In reply to Pete LaMaster.

Casting directors know what their clients want. Many times after the first take, a CD has said exactly the right thing that got me pointed in the right direction. Taping yourself and picking the best take is shooting blind in my opinion. Vanity will often cloud your decision as to which take is best. You may be looking at your appearance rather than really watching your performance. The presence of a live engaged person (the CD) often makes the difference between getting the callback or not. Taking the CD out of the audition process and leaving the decision as to which take is best in the actors hands is a big mistake. And for the actor, it really doesn't save time, money or the environment. Particularly, if you don't have your own home set-up and have to go to a taping studio. But the good thing is: the CD doesn't have to rent office space.