Making an Audition Video

[asolsi]

Hey I'm Anjli the new captain for Boiler Bhangra at Purdue this year and I am looking for more information on what goes into an audition video.

Here are a couple questions:
How are they judged?
What exactly goes into an audition video and what are comps looking for?
Do specific segments have to be included?
Where is the best location to shoot?
What should dancers be wearing?
What is the best way to distinguish yourself from the rest of the teams out there?

I'm sure many new captains would also find this information very useful. There aren't many resources or videos out there and I'd appreciate some tips. Since I'm really new, my bhangra knowledge is limited, and all advice is welcomed. Attached is the link of our latest performance, any suggestions to turn this into an audition video would be great!
Boiler Bhangra - Diwali Show 2013

 

[sajan250]

Hey Anjli,


I'm sure there are more experienced people out there - so please feel free to correct me if any of this is incorrect. This is only my second year captaining, so I still consider myself a new captain.


Here's what we do:


Judging: We try the best to perform as we would on stage at a competition. We usually make a couple of videos around this time since a bunch are due between late November and early December, and then do some after winter break (since everyone on our team is from outside Austin and can't meet up during the majority of the break).


What do comps look for? I'm sure members of comp boards can further elaborate, but my answer to this is similar to the previous one. Things you'd want to do on stage: energy, smiles/expressions, cleanliness, togetherness, etc. One thing I'm not sure about is gimmicks/stunts - do teams include this during audition vids?


Location: With 7 South Asian dance teams alone here at UT, we often compete with to find good rooms to use (since raas, fusion, and all the other teams also have videos due for their respective comps). We try to go for a large, well lit room - large enough to do formations as if we were on a stage.


Clothing: We usually try to keep some coordination for our videos. We've had a few comps that said not to include anything in the video that would tell then which school we're from (collegiate comp) - to keep out any bias. So we usually don't wear burnt orange since we typically send the same video to multiple comps if the due dates are close together.


As far as distinguishing yourself - I personally feel like you need to show the viewers that you can bring your A game though the video - show them a glimpse of what you'd bring to their stage.[SIZE=78%] [/SIZE]


Almost all comps will send a rubric on the judging criteria as well as specific guidelines in their app packets. Most of the details and answers to your questions should be in there. Also, I know a lot of comps will tell you that the video has to be recorded since a certain time (ie must be recorded after september 19th) and some might have restrictions on whether you can submit a video that was from a past performance.


Hope all of this helps and looking forward to what other teams have to share!

 

[Rachneet]

Hey Anjli!

This is a great question, especially since I often have questions about what to include/not include in audition videos as well. I'm sure someone on a competition committee or with more knowledge on this topic might be able to answer some of these questions more accurately, but here’s my take:

Since you are often allotted anywhere between 2 and 5 minutes for a video, I feel like showing the strongest (strong choreo, clean formations) and most energetic segments of your routine would be ideal. You only have so much time to show those judging why they should choose you for their comp. In terms of what particular segments should be included, someone else might be able to answer this better than me, but I personally don’t tend to include slower-paced segments (like jhoomer), or other segments that don’t emphasize formations - but again, if someone else can elaborate on what segments should/should not be included, please do!

Make sure you pay attention to what is written in the registration packets regarding the audition video. Many comps will require a video that is in a non-competitive, or non-performance setting. (So that video you posted probably wouldn’t work for those comps that require your video to be in a practice setting). Also, some require that all or 75% of the dancers you plan on bringing to competition be in the audition video. Unless you plan on bringing 8 people, this video probably wouldn’t suffice.

I feel like Sajan covered the other questions you had pretty thoroughly! Regarding clothing, I make everyone wear plain black shirts in our videos to keep it uniform, and reduce any bias (no writings, logos, etc). And in terms of distinguishing yourself from other teams, I personally feel like judges will be looking to see that you can bring something unique and original in terms of choreo and formations to the stage. But then again, this may vary depending on the competition and/or who’s judging.

A couple questions that I had about audition videos myself: I know Sajan brought up the topic of gimmicks as well, but how wise is it to include gimmicky-segments in an audition video? Also, do teams usually include their saaps/khunde/katon segments or do you tend to highlight non-prop segments? Or does it not matter? haha

I hope I helped answer some of your questions Anjli!
Rachneet

 

[sajan250]

A couple questions that I had about audition videos myself: I know Sajan brought up the topic of gimmicks as well, but how wise is it to include gimmicky-segments in an audition video? Also, do teams usually include their saaps/khunde/katon segments or do you tend to highlight non-prop segments? Or does it not matter? haha

We've done both as far as using instruments, we've had some videos using saaps and khunde, and some not using. Personally, saaps is one of my favorite parts of the dance. So I always enjoy making the choreo for it first out of the routine and I like using it in videos haha.

