When the Notes Fight Each Other: How to Handle Conflicting Self-Tape Directions Without Spiraling

Every actor has gotten that self-tape breakdown that reads like a riddle:

“Make it subtle but make it pop.” “Play the comedy, but don’t be funny.” “Confident, but vulnerable. Warm, but cold. Fast, but take your time.”

If you’ve ever stared at those notes and felt your brain turn to oatmeal—same. The good news: conflicting notes don’t mean casting doesn’t know what they want. Most of the time, it means they’re trying to protect the tone of the project while still leaving you room to be interesting.

Here’s a way to approach contradictory self-tape direction that keeps you calm, makes your choices clearer, and (bonus) helps your reader help you.

First: Translate notes into playable actions A lot of “conflicting” notes are actually two different categories mixed together:

• **Tone notes** (the world of the show): grounded, realistic, subtle, restrained
• **Story notes** (what the scene needs to do): pop, land, turn, surprise, raise stakes

When you translate adjectives into verbs, things get simpler. For example:

• “Subtle but make it pop” becomes: **keep behavior natural, but make the turn undeniable**.
• “Confident but vulnerable” becomes: **lead with certainty, then let the cost show**.
• “Comedic but grounded” becomes: **take it seriously, but allow the absurdity to affect you**.

A quick trick: write down **one playable action per beat**.

• Beat 1: reassure
• Beat 2: challenge
• Beat 3: cover
• Beat 4: confess

Now you’re acting, not trying to “be subtle.”

Conflicting notes usually mean: “Don’t break the tone—still deliver the moment.”

Identify the “non-negotiable” note If you try to satisfy every note equally, you’ll often land in the most forgettable place: careful, generalized, and a little tense.

Instead, pick the note that is most likely **non-negotiable**. Ask:

• Is this a network/procedural tone that needs restraint?
• Is this a comedy where pace matters more than realism?
• Is there a plot point that must be crystal clear (confession, threat, reveal)?

Usually the non-negotiable is either:

• **Tone** (don’t go outside the show), or
• **Clarity** (we must understand the turn)

Once you choose the non-negotiable, you can let the other note live inside it.

Example: “Bigger, but more natural.”

• Non-negotiable: **natural** (don’t look like you’re “doing a bit”)
• Solution: let “bigger” come from **stakes and urgency**, not from volume or extra facial acting.

Bigger doesn’t have to mean broader. It can mean faster thinking, less time to plan, more need.

Make one clear choice, then give casting an option (if appropriate) Some breakdowns basically beg for two versions. If you have time—and if the audition instructions don’t forbid it—you can give casting options without making them work too hard.

A clean way to do this:

• **Take 1:** prioritize the tone (grounded, real, contained)
• **Take 2:** prioritize the engine (pace, comedy, edge, risk)

Keep everything else identical (framing, eye line, wardrobe, background) so they’re comparing performance, not production.

If you’re uploading multiple takes, label them simply:

• “Take 1 – Grounded”
• “Take 2 – Punchier”

No essays. No apologies.

Use a reader to control “bigger vs subtler” without changing your acting Here’s the part actors forget: the reader can help you solve contradictory notes by shaping the scene’s pressure.

If you need to stay subtle but still have the scene “pop,” ask your reader to:

• **Pick up pace slightly** (you’ll have to think faster)
• **Hold eye contact longer** (creates pressure without you “performing”)
• **Interrupt once** (raises stakes and changes your energy organically)
• **Make one line warmer or colder** (gives you something real to respond to)

This creates contrast in the scene without you pushing.

A great reader isn’t just feeding you lines—they’re helping you generate behavior truthfully.

The “two sliders” method (my go-to in a pinch) When notes conflict, I imagine two sliders:

• **Slider A: Reality** (1 = theatrical, 10 = documentary)
• **Slider B: Pressure** (1 = casual, 10 = life-or-death)

Most contradictory direction is solved by moving **pressure**, not reality.

So if casting wants “more intensity but still natural,” don’t lower Reality. Raise Pressure.

Try this:

• Keep Reality at an 8 or 9 (normal voice, normal face, normal behavior)
• Raise Pressure from a 4 to a 7 (less time, more need, higher consequence)

Your performance will read “bigger” because the moment matters more, not because you’re acting harder.

Don’t confuse “less” with “careful” When actors get “be subtle,” we often get smaller in the wrong way:

• we edit impulses
• we smooth out messy emotions
• we become polite

Subtle doesn’t mean muted. It means **specific**.

If you’re going for restraint, give us restraint with something underneath it:

• A thought you’re not saying
• A choice you’re resisting
• A reaction you swallow

That reads on camera as depth, not blandness.

A simple pre-tape checklist for mixed direction Before you roll, answer these out loud (seriously—it helps):

• What is the tone of the project in one sentence?
• What is the scene’s job? (turn, reveal, seduce, win, threaten, soothe)
• What is my character protecting?
• What do I want from the other person right now?
• Where does the pressure spike?

Then give yourself one instruction you can actually do:

• “Don’t sell it. Need it.”
• “Let them pull it out of you.”
• “Stay calm until you can’t.”

If you can’t say it in one sentence, it’s probably not playable.

If you’re still stuck: choose the version that makes a casting director’s job easier Casting is watching a lot of tapes fast. Their main questions are:

• Do you fit the world?
• Do you tell the story clearly?
• Are you watchable?
• Do you make strong, consistent choices?

So when notes conflict, prioritize:

• **clarity over cleverness**
• **specificity over variety**
• **commitment over “covering”**

A clear choice that’s slightly imperfect beats a mushy choice that tries to please everyone.

Final thought: conflicting notes are an invitation, not a trap It’s easy to interpret mixed direction as “they’re testing me.” Sometimes they are—but not in a gotcha way. They’re often looking for an actor who can hold two truths at once.

• The character is brave and scared.
• The moment is funny and painful.
• The scene is calm and charged.

That’s real life. That’s good acting.

If you can translate the notes into actions, pick a non-negotiable, and use your reader to create real pressure, you’ll stop spiraling—and your tape will feel like it belongs in the actual episode.