THE AUDITION TECHNIQUE
In 50 years and over a million auditions, casting director Greg Apps has watched the same thing kill brilliant performances — over and over. The problem usually isn’t the acting. It’s how it reaches the person deciding.
“Most actors think self-taping is about following the rules. The actors who book know it’s about being remembered.”
THE REAL PROBLEM
WHY LISTEN TO GREG APPS
He’s not teaching theory. He’s teaching what actually gets noticed — from the chair that decides.
Career-breakthrough roles for Russell Crowe, Eric Bana, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Rose Byrne and Rachel Griffiths — he cast Guy Pearce’s first four feature films.
50 years
as a working casting director
1,000,000+
auditions watched — around 60 a day
120+
casting credits across film and television
First
casting director in the world to teach self-taping online
President
founding President of the Casting Guild of Australia
FEATURED IN
IF Magazine · Backstage · Casting Networks · AACTA Festival · NIDA / WAAPA / QUT / VCA
THE DIFFERENTIATOR
Most self-tape advice obsesses over the setup — background, lighting, camera, audio. All necessary. None of it is what gets you remembered. From 60 tapes a day, here’s what actually makes Greg stop.
What everyone teaches
Background
Lighting
Camera
Audio
What gets you cast
Energy — does the screen lean toward you?
Charm & humour — the qualities that read above the acting
Point of view — a choice, not a recital
Character ownership — a person only you could play
Presence — you fill the frame before you speak
The memory you leave — “It’s not the email you get from them — it’s the memory you leave.”
THE REFRAME
Here’s what 50 years on the casting side taught Greg. The self-tape is the only place left in the entire audition process where you get to show a point of difference. Not in the room. Not on the callback. Not on Zoom. Only here.
So stop treating it as a test to pass — and start treating it as your creative space.
Self-Taping Academy doesn’t teach you to follow the rules better than everyone else. It teaches you where the rules can be broken — enough to stand out, never enough to alienate the room.
From playing it safe
to deliberate, memorable choices
From reacting to the script
to authoring a character only you can play
From waiting to be picked
to a self-tape library that opens doors
From wondering what you’re doing wrong
to knowing exactly what casting is looking for
WHAT’S INSIDE
1
Unlearn the rules
Strip back everything you’ve been taught that makes every tape look the same.
2
Find your point of difference
Start with the mirror, not the script — the qualities only you bring.
3
Author the character
Make choices casting remembers, using Greg’s frameworks: the one-word method, the gear change, the substitute.
4
Build your library
Turn finished tapes into a sales tool agents can send as leverage for the next role.
5
Get discovered
The digital-tools module — make yourself findable to the casting directors you actually want.
15 on-demand lessons with Greg · 118 practice sides by genre · a global community of readers (US, UK, NZ, AU) · lifetime access.
THE PROOF
“If you want to be seen, but more importantly, be remembered, do this course.”
LA
Lisa Aldenhoven
Mad Max · Neighbours
“My self-tapes improved significantly over the course. If you’re serious about acting and want to break into the industry — or you’re already getting work but want to take it to the next level — do yourself a favour and do the Self-Taping course.”
YA
Yasir Assam
Apples Never Fall · Young Rock
“The last few jobs I have gotten have been from self tapes, and if I hadn’t done Greg’s course I would have been terrified.”
SB
Sue Broberg
Mr Inbetween
“I thank Greg and The Audition Technique for helping me secure a role on an Australian blockbuster.”
TA
Trudy Ager
Picnic at Hanging Rock
“It was so so helpful for me in building up confidence with self taping. It’s really made all the difference — I can’t recommend it more.”
MB
Michaela Bedel
Boxing Day
“I discovered how to put my career back into my hands.”
TB
Taylor Buoro
The Purchase
BUT WHAT ABOUT…
“I already know how to set up a self-tape.”
Good — STA assumes you do. This is about what you put on the tape, not how you shoot it.
“I don’t have a reader.”
The STA community runs readers for each other across the US, UK, NZ and Australia. Greg has also seen pre-recorded and paused-gap approaches book jobs.
“I don’t have time with these deadlines.”
The deadline is a creative variable. The only one that matters: am I happy with this character?
“I have no credits.”
Greg cites an actor with no credits who booked a direct meeting with the director on a five-week shoot in Spain — purely off a previous self-tape her agent sent through.
“The rules say head and shoulders, plain background…”
The tapes that get noticed break rules deliberately. STA teaches you exactly where the line is.
WHERE STA LEADS
Where actors go next
Self-Taping Academy is where it starts. When you’re ready to build a roster of characters you own — and get Greg’s feedback on them — Creating Compelling Characters is the next step.