How to Audition Backup Singers

Series Summary

Becoming an indie filmmaker is a more attainable dream now that ever before. Home technology allows ordinary folks to shoot a movie, edit it, lay down music for the background and even create a movie trailer. Now, selling the finished product involves a lot more. There are storyboards to draw, scripts to write and funding to obtain. The tricky part is getting a studio to notice. In this free video series on television, music and film production, an experienced producer explains how to get into a show business. Learn how to make movies, how to open a record company and how to write a TV talk show. Get advice on video and photography lighting, and learn how microphones work. Make stop-motion movies, and learn what stage directors so, all with this free video series.

Video Transcript

"If you want to audition back up singers, there are a couple of ways to do that. Number one, you want to run an ad in the newspaper or classified section. You might even want to run a press release, letting the public know that you're looking for back up singers. And you would invite them in after they make the initial phone call in to you. And you want to have an open audition or like a casting call scenario in which they'll actually come in to perhaps a hotel or convention center. You'll hold the auditions within a separate meeting room and have a line outside, with additional staff that takes down the information from the different people that come in to audition. Then you'll want to make sure you have some music so that they can come in, sing in to a microphone and sing the backup as you want them to. Auditioning back up singers is subjective. You're going to have all sorts of people who are going to come in to sing. Some may be good, some may be bad. But it's all dependent upon what you're looking for. For example, you may have someone who doesn't have the greatest looks but they're an awesome backup singer. Well, that may work for you because they're not going to be in front of the camera. They may be a great singer and they may be exactly what you need. On the other hand, you may need someone who has great looks and they just can't sing. So, to audition those backup singers, what I like to do when I'm auditioning is I'll let everybody go through the audition process. I always record it and that way I can take a look back and reflect upon who I liked and who I didn't. Take notes along the way to remind yourself of who you liked and who you didn't and what you liked about each individual person. Tell all of your auditioners that you'll be giving them a call back next week. That way nobody knows if they have the part or they don't or if they've acquired the role or they haven't at the audition. It saves you a lot of time and hassle and problems. So, if you want to audition a backup singer, those are a couple of ways you can get people in, get them auditioned without a lot of hassle and have time to reflect on who you want to choose before you give them a call back."