How Do I Get This Video Off My Phone?! (And Other Self-Taping Questions)
So, you filmed your self-tape on your phone and it looks great—congrats! What now?! Here are some commonly asked questions for troubleshooting the next steps.
HOW DO I GET THIS VIDEO OFF MY PHONE?!
Smartphone technology has gotten really great in terms of sound and video quality, making self-taping on your phone the easy part! Unfortunately, these files usually end up being too large to email directly from your phone. There are several solutions to this problem, and it becomes about what works for YOU every time.
First, it is important to understand the difference between uploading and downloading.
Uploading: the process of putting files onto a web server (such as DropBox, Eco Cast, etc.)
Downloading: the process of getting files from a web server (onto a computer or other device so that they can be saved/viewed).
More often than not, your self-tape will go through several rounds of uploading and downloading so that it can be seen by all necessary parties.
In my office, for example, the life of a self-tape might look something like this:
1. You, the actor, upload your video to DropBox (or one of the other hosting sites mentioned below) and email the downloadable link/file to me, your agent.
2. Upon receiving your email, I view the tape and download it to my computer where I then upload it to our office Vimeo account to save it privately to our files.
3. Depending on which looks the cleanest, I will email either your DropBox link or my Vimeo link to the casting office that requested the tape
a. OR I will upload your video directly to a server such as Eco Cast or Cast It.
4. Casting will then download your tape onto their computer and upload it to their own server where it can be more easily viewed/shared
a. OR they will view the video on Eco Cast or Cast It.
If this doesn’t make sense yet, that’s okay! As you keep reading, not only should the terminology should become clearer, but you should be reminded that you are only responsible for step 1 of this road map—uploading your video to a hosting site and emailing a downloadable link!
As you begin to understand how the process unfolds, know that you want your video to both be “un-searchably” private, yet easily shareable to anyone working on the project. This means that anyone with your link or file should be able to view or download it, but random strangers should not be able to find the video whilst googling.
The first step to getting your self-tape off of your phone actually occurs on your phone. You will want to install an app that can host your large video files.
DROPBOX, WETRANSFER, and VIMEO, OH MY!
These are some of the third party applications that serve as hosting sites where you can store and share your videos. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, so you can play around with several of them to see what works best for you. Essentially, you either need to pull up your video and save it to one of these apps OR go to the app and upload your video from there.
Here is what I have come to learn as an agent dealing with these applications:
DROPBOX: DropBox works really well and is probably my preferred method for clients sharing self-tapes. Though free to use, you can pay for more space so that your content can be permanently stored in your personal DropBox for continued use/sharing. DropBox is great for organizing, as you can create labeled folders and share either the entire collection or a single clip. Perhaps my favorite aspect of DropBox is that you can create a concise link from which you can BOTH view AND download the video. Being able to view the video without downloading it first is a very convenient feature that makes for faster viewing and can save space if you don’t need to download. DropBox also provides appropriate security measures in that its content is not searchable on the web, but is still easy to share by those with the viewable and downloadable link.
Pros: convenient link, view and download, video storage, privacy
Cons: space is limited without paying
VIMEO (Paid Account Only): My second choice in video applications is a paid Vimeo account. Vimeo videos can no longer be made downloadable for free accounts, rendering the free version almost useless (in my opinion). If you do invest in a paid Vimeo account, you get all the benefits of DropBox in terms of video storage and sharing, as well as a sleek, shareable link where you have the option to both view and download. Additionally, Vimeo gives you the option of password-protecting your videos and downloading them as a variety of sizes. This can be beneficial for shrinking large files when you have an uploading limit on something like Eco Cast (more later). The downside to Vimeo is that videos are searchable on the web and it defaults to the video being public with the option to comment on the video. You can change the settings to private and disable the comments, but some casting offices do not feel comfortable, even with these options, and require a different host for sharing. Besides those rarer cases, Vimeo is a great option—one that I personally use.
Pros: convenient link, view and download, video storage, can easily change file sizes, optional password protection
Cons: must pay for videos to be downloadable, defaults to low privacy (can change these settings)
WETRANSFER: WeTransfer is functional in terms of ability to download a video, but you do not have the “viewing” option provided by DropBox or Vimeo—you must download first, then view. The other downside is that WeTransfer does not provide a long term storage option for videos, and links eventually expire. To me, WeTransfer emails can look a little clunky, but ultimately, they do the trick in terms of making videos downloadable for teams to then upload and view. It is functional in the short term.
