How to Slate for a Self-Tape: Examples for Every Kind of Request

The scene is ready. You’ve run it a dozen times, the light is right, and the reader is in place beside the lens. Then you hit record, look into the camera, and freeze on the easiest part of the whole tape: saying your own name.

Slates trip up good actors because the rules seem to change with every request. One office wants your name and nothing else. Another wants height, city, and a full-body shot. A commercial wants your hands. A musical wants the song title. And some requests don’t mention a slate at all, which leaves you wondering whether skipping it is a mistake.

The short version: slate only when the instructions ask, say exactly what they list in the order they list it, and say it as yourself, warm and clear, in a few seconds. Shoot it as its own clip unless told otherwise, so a fumble costs you ten seconds, not the whole scene. Below are word-for-word examples for each kind of request, the mistakes casting people keep pointing out, and how to name the files.

Do you slate in a self-tape? Only when they ask

A slate is a short introduction on camera: who you are and whatever details casting needs to sort and track tapes. In the UK it’s usually called an ident. Spotlight’s guide to idents describes it as a technical, administrative part of the audition and stresses that every casting director does it differently.

For self-tapes, the rule is simple. Backstage’s guide to slating says to slate only if the casting instructions request it, and otherwise to leave it out.

If the request is unclear, ask. David Patrick Green, one of the voices in Backstage’s roundup of eight experts on slating, says to slate exactly as requested and, when you aren’t sure, to send the office a note or call. If you have an agent, ask them to check. A one-line email is quick and far better than guessing.

What a slate can include, and what to leave out

The details depend on the project. Backstage’s slating guide says requests often include name, height, and location, and sometimes representation, union status, whether you’d work as a local hire, or the character you’re reading for. The key is the same everywhere: give what’s listed, in the order it’s listed, and stop.

US union work has its own rules. Under SAG-AFTRA’s 2023 TV/Theatrical agreement, as summarized in Backstage’s guide to the self-tape rules, slates need only include name, height, city of residence, current location, and special skills (plus a head-and-shoulders or full-body shot, per Casting Networks’ summary; age only for minors). Those terms cover union projects; non-union requests aren’t bound by that list and may ask for more. Either way, you still follow what the request asks; agency or union status sometimes appears on requests too, which is why the examples below include them.

That’s why you shouldn’t volunteer your age. It isn’t on the union list for adults, and if an office wants it, they’ll ask. The same goes for everything else nobody requested: your training, your credits, a fun fact. Paul Barry, another of the experts in that piece, recommends your name and your agent only if requested, with no apologies and nothing extra.

Word-for-word slates for each kind of request

Here are examples you can adapt. The name and agency are made up; swap in your own and keep the order the request uses. Each one should take a few seconds to say at a relaxed pace.

Name only

• “Hi, I’m Maya Torres.”
• If they also want the role: “Hi, I’m Maya Torres, reading for Jess.”

Name and agency

• “Hi, I’m Maya Torres, with Northside Talent.”
• If you have no agent and they ask for representation: “Hi, I’m Maya Torres, and I’m self-represented.”

Name, height, and location

• “Hi, I’m Maya Torres. I’m five foot six, and I’m based in Atlanta.”
• If the request asks for both your home city and your current location, give both: “I live in Atlanta, and I’m currently in Los Angeles.”
• If they ask about union status: “I’m SAG-AFTRA,” or “I’m non-union.”

Full body and profiles

When a request asks for a full-body shot, start in your usual medium close-up for the spoken slate, then show the rest. Clifton Guterman, in the eight-experts piece, suggests a head-and-shoulders shot for your details, then pulling out to full body. Spotlight’s guide says a simple tilt down works, or you can film the full-length shot as a separate clip somewhere with more room.

1. Say the slate in your normal framing: “Hi, I’m Maya Torres, five foot six, based in Atlanta.”
2. Tilt the camera down, or pull it back or step back to a mark where your feet and the top of your head are both in frame. Stand still for a beat, hands relaxed at your sides.
3. If profiles are requested, turn your whole body to one side, hold a beat, turn to the other side, hold, and come back to face the lens.
4. Keep a pleasant, easy expression during the turns. A blank face reads like a mug shot.

Hands, for commercials

Commercial requests sometimes ask for hands. Spotlight’s guide says a commercial ident may add hands held up to the camera with fingers visible, plus profiles to each side. Our guide on preparing for a commercial audition covers the copy, the button, and the callback.

1. Say your slate as requested. Then, one simple way to show hands:
2. Hold both hands up near your face, backs toward the lens, fingers spread. Hold a beat.
3. Turn them over to show your palms. Hold a beat.
4. Then profiles, if requested. Clean, neat nails matter here more than anywhere else on the tape.

Musical theater

A song tape’s slate tells casting what they’re about to hear. Name the song and the show it comes from, and only add your track or accompanist details if the request asks.

• “Hi, I’m Maya Torres, and I’ll be singing ‘Song Title’ from Show Title.”
• With two cuts: “Hi, I’m Maya Torres. I’ll be singing ‘Song Title’ from Show Title, and ‘Second Song’ from Second Show.”
• If they asked for the character too: “Hi, I’m Maya Torres, for the role of Name, singing ‘Song Title’ from Show Title.”

Casting director Daryl Eisenberg, in one of Backstage’s self-tape tips pieces, says the accompaniment should be in the video itself for musical theater.

