Over the course of four 30-minute tapes, casting director Michael Shurtleff briefly explains the 12 "guideposts" for actors that he discusses in depth in his book Audition. Along the way, he provides random words of wisdom outside these 12 tenets for a successful audition, including a few cuss words. Presented primarily in workshop or master class-type settings, each guidepost is accompanied by a bit of business on stage that is supposedly illustrative of the tenet being discussed. And if only that were really true, this video set might be worth the purchase price. In the one tape viewed, the connections were hazy between the three guideposts and their "example" scenes. This is unfortunate: a dynamic, accurate scene clearly illustrating what Shurtleff meant by "relationships," "conflict," and "the moment before" might have provided us the impetus to buy the videos, rather than just read the book, which provides greater detail. A very optional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (K. Glaser)
Audition: The Video Series
(1996) 4 videocassettes. 30 min. each. $89.95 each. First Light Video Publishing (dist. by Vide-O-Go). PPR. Vol. 12, Issue 3
Audition: The Video Series
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.