It sometimes happens. You get a request for a self-tape with 3 or 4 pages of dialogue and just a couple of days to prepare. Unless you are exceptional at learning lines, there's no way you can learn all the dialogue in that short space of time.

So what do you do? This article tells you.

The Character comes First #

First off, remember the most important thing the CD is looking for is the character. If you are in character and perform as the character, the CD will not worry if you don't get the script 100%. 

So to begin with, make sure you nail the character. Think about who they are, their motivations, their attitude, their style. 

Decide who they are and how you can play them.

Once that's done, you can try out different ideas to get the lines.

Cheating #

Some people just can't learn lines that fast. For them, the only option is cheating. 

(Well, it's not really cheating. It's doing the best under the circumstances. If the CD gives you just a couple of days to learn a long script, then sometimes you have to improvise because it simply can't be done.)

Basically, this means an autocue or teleprompter or cue cards (see below). As long as you have them out of sight of the camera, you can use them and give in a very respectable self-tape.

Autocue/Teleprompter

If you have a long speech, the best is arguably to use an autocue/teleprompter. Although it's not that difficult to make one yourself (there are quite a few YouTube videos about this), you can also buy one for as little as €45 and works with a smartphone or your DSLR.

You can use them in conjunction with a smarphone app. Arguably the best app is the Nano Teleprompter which is very easy to use.

Once set up, you can scroll back and forth through the lines easily and record your self-tape.

Cue Cards

Another alternative is cue cards. Or, to put it bluntly, pieces of paper stuck about around the room with the lines of dialogue on them. 

This has one advantage over an autocue in that you can look in different places. For example, if you're supposed to be talking to different characters around the room you can look at a cue card on one wall, then turn to the other side and look at another one.

How to Read Lines #

One trick worth learning — and practicing! — is how to read lines so that it doesn't look like you're reading them. Here are some ideas to come across naturally on your self-tape.

• Try at least to learn some of the lines so that you can look away from the autocue or cue card and aren't glued to them throughout the speech
• Make sure the autocue or cue cards are to one side of the camera; remember, you don't generally speak directly into the camera on a self-tape
• Practice as many times as you can before recording so you are used to the lines and know roughly what is coming up next
• Practice at different speeds beforehand — try the lines fast then slow; mix it up a little!