Most self tape auditions use a mobile phone as the camera.
You can upgrade your self tape camera without purchasing a brand new camera!
Here’s how.
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Self tape auditions can come in at any time! When you’re out of town, at the last minute or when you can’t book a studio to do a self tape. So most actors use their mobile phones because we all have the capacity to shoot high quality video on the go.
But even though this is a modern convenience (and advantage) there are still some downsides that actors are experiencing.
Downsides of using your standard mobile phone for self tapes:
- Front facing camera is NOT as high quality as the rear facing camera. But actors use it because they can see themselves and frame the shot when shooting by themselves.
- The lenses on both the front and the back are NOT cinema quality or designed for a self tape set up. So slight distortion of the face (just Google how the iPhone camera makes your nose look big in self tapes) can happen and you get a self tape that looks less professional.
- The sensors in the camera tend to wash out the light (they are built for taking selfies and landscape shots after all…NOT shooting a well lit person standing 3 feet away).
Until recently we just had to deal with these issues with mobile self tapes or spend a buttload of money on buying a high quality camera AND lenses that would let us shoot professional looking auditions. You could spend $2,000 or more on that equipment, not including the lights, mics and backdrop you would also need. Eesh!
Here is the solution to upgrade your self tape camera on your phone.
Before you decide to spend a ton of money to upgrade your self tape camera to actually compete at a professional level with those actors who either have better equipment or are spending money on shooting self tape auditions at studios take a look at the Moment 50mm lens for your mobile phone.
Here are the upsides of using a Moment 58mm Lens for self tapes:
- Way cheaper than buying a new camera and lenses. Cheaper by thousands!
- Portable. You can carry it in your pocket if you want and will never be left without a professional self tape set up no matter where or when you get that audition.
- Sharp, clean light capture due to the cinema quality glass. Getting this level of quality lens for a DSLR camera could cost over $500!
- Robust construction that’s built to last, unlike some of the cheap ass “add on” lenses you could buy online. Pure garbage, honestly.
- It works for the rear camera AND the front facing camera!
- It also works for your COMPUTER camera for those Zoom auditions! Ya, for real!
Moment is a newish company that primarily focuses on filmmakers and photographers which is why they build such high quality lenses and an easy way to bring them everywhere. Actor CEO has been an advocate for getting this equipment in the hands of actors so that we actually benefit from this convenient, professional and portable tech too!
An overview of the Moment Lens selection is below taken from a live stream in the Self Tape Mastery group on Facebook.
That’s it.
Look at the Moment 58mm Lens here. They are the highest quality at the most affordable price for this type of equipment, but you can also stay tuned as they have some sales during the year.
So if you’re looking to upgrade your self tape set up, but don’t feel like dropping thousands of dollars, there is a solution – Moment.
Happy taping!