Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1401622
For Members The Challenges of Self-Taping I n the entertainment and media industry, change has always been the one constant. While it would be nice if performers could focus on their craft to the exclusion of all other concerns, actors have always had to be flexible, as the profession demands they run their careers like a business. Over the past year, with social distancing and lockdowns, audition self-taping has risen in prominence. But the pandemic only accelerated a trend that was already on the rise, and it's clear that self-taping is unlikely to go away completely. While there are certainly advantages of self-taping, SAG-AFTRA has heard from members about the artistic, technical, financial and time-related challenges self-taping poses for many of them. The union understands those challenges and is engaging with industry partners at Directors Guild of America and Casting Society of America to determine a path forward that works best for all parties, because it's clear that there will be a hybrid model going forward, with some casting directors preferring self-tapes and some projects requiring them. The union understands that fighting technology is not a winning strategy; SAG-AFTRA wants to make it work in your favor and help you to be as competitive as possible in this new reality. That's why SAG-AFTRA and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation have offered numerous panels and workshops on the topic, as well as articles in SAG-AFTRA magazine and on the website. Whether it is self-taping, the threat of deepfakes, the dramatic increase in the use of streaming services or any of the thousand other ways technology is impacting the industry, the union will continue to do everything it can to work on your behalf and provide tools to help you adapt. SAG-AFTRA member Daniel Vaillancourt records a self-tape audition. DAVID A. LEE