One of the shows I regularly watch is Face Off. Basically special effects make-up artists compete. Kind of like what American Idol is to singers. I got to thinking it is a lot like actors and auditions.

The make-up artists end up in one of three categories at the end of each show, based solely on what they showed that week.

Top Look: This means you met the week’s criteria and the judges were highly impressed with your work. Usually involves making bold strong choices and delivering. This would be the acting equivalent of familiarizing yourself with the script, or sides, (whatever is available to you) and putting your personal stamp on the character. Your take might not win you the role, but your more likely to stand out in a good way. Also, those who spend a lot of time in this category are more likely to win the competition or book the role.

Safe: This means the judges felt that your work was good but didn’t have the WOW factor of the top looks. Or it might simply mean it didn’t suck as bad as the bottom looks. The audition equivalent of glancing over the material and having a very rudimentary idea of your character. Basically end up given the same read as 90% of the others auditioning. I suppose getting in this category might be nice if you’re having a really off day, but I wouldn’t want to take up long-term residency. You might make it to the next round of the competition or callbacks because so many are going through. But the further along, the less safe – pun intended – you are.

Bottom Look: This means something went wrong for you this week. You totally ignored the criteria, had technical issues, or made very bad choices. This would be the equivalent of not preparing at all for an audition or making very inappropriate character choices. Probably won’t get you blacklisted, but you probably don’t need to worry about making sure you keep your schedule clear for callbacks.

Personally, I’d prefer to spend most of my time in the top looks category.