If you’re auditioning for a national commercial ad (spot) or a large casting company, more than likely they’ll either ask for you NOT to slate, OR just slate your name.
BUT when you’re auditioning on a pay-to-play site or for a roster, you typically won’t get any specific slating instructions.
In this case, this audition slate tip could help you book the job. It helped me!
Example:
“Heidi Rew. Two Takes. First take, conversational, real. Second take, energetic, inspirational.”
WHY?
- Lets the buyer know up front that you’re giving them 2 different reads.
- Gives vocabulary to the buyer for each read (educating them in the process).
- Tells the buyer you’re a professional.
- Lets the buyer know you understand the specs, have a grasp of your range, and the range with which you can take the specs.
- Shows the buyer you’re directable.
- Keeps the buyer listening if your voice matches what they want, but maybe not in that first delivery.
Recently, I booked a job because I did this. The buyer preferred my second take. Because I gave them the vocabulary to describe it, they reiterated my words describing the take. They said the slate kept them listening since they liked my voice on the first take, but it wasn’t the pace/tone they were looking for. Sure enough, the 2nd take was exactly what they wanted.
As with a lot of things in voiceover, this isn’t a tip you can broadly apply to each and every audition. It worked on the pay to play site because there were only 50 auditions they were listening to. If there were 500, they wouldn’t have time for you to describe your takes.
Keep leaning in to learning about this industry and the needs of the buyer. The more you learn, the more you can give.
