What Take Goes First?

We often hear actors say, "I don't know which take to put first." 

That is a HUGE part of the dilemma we see with at-home recording and self-directing. You not only have to direct yourself but then you have to edit and decide which order of takes to submit. 

Do you put the take with improv first? Do you put the "safer" take first? Do you put the take that closest matches the spec first? Do you put the take that is more "you" first? 

You may not like the answer, but - it all depends. It depends on the project, it depends on the specs, it depends on the takes that you do, as well as your voice, your strengths, and your overall abilities. 

For example, if improv is not your strength, you likely wouldn't put that take first. If high energy is not your strength, you wouldn't put that take first. If you felt your strongest take was the one where you were "just you" then I'd highly suggest putting that take first. 

Every time you record a take, you'll feel like you either need to do another, or it was close but not quite there, or maybe it felt right on as it was. Go with those feelings. Trust how you feel as you're recording even more so than what you hear when you listen back. It's harder to step away and truly listen to yourself objectively so go with how it felt. Ultimately, go with how it felt as you were recording. 

You can second-guess yourself over and over again; but eventually you need to take the leap and submit. Know that on the casting side, if we would prefer another order, we'll change it before we submit to the client. If we want to cut a take, we'll cut it before we submit to the client. With that said, we still want you to choose before submitting. 

We want to hear what you think is your strongest take first. We want to hear your personality. We want to hear you!