Our own tip: do a short test first to balance the track against your voice, and trim the moment where you walk over and press play. Don’t slate over the intro; slate, take a breath, then start the music.

UK idents

In the UK, the ident is often called just that. Backstage UK’s guide to filming an ident says to give your name and your agent’s name, or say you’re self-represented, and that casting may also ask for age, height, or the role.

• “Hello, I’m Maya Torres, and I’m represented by Northside Talent.”
• “Hello, I’m Maya Torres. I’m self-represented.”
• With extras, only if requested: “Hello, I’m Maya Torres, represented by Northside Talent. I’m five foot six, and I’m reading for Jess.”

How to deliver it: tone, eyeline, framing

Look straight into the lens for the slate. It’s the one moment on the tape when you talk to the camera instead of your reader, so don’t look at your own image on the screen. Film it in landscape, like the rest of the tape, as Spotlight’s guide advises. Keep the same framing you’ll use for the scene unless the request asks for something else; a sudden zoom between slate and scene looks like an edit you didn’t mean to make.

Slate as yourself. Backstage’s eight-experts panel doesn’t all agree on this: several advise against slating in character, while Ken Lazer says it can sometimes help. As a default, be you. But don’t go flat either. Casting director Caroline Liem, in her 12 rules for the perfect self-tape, calls the slate casting’s first impression of you for the role and asks for energy that’s “half you and half the character.”

In practice, that means you, warmed up toward the world of the scene. Slating for a comedy, let a little brightness in. For a heavy drama, keep it calm and grounded, without smiling into the camera and then dropping into grief two seconds later. Then take a real beat after the slate before the first line, so casting can see the shift.

Keep perspective, too. Barry makes the point that nobody has booked a substantial role on a slate alone. Be clear and pleasant, and save your energy for the scene.

Where the slate goes, and how to name the files

Placement varies. Some offices want the slate at the top of the scene, some at the end, some as a separate file. Liem’s own default is the slate at the end of the read unless directed otherwise, which is exactly why you follow each request rather than a habit. If nothing is specified, a separate slate clip is the safest way to shoot it, because you can trim or attach it however the upload asks.

File names matter too, because they’re how an office keeps tapes straight. New York casting director Michael Cassara’s rule, shared with Actor Aesthetic, is your first and last name plus the role on every file, with separate takes in separate files unless told otherwise. If the request gives a naming format, use theirs exactly.

• Slate as its own file: MayaTorres_Jess_Slate.mp4
• Scene takes: MayaTorres_Jess_Scene1_Take1.mp4, MayaTorres_Jess_Scene1_Take2.mp4
• Full body or hands as its own file: MayaTorres_Jess_FullBody.mp4
• Song tape: MayaTorres_Jess_SongTitle.mp4

Once it’s sent, log the tape, the role, and the date in our free audition tracker, so you can look back at what you submitted when a callback comes.

“I messed up the slate”: what to do

On a self-tape, a fumbled slate is the cheapest mistake there is. Stop, breathe, and record it again. That’s the main reason to shoot the slate as its own clip: you can redo it ten times without touching the take you love.

If the slate is attached to the scene and the scene was great, don’t throw the scene away. Trim the fumbled slate off, then record a clean one in the same framing and light and re-attach it in an editor, or send it as its own clip if the request allows separate files. If the request insists on one continuous file and you can’t edit, it’s better to re-record the whole thing than to send a slate where you correct your own name or height.

Never apologize on camera. “Sorry, let me start again” is the exact kind of extra Barry warns against. Just cut and redo.

If you already sent it, let an awkward delivery go; resending uninvited makes more work for the office, and some upload sites don’t let you change a video once it’s submitted. But if the slate has a factual error, like the wrong height or the wrong city, let your agent know, or send one short, polite correction to the office if you submitted yourself.

A four-point check before you send

1. Did the request ask for a slate? If not, cut it.
2. Does it say exactly what was listed, in that order, and nothing more?
3. Is it in landscape, with you looking into the lens?
4. Is it placed and named the way the request asked: top, end, or separate file?

Make the scene the easy part, so the slate is too

Actors rarely fumble a slate because the slate is hard. They fumble it because their head is already on the first line of the scene, half-wondering whether it’ll come. When you know the sides cold, the slate is just you saying hello. Our guide to self-taping alone covers the rest of the setup, from eyeline to sound, and the free tools page has a cue script maker and a first-letter memorizer for learning the sides fast.

Upload your sides to Offbook, pick your role, and realistic voices read every other character; Offbook listens through your microphone and plays the next cue when you finish your line. Run the scene until it’s easy, then hide the entire script for a final test before you set up the camera.

Rehearse on your laptop with the full script on a big screen, and listen to your scenes on your phone anywhere, including the hour before you press record. When the scene is in your body, the ten seconds before it take care of themselves.

Questions actors ask

Do you have to slate in a self-tape?

Only if the instructions ask for it. If they don’t mention a slate, leave it out, or email the office to check.

Should I say my age in a slate?

Not unless you’re asked. On US union work, age and birthday can be requested only for minors.

Do I need a full-body shot if the request doesn’t mention one?

No. Add a full-body shot, profiles, or hands only when the request lists them. When it does, do them with a tilt down, a step back, or a separate clip after the spoken slate.