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What is a slate in acting, and how do you slate?

Updated · 6 min read

The short answer

A slate is the brief on-camera introduction you give before an audition: usually your name, and sometimes your height, location or agency if casting asks. It lasts a few seconds, is said as yourself, and may include a full-body shot or profile turns. Always follow the brief, because every casting office has its own preferences.

The slate is the only part of an audition where you are allowed to be yourself on purpose. For a few seconds, before the scene starts, casting gets to see the person who would show up on set: how you sound when you are not acting, what you look like, whether you seem easy to be around. It is short and it is simple, and actors still manage to overthink it more than almost anything else.

The word comes from the film slate, the clapperboard held up at the start of a take to identify it. An audition slate does the same job for the casting office: it labels the footage with a face and a name.

What do you say in a slate?

The default slate is your name. That is it. "Hi, I'm Jordan Ellis." Unless the brief asks for more, that is a complete slate.

Briefs commonly ask for some combination of these:

  • Your name, always first.
  • Your height, often for commercial, stunt or physically specific roles.
  • Your location, meaning the city you are based in, so casting knows whether you would be a local hire.
  • Your agency or representation, especially in the UK, where an ident usually includes it ("Jordan Ellis, represented by Northside Management").
  • The role, when you are taping for more than one character, or the brief asks.
  • Your availability for the shoot dates, occasionally, on commercial or fast-turnaround jobs.

Say them in the order the brief lists them. If it says "name, height, location," a full slate sounds like: "Hi, I'm Jordan Ellis. I'm five foot eight, and I'm based in Chicago." Keep it under ten seconds unless you are asked for a longer introduction.

Adults should not state their age, and in the US casting is discouraged from asking. Leave it out unless you are a minor and the brief asks, in which case say it clearly.

Separate slate or top of tape?

There are three common formats, and the brief will tell you which one this casting office wants.

Top of tape. You slate at the start of the scene take, then drop straight into the first line, or pause a beat and begin. This is the most common default for self-tapes when nothing else is specified.

Separate slate file. You record the slate as its own short clip, sometimes with full-body and profile shots, and upload it alongside the scene. This lets casting watch the scene clean and check your look separately. Name the file the way the brief asks.

No slate. Some casting directors say no slate at all, especially on dramatic roles where they want to meet the character before the actor. Respect it. Your name is already on the submission.

In the room, a slate usually happens on camera at the start, after a casting assistant says something like "whenever you're ready, slate for us." If the session is not being recorded, there may be no slate at all; you just introduce yourself the way any polite person would.

Full-body shots and profiles

Many slates, particularly for commercials and on-camera physical roles, include extra framing.

Full-body shot. After your name, the camera frames you from head to toe, or you step back until it does. Stand naturally, arms relaxed, weight even, facing the lens for two or three seconds. Do not pose. On a self-tape this usually means either a second clip or a slow zoom out; most people find it simpler to record it as its own clip and join it on.

Profiles. You turn slowly to show your left profile, then your right, holding each for a couple of seconds before returning to face the camera. Turn your whole body, not just your head, and keep your chin level.

Hands. Commercial castings for products held in shot sometimes ask you to show your hands, front and back, close to the lens.

For the camera setup that makes all of this look professional, see self-tape background and lighting.

How to slate well

The tone is you on a good day: warm, unhurried, a little bit pleased to be there. Talk to the camera lens as if it were a friendly casting assistant you have met before. You are introducing yourself, and the energy should feel like the start of a conversation.

Look straight into the lens for the slate. This is the one moment in a self-tape where direct eye contact with the camera is correct, because you are speaking as yourself to the viewer. When the scene starts, your eyeline moves to your reader, just off the lens. The switch helps casting see where the slate ends and the scene begins.

Keep your face and voice neutral of the character. If the scene is a furious confrontation, do not slate furiously. If it is a broad comedy, do not slate with a bit. Casting wants to see the person first.

Do it in one smooth take. If you stumble on your own name (everyone has), just record it again.

Common slate mistakes

Adding information nobody asked for. Age, credits, training, the fact that you love the show. The slate is a label. Save the rest for your resume and the conversation in the room, if there is one.

Slating in character. It is tempting, especially for comedy. Most casting directors find it awkward, and it blurs the line they use to judge where your performance starts.

Rushing. Nerves speed up a slate the way they speed up a cold read. Say your name at the pace you would say it to someone you just met at a party and wanted to remember you.

Ignoring the brief. If the instructions say "slate at the end," or "separate slate with height," do exactly that. Casting offices write these instructions because they process hundreds of tapes, and a tape that follows them is easier to watch.

Bad framing. A slate shot so tight that only your face fills the frame, or so wide that you are a small figure in a room. For the slate itself, a medium close-up from the chest up matches the scene and looks clean. The full-body shot is a separate frame. For the rest of the self-tape process, how to self-tape covers it start to finish, and how long a self-tape should be helps you keep the whole thing tight.

More questions

Do you say your age in a slate?

Adults generally should not. In the US, casting is discouraged from asking adult actors their age, and stating it only invites assumptions. Children and teenagers are usually asked to say their age, and should when the brief requests it.

Should the slate be part of the self-tape or a separate file?

Whatever the brief says. Some casting offices want a separate slate file, some want it at the top of the scene, and some want no slate at all. With no instruction, a short slate at the top of the first take is a safe default.

Do you say the character name in your slate?

Only if asked. Casting already knows which role you are reading for from the submission. Some briefs do request it, often when one actor is taping for several roles, in which case say it plainly after your name.

What is an ident?

Ident is the common British and Irish word for a slate. It means the same thing: the short introduction to camera, usually your name and agent, at the start of a self-tape or a filmed casting.

Should you smile in your slate?

Be yourself at your most relaxed, which for most people includes a natural smile. Avoid playing the character in the slate. The slate shows casting who you are, and the scene shows what you can do.

Keep reading

How do you make a self-tape?To make a self-tape, read the casting brief first, then film on a phone turned horizontal at eye level, framed from the chest up against a plain wall. Light your face from the front with soft light, record in a quiet room with a real person reading the other lines quietly from beside the lens, slate as asked, pick your best take, trim it and send it exactly as the brief says.How long should a self-tape be?A self-tape should be as long as the scene and no longer. Start a beat before your first line, end when the scene lands, and keep the slate to a few seconds. Most audition scenes run one to three minutes. Send one take per scene unless the brief asks for more, and never pad the tape with intros, pauses or extras nobody requested.What is the best background and lighting for a self-tape?The best self-tape background is a plain, uncluttered wall or backdrop in a mid-tone gray or soft blue, with you standing a few feet in front of it. The best light is soft and from the front: a window facing you, or a diffused light just beside the camera at face height. Turn off overhead lights, never sit with a bright window behind you, and keep every light the same color.What is a callback in acting?A callback is a follow-up audition. After the first round, casting invites a shortlist of actors back to read again, usually for the director, producers or writers, who make the final decision. In most cases you bring the same choices that got you called back, plus any notes you were given, and you wear the same thing.How do you prepare for an audition?Read the breakdown and, if you can get it, the whole script. Break down the sides: who you are, what you want, who you want it from, and where the scene turns. Make clear, specific choices, then learn the lines well enough to look up from the page. Check the logistics the night before, and on the day, play the scene and let the result go.

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