Welcome back! In the last post we talked about your first impression in the casting room. Now let’s talk a bit about the actual audition. Today I will discuss three topics: memorization, staying positive, and commercial improv. Here we go!
Do I need to memorize the script?
Hey, it doesn’t hurt! However, many times, you will see the lines for the first time at the actual audition. Maybe memorization isn’t your strongest skill. The good thing is, 99 percent of the time, the script will be written on a board near the camera. Woohoo! It’s like a cheat sheet. If the script is very long, it still may be a little tough to read off the board and look natural. If this is the case, I would tell you to use the Haber technique. This is a technique that I learned while training at the Margie Haber Studio. Here are the quick and dirty basics of the technique as it relates to commercial copy.
- Memorize your first line. Or, if that first line is especially long, memorize the first few words.
- Memorize your last line. Or last few words.
- Memorize the name of the product. But, you already know this if you read Part One.
- Memorize anything that sounds like it could be the company’s tag line (i.e. “I’m loving it” “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” or “Are you in good hands?”).
- Memorize any key terms or selling points so that you can “make eye contact” with the person watching at home.
I know that sounds like a lot, but it really won’t feel like it once you’ve practiced a little. The gist of this technique is that, in life, we’re not always looking directly into each other’s eyes. We’re not “memorized”. But this technique helps you to stay on the script for longer and looking up for longer, which will be less distracting to watch. Also, remember that casting understands that after booking the job, you will show up to set completely memorized.
Below is an example of an actual commercial script. I’ve underlined the parts of the script that I would have memorized so that I could be relaxed and looking into camera. On the other words, I feel free to look at the board and not be worried that I will seem unprepared.
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Okay, that wasn’t so bad, right? Now, let’s try a harder one.
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Go ahead and try reading these scripts in the mirror. You don’t have to look up on the exact words that I’ve underlined. We are just trying to give the illusion that you are memorized and reduce any “head-bobbing” that comes with looking back and forth between the camera and the script. It is the back and forth motion when you are going to the script that makes it look unpolished. So, you can cheat by learning when are the best times to go to the board and get your line without ruining the rhythm.
Staying positive in the spot.
First things first. Smile! If you are working on a spokesperson spot, smile as if your income depends on it. Smiles are contagious and the company you’re representing is hoping that you’ll make that person on the couch smile too. They are hoping that will make them associate their product with happy feelings. Get it? So smile! Especially when you are saying the name of the product. You’re going to feel like a goon, but you’ll be a working goon. Like this girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3-SjVD9bag
Secondly, I want you to practice your “fake negative face”. This is where, even though you’re saying something negative like “I used to have terrible migraines”, you still say it with a bit of a smile. The idea here is that because of this product you’re speaking about, the pain is gone. You’re not still in pain, so you won’t have a much of a negative look on your face. To put it in simple terms, if we muted this commercial, it should never look as if you dislike the product. The only exception will be if the casting director literally tells you to act as if you’re in pain. Then, you can go crazy.
The same can be said for scene format commercials. An example of these commercials would be the “More or Less” Wendy’s spot. Red and her friend are teasing the guys. They have a bit of a sarcastic exchange but it’s never actually mean. If you muted this commercial, you wouldn’t think they hated each other. This is a problem I see in a lot of commercial auditions where actors confuse commercial auditioning with their sitcom training. In commercials, you are very rarely playing “bitchy”. Remember that and you’ll be fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-BRRonPEQg
And this leads me into…
Improv for commercials.
There will come a time, a-grasshoppa, when you will be asked to “make it your own”. This is commercial speak for “we want you to improv but we can’t legally tell you to improv. So…like…improv!”.
The problem is that many actors at commercial auditions have little to no improv experience. Which wouldn’t bother me at all if my livelihood didn’t depend on my partnered audition with you. If you can’t afford improv classes right now, at least remember these two things.
1. YES…and. Whatever your partner says is true. They are not lying. If I insinuate in a Bud Light “football game watching” scenario that you are my boyfriend…you ARE my boyfriend. Don’t try to be hilarious by saying that you are actually dating the other girl in the scene. This isn’t the CW, it’s a national commercial with thousands of dollars on the line and my coffers are getting low. So just say YES!
2. Give and take. You don’t have to talk the whole time for casting to notice that you are a good improviser. We are supposed to be working together. It’s like a normal conversation that you may have; first you say something, then I say something and so on. Do not dominate the audition. I can’t believe how many times I’ve been asked to improv in a commercial audition and got steamrolled by the girl who had no idea how to improvise. I couldn’t get a single word in and we both walked away without a job. If you let me in, I promise I’ll do my job and make you look good.
Other tips to remember when “making it your own”:
- Remember that most commercials are 15 seconds or 30 seconds. Your improv should not be two minutes.
- Only once in my life has casting ever told me that I could swear in a commercial improv. How many commercials to you see with an F-bomb in them? Just don’t do it.
- Be normal! If you’re the one “passing the beer to everyone at a party”. Let’s give one to everyone like you’d normally do in real life and not leave someone hanging with no beer. Sorry, I’m still ticked about that happening to me.
Welp, that’s all for Part Two. See you next time for Part Three, where we will discuss all the mental stuff in commercial auditioning!