Guides for actors preparing material for casting. They cover UK self-tape rules, setting up at home or in a studio, what casting directors want from a showreel, voice reels, headshots that meet Spotlight rules, and what to check before signing away your voice or likeness.
28 items: 22 guides · 3 tools · 3 templates
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For actors
Record a compliant self-tape, build a reel casting directors watch, and protect your voice and face.
Grouped by collection. Templates and checklists are free to look inside; one sign-up to From the Barn sends the clean files and opens every template.
Explainer film
A ten-minute routine for breath, body and voice before you present, record or go live. The order to run it in, and what to avoid beforehand.
Explainer film
A simple breathing routine you can do in three minutes before you present or go on camera. Steps, a worked example and the mistakes to avoid.
2 min read
Why a camera shows less of you than a room does, how much more to give on camera and on stage, and a record and compare routine to find your level.
2 min read
How to look into a camera lens and still seem to talk to someone. The arrows technique, where to put your eyeline, and where to put the call window on a video call.
2 min read
How to use your face on camera. Start from what you want the viewer to feel, exaggerate slightly, then record, watch on mute and adjust one thing at a time.
5 min read
The UK self-tape code and Spotlight's guidance on framing, eyeline, idents and file names, plus how to get the sound right at home or in a studio.
4 min read
How long a voice reel should be, which reads to put in it, how a directed session runs and what to avoid. A practical guide for actors and voice artists.
4 min read
A phone, a plain wall, soft light and clean sound is enough for most self-tapes. What to set up at home, and when a studio session earns its fee.
2 min read
What goes in an actor's showreel, how long it should run, how to order the clips and the shooting mistakes that make a reel hard to watch.
PDF, 1 page · free preview
How to use a printable tongue twister sheet as a five-minute warm-up for clear speech before a talk, a recording or a take.
Calculator · free, no sign-up
Work out the studio hours and editing hours for an audiobook from its word count, with the method, a worked example and the errors that throw plans out.
7 min read
How a remote ADR session runs: Source-Connect Pro, transport sync, streamers on picture, full-quality takes at both ends, and what the director and actor need.
5 min read
About 80 to 90 words for a 30-second ad, fewer with a phone number in it. Speaking rates for ads, explainers and e-learning, and how to time a script.
3 min read
Staff bring credibility and actors bring control. How to choose who appears in a corporate video, mix the two, and brief whoever is on camera.
5 min read
ACX's audio rules in plain English, how a word count turns into fifty hours of work, and why the noise floor is where home recordings fail.
3 min read
A case study of one consented voice clone: where it was used, how it is labelled, and the five questions we think any voice agreement has to answer.
2 min read
What to check before signing anything that lets someone record, clone or reuse your voice or face, drawn from Equity's AI toolkit and the ASA's position.
6 min read
What the ASA and CAP expect of ads made with AI imagery or a cloned voice, where UK law on voice and likeness stops, and the consent steps to take first.
PDF, 2 pages · free preview
A checklist for agreeing how a voice or face can be recorded, cloned, reused and withdrawn, with a worked example and the mistakes that cause disputes.
2 min read
How the 1st assistant director runs a film set, the common calls you will hear, and the floor etiquette that keeps a set quiet, safe and on time.
Word or Google Docs · free preview
A casting breakdown template for UK productions: what each role needs, how to set dates and pay, and the mistakes that bring in the wrong actors.
5 min read
Spotlight's photo rules, the looks worth shooting and how much retouching casting directors accept, plus our £195 inc VAT actor session near Chichester.
4 min read
UK headshot prices in 2026 from published price lists: business, team and actor sessions, what moves the price, and what our sessions near Chichester cost.
3 min read
What an intimacy coordinator does, what UK guidance says about hiring one, and how to plan a closed set for scenes with nudity or simulated sex.
6 min read
What a first-time UK film or TV freelancer needs sorted: public liability and kit cover, IR35 and status, invoice terms, late payment and day rates.
2 min read
What a casting director does on a UK film or TV drama, how they run auditions and negotiate terms, the routes into the job and when a shoot needs one.
3 min read
An intimacy coordinator plans intimate scenes with the performers and the camera before the shoot. What the job covers, who they work with and when you need one.
6 min read
What HD and 4K cameras show on skin, how HD make-up differs, how to control shine and edges, and how light and lens choices help the make-up artist.
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