And if you're on your own and don't have a helper (or an extra screen) to set the correct framing for the shot, set up a mirror behind the phone, so you can see the phone screen when you're on your mark. 😉

Finn Wolfhard was late and sick when he got cast from his distorted self-tape!

This advice took me far longer to figure it than it should have! lol. This is such good info it's almost criminal to give it away for free! Honestly though very impactful tips that definitely get overlooked! Thanks for sharing!

3x on the iPhone is even better than 2x. Can always crop in a little

Great info always- thank you!! I tell all my acting friends to sub to your channel. Im so surprised why you all dont have 100k subs by now. Appreciate all the helpful info!! Always learn something new from your videos

Thank you so much for the tips. I was actually just about to do a audition marathon is what I call it. 😁 i'm definitely using this tip in my next audition.

New to this acting thing, this is the first time I’ve heard this.  I’ve been an amateur photographer for years, and always used a telephoto lens for portraits.  Same reason.  I don’t want my subject looking into a toaster.  But this is the FIRST I have heard of the recommendation to use 2X for self-tapes. Makes so much sense.  Thanks.

This is great advice. I was experimenting taking headshots with my Google Pixel 8, but my face looked distorted. I now realize I put the camera too close. As for self tapes, I almost always put the phone about 5 or 6 feet away, and just crop it when I view it on the laptop. I find that easier and more accurate than trying to do it in the phone. Thanks for the great advice, Matt!

I met with an actor friend a couple of weeks ago. He told me to use the phone normally, instead of in "Selfie Mode" - in other words, set it up so the screen is on the other side of the phone, and the REAL lens is facing me. It's a little tricky, because I can't see what I look like as I'm doing the scene. But I've found the quality is better. And it's easy to do a couple of test shots and adjust the height and angle of the phone prior to doing the scene.

Great video as always! 👍

(This does not belong to the topic but a couple of days ago I saw an interview with an actor who said: "This is the worst time to be an actor". He was referring to the evolution of AI. I'm very curious to hear your opinion, maybe you'll make a video about this in the near future? That would be awesome.)

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Excellent advice Matt. Question: why do just about all CD's request "chest up" framing, vs closeups. Is it due to some of what this vid refers to...meaning the close up framing invites distortion?

I do 4k and crop as needed. Helpful if I end up drifting a bit from where I was supposed to stand. Or shifted which leg my weight was on.

Hi Matt, I'm a working Broadway, TV, and Film actor based in New York. I do a lot of self taping for both theatre and on-camera work, with a pretty fair degree of success over the past few years. I have the most up-to-date IPhone and a fairly decent home studio setup. The most frustrating thing about my self tapes is the amount of time I have to spend editing them -- not so much for length or cutting, but for framing and especially for color correction. My face is always too orange and my dark brown eyebrows disappear!

I just watched your video tutorial and -- no offense intended towards you, as I am 62 years old and very much out of my element -- I'm more confused now than before I watched it. For example, I saw the two examples of Sarah (and later, of you) that show two different looks, with the ones on the right obviously preferable, but I still don't know how achieve that better option! I'm told that the "Camera Settings" are of the utmost importance, and I've adjusted mine several times in the past couple of years, taking advice from other actors, and even from the "Video Genius" guy at the Apple Store. Can you tell me the settings you recommend?
720p HD at 30 fps? 1080 HD at 30, 60, or 120 fps...?! (Btw, I have no idea what any of those numbers or letters mean, and I'm a fairly intelligent and educated guy.)

The most recent advice I've been given is to scrap all that and use the "Cinematic Mode" at 4K at 60 fps.

What about a very subtle use of filters? (That's been recommended to me as well.)

Thoughts? Many thanks.

Fantastic! I try to relay the issues with having the camera up close to the actors I work with, as pertains to distortion and movement.

What iPhone should I buy I'm an actor and doing my first real audition in a week

Are these tips relegated to just iPhone, or any phone cause I use an Android.

Always so helpful Matt, thank you! I shoot on my iPhone and noticed when I put it at 2x the color was different. So I started shooting at 1x and cropping in during the edit…then noticed it seemed a bit pixilated or not as sharp. Is that because I cropped in during the edit? Also does it matter if it’s 1080 x 30 or 60? Does one give a clearer video than the other? Thx for your help on all this!
Side question: trying to play with lighting too so soft boxes don’t make me look too polished, noticing I’m loosing some definition in my face with the soft lights. Do you happen to have a video on light set ups? Thanks again!

Is it recommended to use the front facing camera? Especially if youre by yourself and then it only uses the one lense but the distance will dictate everything right?

Hi! I’ve noticed the new iPhone 16 pro makes my face look so red unless I’m using selfie mode. I tried turning off hdr and that still didn’t help. I’m shooting at 1080 (not 4k).  Ideas? Should I just buy an old used phone?