Pros: functional link, privacy
Cons: download only, no video storage
GOOGLE DRIVE: Google Drive is generally functional and can work really well from certain devices, especially those that default to Google Suite. It provides video storage, as well as an option to both view and download, which is great, but I’ve found Google Drive to be a little finnicky in two ways. One, it can be choppy when previewing videos, and two, it is less user-friendly when sharing to accounts that are not Gmail. Our office, for example, uses Outlook email, so I’ll often have to use my personal Gmail to view and download Google Drive videos, and for some reason, the Google Drive emails tend to freeze our Outlook application. Many offices do use Gmail, so this may be a small problem, but for our office and those who use other email servers, Google Drive links do not tend to be the most user-friendly.
Pros: functional link, view and download, video storage, privacy
Cons: does not work well for those not using Gmail
HIGHTAIL: Hightail, in my experience, is similar to WeTransfer. It works, but you cannot view the video before downloading, nor use the service to store content.
Pros: functional link, privacy
Cons: download only, no video storage
YOUTUBE: YouTube videos are NOT DOWNLOADABLE. I repeat: YouTube videos are NOT DOWNLOADABLE. Therefore, you should really not be using YouTube to share videos UNLESS it is specifically requested by the casting office. Usually, this will only be in a theatre audition situation. If you are requested to use YouTube, the video should be “unlisted,” not “public,” nor “private.” “Unlisted,” means that the video can only be viewed by people with the link and it is not searchable on YouTube or the web. Side note: while I wouldn’t recommend YouTube for hosting self-tapes, I think it can be useful as one of the hosts for a public reel or other clips meant to be easily searchable and viewable.
Pros: link, video storage, privacy (for “unlisted”), great for viewing public videos
Cons: not downloadable, only viewable
EMAIL DIRECTLY: If your video is small, you may be able to just attach it to an email or use something like “Mail Drop” on an iPhone. This can work well for slates or videos that are very short. In general, I would still recommend a shareable link, just because it is easier to email around and looks nicer, but in a pinch, direct email can work for small files.
Pros: Easy for small videos
Cons: Not easily shareable, not viewable without downloading
In sum, find out which application works best for you. When in doubt, start with DropBox. Again, your goal should be emailing a shareable link where anyone with the link can view and download the video.
HOW SHOULD I EMAIL MY VIDEO?
I prefer receiving your downloadable link from your email address, not the site itself. On your hosting site, look for an option to copy the video’s link. Then, begin your email draft using your personal email (in a different tab). The subject line should include the project name and “self-tape.” The body of the email should say something like:
Dear Jackie,
Here is my self-tape for the role of [role name] in [project name]:
[SELF-TAPE LINK]
Please confirm receipt!
Thank you,
[Your Name]
I prefer this format because I can respond directly to you that I’ve received the tape in proper working order, and I can simply copy and paste your link to send to Casting in a personal email instead of forwarding an email sent by a hosting site.
It is also good practice to EMAIL THE VIDEO TO YOURSELF! That way, you can open the email on your computer, download your video, and save it to your files to upload later. I like to save files on my Desktop for the short term so that I can find them easily while browsing.
WHAT IS AN ECO CAST? WHAT IS CAST IT?
Eco Cast and Cast It are hosting sites targeted to Casting Directors, where they can easily organize videos by project and role. Eco Cast is a subset of Breakdown Services and is available to agents on Breakdown Express and to actors on Actors Access. Cast It is exclusive to Casting Directors and is mostly used for TV projects. To submit videos on either site, actors must have a profile which also contains a headshot, resume, and occasionally other video clips and reels. You should have an Actors Access profile already, but you do not need to make an account on Cast It until requested. Each site has their own limitations on file sizes and types, so it is generally good to keep videos smaller than 500mb and a standard file type such as mov, mp4. In my experience, Eco Cast allows more clip uploads than Cast It, so you can provide multiple takes and a separate slate there. When Casting Directors invite you to submit an Eco Cast, you can upload your video directly to that Eco Cast by clicking “upload media” and following the steps. You may want to email the video to yourself as a downloadable link so that I can be saved on your computer. If you are invited to submit an Eco Cast through your agent, you will want to send your video as a downloadable link (as discussed above) so that the agent can download your video and then upload it to Eco Cast on your behalf.
DO YOU HAVE OTHER SEEMINGLY OBVIOUS SELF-TAPING QUESTIONS? Ask them HERE!