The following is a list of items we recommend actors have in their self-tape setup. There is no need to go out and buy them all at once – most of these can be improvised until you can afford to buy them.
Tripods:
It is important to be able to place the iris of the camera level with the eyes. You can always prop up your phone on furniture or books but a reliable tripod is great to have.
SmallRig Selection 47cm – 200cm Aluminum Alloy Camera Tripod
Compact Flexible Leg tripod (will need to be placed on furniture or wrapped around other items)
Iphone Holder Mounts:
JOBY GripTight 360 Phone Mount
YaYa Universal Smartphone Tripod Adapter Cell
Manfrotto MCPIXI Smartphone Holder Clamp
Backdrops:
Backdrops are recommended to be grey and free of any wrinkles or textures that can distract the eye from your performance. A functional backdrop stand and roller blind is a great investment to your self-tape setup. A grey blackout quality roller blind held up by a stand is the most versatile option, however can be a little bulky when moving house. Foldable curtain options combined with a stand are more affordable but will leave you ironing wrinkles quite often unless you choose to leave the sheet hung.
A More Affordable Curtain: Choose Grey 3×3.6 metre option. Please note this curtain will need to be ironed as opposed to the more expensive rollable curtain above.
PRO Photo Studio Premium Polyester Collapsible Backdrop Background
Lighting:
The following softbox lighting are all excellent choices:
Abeststudio Softbox Lighting Kit, 20″x28″/50x70cm Soft Box Continuous Lighting Kit
Sound:
I highly recommend the Rode – MicMe microphone (make sure you choose the right connection for your phone )
· Iphone or Ipad – Lightning
· Android – USB 3c
· Other – 3.5mm sound connecter
* Please note Peter Rasmussen Acting Studio may receive a small commission from some of the above links. We own, use and recommend every item on this list.