Travel Friendly or Space Saving Self Tape Audition Gear
When you travel and book out with your agency do you say you are available for self tapes while you are away? Maybe you don’t and potentially miss out on casting opportunities because you can’t imagine self taping in a hotel room or cramming gear into your already over-stuffed vehicle.
Do you live in tight quarters and bulky self tape equipment is not only an eye sore but it is occupying valuable square footage? Life would be easier with equipment that folded away nicely, you often think.
I have great news for stressed out parents who travel and need space saving alternatives. I am going to show you backdrops, lighting and stands that easily fold up and can even fit in your suitcase. Leaving you no excuses to turn down auditions when out of town. And you definitely will not be sacrificing video quality.
Pop-up portable backdrops are a smart alternative to huge hanging backdrops. The best part is they do not wrinkle. They also are large enough to cover even the big kids. All of the pop-ups listed here are 5 feet by 6.5 feet. Not bad.
Folds to a tiny pouch
Yes, you are paying a bit of a premium for convenience. But the colors are fantastic as you can see.
There are solids that pop and textured abstract neutrals that are dynamic and complimentary to all skin tones.
Also check out “Time to re-think your self tape backdrop…” for regular backdrop reccommendations
I bet you are thinking about the struggle of keeping these backdrops upright and sturdy. No worries. A folding light or backdrop stand and some handy photographer clips will save the day and luggage space.
Worst case scenario - clip these pop-ups to a chair in a pinch.
Lighting is what takes up the most space. It is often delicate and a pain to assemble. Have you seen the folding 10” ring light? A couple of these inexpensive lights will surely be enough.
I happen to own these LED stick lights. With this two pack you get incredibly bright light that tucks nicely in a carrying bag. They angle and pivot effortlessly to guarantee the perfect coverage. The 376 led light beads pack a punch. Plus they are bi-color and adjust from warm to cool.
I showed you some pocket led rgb lights before. But check this bi-color pocket led light that is cordless and can light up a living room. This pocket light can screw on to any light stand or tripod. It has a wide range of color temperature from 2500-9000k. It even comes with a soft diffuser to maintain that soft box vibe.
Using a reflector to bounce light is one of the coolest lighting hacks. Essentially turning one light source into two sources. Check out this reflector kit with stand. It doesn’t get easier than that.
Don’t forget to grab a couple light stands. Or better yet, check out the brilliant desktop light stand that clamps on to any hard surface. I use these all the time and they are very compact and extremely reliable.
A bag of photographer clips for safety and you are set. These things have a million purposes and should be a required self tape gear item.
30% off this ten section course
Are you feeling lighter already? You can be soon enough. And you are making your talent reps happy that you can get that series regular self tape in after all during your Disney World trip. And your guest bedroom can actually occupy a guest when needed. Everything can fold up and slide under the bed. Piece of cake!
