How To Send Audition Tapes To Directors? (3 Best Ways)

You want the part so badly that you do almost everything right. Be it acting or be it shooting but you don’t send the audition the right way, everything you have done will be in vain. 

How many times have my casting friends shared how they scan the auditions? Almost all of them don’t even bother to look or even make an effort to open the video if it is not what they had asked for. 

So you must know how to send audition tapes to directors the right way. But how do you do that? Learn to create a format of sending videos or acting portfolios in the way it is universally accepted by casting directors. 

Also Read: How To Make A Portfolio For Acting?

How To Send Audition Tapes To Directors So That It Gets Noticed?

You should know casting directors or even film directors are lazy and busy people. If they feel that something is going to waste their time, they won’t even make an effort for it. 

So you should learn the art of grabbing attention in showcase business. 

As for sending audition tapes to directors, you have to first see the scenarios. Is it cold mail? Are you sending it for the first time for the requirement? Or you are sending it as part of a callback? 

For each situation, you should know what to send and how to send it. I will also explain all the different steps for each scenario. Let’s see each case in detail:

1. Cold Mailing Audition Tapes To Directors

When you are starting out as an actor you try to send your demo reel or profile to as many people as possible. This is called cold mailing audition tapes. 

Many people think cold mailing will get jobs but you must understand the reason behind cold mailing is to get leads. It should get you into auditions or get a meeting with casting agents. 

If you keep this thing in mind and send out your profile you will have much better success getting leads. 

So how do you send audition tapes to directors to generate leads?

There is no strict format as such but there are few things that you must include in your profile for cold emails. 

Before we go into the format of the mail there are some pre-requisite things:

• You need an actor resume (Get actor resume template)
• You need a demo reel ( learn how to make a demo reel )
• Actor website – This is a killer tool to have in your struggling days! ( Learn how to build actor personal website now )
• If you have any work experience, just have the footage of that as well. 

Make sure to have these three things ready. If you don’t have these things you can click on the links to make them. 

One important thing to remember is to have a resume and demo reel on your pc or phone. As well as upload it on your google drive to keep them safe. 

Also, upload the demo reel on your YouTube account. You will ask why? You don’t want others to see your demo reel. There is a reason why you want your demo reel on YouTube.

Consider the fact that the director to whom you are sending your profile is busy. He wants to check out your demo reel and you have sent the best quality demo reel which has a file size of 2 Gb. 

Now the casting director will have to download the file which might take 1-2 hours considering the fact that he used decent internet. So just think a casting director who has a busy schedule would wait for 1-2 hours just to look at a demo reel of some newbie actor. 

Yes, you guessed it right. It’s a big no!

With your demo on Youtube will be able to play your reel instantly just by clicking the link that you provide. Just like a demo reel, upload any footage of your past gig as well so that you can provide a link to that as well in your mail. 

Now getting back to sending the audition tapes to directors, now assume you have everything done. It’s time to send mails. 

So how do you format mail while sending audition tapes?

Follow this template for the mail:

So this is how you should format your mail to directors. 

Whatever is inside the “…” just replace it with your personal details and Hyperlink the click here phrase with the appropriate link.

You can use this format to send your profile to casting agents, producers, directors, friends working in show business, etc. 

You can save this mail template in the draft, so that whenever you want to send your profile just copy-paste it and send it out. 

2. Send Audition Tapes As Per Requirement

Now consider a situation where there is an ongoing audition and you want to send your audition tape as per the requirement of the audition. 

For this situation, you will have to tweak the mail a little and you will have to add an audition link and highlight the points that show how you fulfill the requirement of the role. 

But first, you will have to shoot the audition. I am not going to discuss how to create the best audition tape here. But if you want to learn about it you can view our easy-to-follow post on self-taping your audition at home ( Just click here to view the post).

Let’s assume you have made a kickass audition tape. Again I suggest uploading it on your dedicated YouTube channel. Make sure you keep it private so only those with the video link can view the video.  

Once you have done that, follow this email format:

The main purpose of the mail in this scenario is to provide the audition tape first and then your complete profile. So focus on creating the audition tape based on the script that is provided to you or as per the requirement. 

3. Send Audition Tapes For Callback

This scenario is a little different from the last two. In the first two scenarios, the person you were mailing to may or may not know you. It was your first contact for the role. 

Here you are sending an audition tape after you have met for the initial audition and they liked it and now they have asked to tape another audition before they make the final decision. 

The good thing here is that they already know you and you don’t have to sell yourself here, rather you have to provide what they want. 

So again shoot the audition as per the instruction from the casting director and upload it on YouTube if they feel okay with it. If they have asked you to send the video file, then you will have to upload it on Google Drive or use some other file-sharing services like Wetransfer. 

Once you have the audition recorded, just follow this mail format:

You can see here the mail is a little more personal and you have to keep in mind what was your last conversation so that you can address all of their queries here in the mail. 

And yes you don’t have to send your profile in this mail because they already have it. Just keep your phone number and website, if they wish to refer to it they can do so from here. 

Should I Follow Up Immediately The Next Day After I Have Sent Audition Tapes?

After you have sent out emails, it is gradually important to know if they have looked at your audition tapes or not. So you might be tempted to blast out a series of emails asking what they think of you. 

But strongly advise against it. Please refrain from following up the very next day or within a few hours.

If you have been in touch with the casting director for the audition like after callback or a few audition rounds, you can definitely follow up but at least wait for 72 hours. 

And in case you have just cold mailed them, I request you to mail your profile again next month. Some suggest sending profiles after 6 months but that is the condition when they have your profile in their database. There is no sure way to know if they have it or not unless and until you meet them. 

Until you haven’t been contacted you can keep cold mailing them every month. 

Final Thought

Whatever advice I have gathered here is either from experience or by talking to fellow actors and connections in casting. You can always tweak the template based on your preference as there is no such perfect way to send audition tapes to directors. 

If you like the advice please feel free to share it with your fellow actors.