As far as gimmicks, I always thought to leave them out since majority of the weight on judging would be on choreo/cleanliness/etc.

 

[Psant]

Great question! So I've been on a committee to judge audition videos as well as helped create audition videos for competitions. Here's my take on it.

How are they judged/what are comps looking for?

To be honest, although most committees tend to deny this, basically they are judged by your team's reputation. If your team has a bigger name, you have the benefit of the doubt. If your team has no name, then they're going to judge you on how clean and in sync you are. If your team is good enough, yet geographically close enough to the competition and can therefore bring in ticket sales, you also get the benefit of the doubt.

What Goes Into an Audition Video?

Clean dancing, that's all really. Most competitions have very explicit expectations in their registration packets. Some may require a practice video of about 3 minutes. Others will be fine with a recent competition video. Some competitions let you use props, and others don't. There's really no specific segments that are required, but I'd recommend some diversity. Definitely throw in an end song. Remember, unless it's explicitly disallowed in the registration packet, you can tape your segments separately and splice them together. Just make sure it isn't a crappy editing job. I'd also recommend overlaying your mix music file on the video because often that adds to the hype over the audio recording in the video.

Best Location to shoot?
This doesn't matter much. Somewhere with good lighting? I'd definitely somewhere with enough space to allow you to get a front view. If your formations are super cool, maybe somewhere with a top front view.

What should you wear?
Practice clothes. At UNC, we would sometimes make jodis wear the same colored t-shirt for effect.

 

[Aditya]

Our team (UVA) has had a lot of bizarre experiences in the past with trying to get into competitions with our application videos, so I think this will be a really useful thread for other teams.


Location: Big space, good lighting, and some place where you can get an aerial shot to see formations. Make sure that the video isn't taped from too far away because you want the committee to be able to see energy, facial expressions, etc. I know that some teams that actually take an eye-level and "balcony" view simultaneously and then put them both into the same video, similar to this: [SIZE=78%]FAUJ @ Bhangra Idols 2012 (Best of the Best)[/SIZE] . If you're capable of doing that I highly recommend it. It shows organization and makes your team look more professional/prepared.


What goes in: It's up to you, but you really shouldn't hold anything back in your video, especially if you are a new team without much of a reputation. Show them all your best segments, especially the ones that characterize your team's identity and routine. For example, our team prides itself on its formations so we used our Sap, Khunde, and other miscellaneous segments that highlighted what we do best. A lot of committee members may not necessarily be bhangra heads at all and you need to do things that distinguish you from other teams in ways that make sense to anybody. Treat your taping like a competition; tape it until its as clean as you can get it and the energy is on point (this will also help you long-term when you're actually preparing for the competition!)


Clothes: Highly recommend color-coordinating your practice clothes in some way, shape or form. Make guys wear one color, make girls where another, everyone wears the same thing, have jodis wear the same color, etc. Committees probably get a ton of applications and videos that they have to review, if you make it hard for them to understand what's going on and make them have to watch your video over and over again they'll most likely be less inclined to accept you.


Reputation: It matters, and racking up placings, wins, etc. makes the road to getting into competitions much easier. That being said, DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING. Our team had placed at three consecutive competitions in the Spring of 2010 (Burgh, VPD, Blowout) and we thought we'd be sure shots for everything the next semester. In Fall of 2010, we used an old practice video that was good enough to get us into Boston but didn't get us into Burgh (despite the fact that we had just placed second there) because it was deemed "unprofessional." Whatever you do, take everything seriously.

Last thing I'll say is to constantly communicate with the competition's committee. Show them how interested you are and get a picture of what they're looking for and what they want. It'll help you put the best video forward and it will keep your team in their minds when they review the applications.


Hope this helps!

 

[yraparla]

Our team (UVA) has had a lot of bizarre experiences in the past with trying to get into competitions with our application videos, so I think this will be a really useful thread for other teams.

well this is awkward

 

[Aditya]

Our team (UVA) has had a lot of bizarre experiences in the past with trying to get into competitions with our application videos, so I think this will be a really useful thread for other teams.

well this is awkward

Haha it wasn't just Burgh that year, we've been turned down on numerous occasions by a bunch of different comps since I've been here.