Screen test

a Screen test is a film method of determining the suitabilty of an actor for performing on film and/or a particular film role.

What generally happens is the actor is placed in front of a camera and is instructed to perform selected lines and actions to see if the tested person is suitable. The developed film is later played back for the relevent production personnel for evaluation.

Screen tests can also be used to judge the suitabiltiy of costume, make-up and other details.

Different types could have different task for the tests. For example, a lead for a musical could be request to sing and dance to demonstrate their skill. Other international actors like Bruce Lee have been given screen tests to demonstrate that they sufficiently articulate in the relevent language to be suitable. In Lee's case, he was instructed to converse about Chinese culture in english to judge his grasp of the language and then demonstrated some martial art moves to show off his physical skills.