How to nail a phone audition

A phone audition puts the casting room in your pocket. Nobody can fix bad light or a noisy room for you once you press record, but you can fix both in a few minutes before you start. This guide covers what makes the difference on a small screen: light, sound, framing, and what to say while the camera rolls.

Find your light

Light does more for you than any filter. Face a window in daylight, so the light falls on your face rather than behind you. A window at your back turns you into a silhouette, and a ceiling lamp straight above you leaves shadows under your eyes.

• Face the window, or a lamp with a soft shade, at about the height of your eyes
• Switch off coloured lights and mixed bulbs that tint your skin
• If the sun is harsh, step back from the window or draw a thin curtain
• Check the preview: your eyes should be bright and easy to see

Evening auditions work too. Put one lamp in front of you, a little to one side, switch off the light above you, and keep the room around you dim rather than dark.

Make the sound clean

A casting team forgives a plain background; it rarely forgives sound it cannot hear. Choose the quietest room you have, close the windows, and turn off the fan, the air conditioner and the TV. Soft things such as curtains, cushions, a sofa or a bed absorb echo, so a bedroom often sounds better than an empty living room.

• Silence notifications, or switch on Do Not Disturb
• Keep the phone close enough that your voice stays clear
• Say a sentence and listen back for echo before you start
• Tell the people at home you need a few quiet minutes
• If you hear echo, hang a towel or a blanket close to you

Frame yourself

Hold the phone upright, at eye level, and keep it still. A phone held low looks up at you; held high, it makes you look small. A tripod, a shelf or a stack of books keeps the frame steady and leaves your hands free.

• Leave a little space above your head, with your shoulders in the frame
• Look into the lens, not at your own face on the screen
• Keep the background plain and tidy: a wall, a curtain or a door
• Wear solid colours you feel good in, and skip busy patterns and big logos

Clear the space behind you before you look at yourself: an unmade bed, laundry or a busy shelf pulls the eye away from you. With no plain wall at home, a sheet pinned up behind you works.

When you need to show how you stand or move, set the phone further away and step back until you are in the frame from head to toe, then come closer again to talk.

What to say

Most auditions open with you introducing yourself. Keep it simple and true: your name, where you are, and what you love doing on camera. One honest detail people remember is worth more than a list of everything you have done.

• Start with your name and a breath, then smile
• Speak a little slower than feels natural
• Use the language and dialect you are most at ease in
• If you lose your words, pause, look back at the lens and carry on
• Finish on a smile, and hold still for a second before you look away

Do not read a script you wrote in advance. A casting team watches for presence: how you listen, how you react, and whether they believe you. Natural beats perfect, and a small mistake you recover from shows more of you than a flawless line.

Practise once

Before the real thing, record yourself once with your phone's own camera and watch it back. Fix the one thing that bothers you most, whether the light, the sound or the frame, then put the practice away. A practice run warms you up; it is not the audition.

Before you press record

• Charge your phone, or plug it in
• Wipe the camera lens
• Use an up-to-date Chrome, Safari or Edge
• Close other apps, and keep the screen open the whole time: switching apps can stop the camera

Your audition at Kliqx

At Kliqx, the general cast takes one minute and is recorded live on your phone, right in the browser: there is no video to upload and nothing to edit. It is made for new faces: no experience needed, and no follower minimum. The Kliqx casting team watches every audition and puts talent forward for the roles they fit. Your first time in front of the camera can be today.