Chapter 15 of 17

How to Edit a Self-Tape: Clean Cuts and File Naming That Work

Editing is an essential part of self-taping. It's not about making a short film — it's about presenting your work clearly, cleanly, and professionally.

Video Lesson — Coming Soon

Taught by a working acting coach · Watch this space

Editing is an essential and unavoidable part of the self-taping process. It's not about turning your audition into a short film — it's about presenting your work clearly and professionally.

“Editing is far easier if you shoot a whole scene as one take, rather than picking up mid-take, so if you make a mistake, start again. When you have the best take for each scene, edit them cleanly and put all the scenes onto one file.”Richard Evans — Casting Director

“Don't do any internal edits of the scene. You're NOT making a short film. Most CDs want the individual files, not one edited file of all takes.”Heidi Miami Marshall

File Naming

Name your file clearly so casting directors can identify you instantly. Example file name: PROJECTNAME_RoleName_YourName_Scene1Take1. Never submit a file named "audition_final_v3_ACTUAL_FINAL.mp4"

Technical Export Settings

Always trim the start and end so the tape feels efficient
Adjust audio levels if you're too quiet or too loud
Tweak color slightly for balance but avoid heavy grading
Export at 1080p — keep the file size under 100MB. Drop to 720p if needed.

File Naming Matters

File naming is more important than most actors realize. If a casting director is sorting through 200 submissions and yours is called "video_export_3.mp4", it looks like you've never done this before.

Practice with this tool

Audition Recorder

Record clean, full-scene takes in the browser so your edit is just a trim and an export.

Open Audition Recorder →

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