oh, hi. Hi, Jeff. I'm Aaron Marcus. I'm responding to meeting somebody because that's what you're doing in the slate. You are introducing yourself to somebody else or other people. And what I find is it's very effective if you do it in a friendly, warm, inviting kind of way. Once again, you're meeting somebody at a party, you're introducing yourself to them. You know, it's not one of these, hello, my name is Aaron Marcus. I am reading for the role of Dr. Bart. I mean, Nobody's going to take you seriously if you go that route. So I like to do it in a way where when they watch my slate, they go, I like this guy. He seems like a nice person. He seems like somebody I'd want to spend a couple of days or a couple of weeks with on a project. Seems like somebody who's easy to work with, someone that's going to be fun. You know, or just somebody that I can depend on, seems like a straightforward kind of person, genuine kind of per— that's the kind of image I like to give off. And then what I will do, as you saw, you know, in, in the sample, then I take a slight break, you know, look away from the camera, and then go into the read. Then I start acting. And What they're able to see is I'm making an adjustment right there. They are seeing my acting skills, and, and I think it makes it easier for them to hire me because they know that I can take direction. I can make adjustments, uh, if, if required and, and if asked. So So the 2 techniques, either you go in there and you do your slate in character, or you go in as yourself. And once again, you're just introducing yourself to somebody in a nice, friendly way. And if this helps you, think in your head right before you do your slate. Oh, what's your name? Hear that in your head. What's your name? And then they respond once again in your head, and then you respond back to them. Oh, hi, I'm Aaron Marcus. Nice friendly way. So anyhow, those are the 2 techniques. I hope you found this helpful. If you haven't subscribed, click the subscription button, click the little bell. If you, if you enjoyed this, please like it. Feel free To share this information with your friends throughout social media. That's why I'm doing this. Look, I've been very fortunate. I've been a full-time actor for over 34 years, and I like learning from other people, sharing information, and I am continuing to build an acting and commercial modeling family here. And so, you know, if you— have some information that you can share with other people? Are there certain techniques that you use for a slate? Are there certain types of ways of slating that you found more helpful? Please share it below, and that way we can continue to grow as an acting family here and just share information. Because for me, that's what it's all about— just trying to help other people have success as well. Very, very last thing. If you can, hey, I would love it if you supported this channel. There is a PayPal link for a donation at the bottom. And once again, if you can, great. Whatever amount is good for you would be wonderful. I greatly appreciate it. Just click the link, and I really would appreciate you being a part and support the Acting and Modeling and Quick Tips channel. So anyhow, I'm Aaron Marcus. Can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.