The situation, without knowing all the details, reminded me of other talks I had with actors lately. There seems to be an ongoing trend of knowing it all but having no real clue - to be frank. ;) Especially when it comes to Demo Reels!! Actors, being overwhelmed by anything beyond acting, unfortunately have a tendency of latching onto the next best marketing advice they get just to get it over with... Mostly with disastrous results and disappointing reviews.
The industry has rules - and if you obey them you will be happy you did. Your Demo Reel is no exception. The best way to get into the door or having a "run" as we call it is your body of work of course. But don't underestimate the package! Bored or (even worse) angry casting directors aren't a pretty sight. It makes their job difficult and you don't want them to feel disrespected. I edited my reel myself this year, so here are few things I learned and would like to pass on to you:
Casting people and directors don't have time, so come to the point - fast please. A reel should not be longer than 90 seconds for TV or 3 minutes for film. Just show us your best and most emotional scenes that give us a sense of what you look like on camera, your types, and what you can do. Inspire us. Open with an emotionally loaded scene, make us laugh, or impress us with playing Julia Robert's brother.
Start every scene with YOU, so we know whose reel it is. Cut down your scene partner's screen time so we don't have to watch both of you act. You want us to focus on you without any distractions. It has even happened before that the scene partner booked the project, because he had just as much screen time and was better than the actor submitting for the part. ;)
Don't make this a short film. That's not what a demo reel is. Don't focus on the entertainment value as this is an evaluation of you. Therefore stay away from snippets, montages, an overall arc, etc. We want to see if you can carry a scene and how versatile you are. Long scenes are perfect to see if you can stay in character and create an arc. Gimmick-y reels with tiny snippets show me the performer cut around performance flaws, shows off with the quantity of his projects or tries to distract with flashy editing.
Don't jump the gun if you don't have enough presentable footage yet. Sometimes it's better not to show anything instead of projects that look cheap, are poorly written or don't feature you enough. Wait for better things. It's crucial at times, but you might even have to stay away from using scenes if they're not adding anything new or are clearly lacking quality (which essentially distracts from your performance.) Which brings me to my next point:
Stay away from being repetitive, PLEASE! I have seen reels with seven scenes which all seemed to have the exact same character or dialog without any noticeable stakes. Zzzz... There's a huge difference between playing your type and just playing the same movie over and over again. Play as many emotional notes as possible and show us at least three different types. Versatility is more important than ever! Explore yourself, find variations of your own personality - even if there're small - to show us. If you can play a mobster, I'm sure you have potential to play a cop or business man as well.
Show your work proudly when you're READY and everyone agrees. I can not stress that enough. It won't do you any good sharing your 'process' publicly (even bothering professionals with it), because we'll remember that you thought what you presented to us was good. Learn to reflect and stay in reality- although talking our progress up seems to help our confidence for the moment. It's important to be ready to perform but even more to be consistent with it — so we know we'll get a solid performance.
Use your bonus if you have one. Put a scene with a major star first so we know someone trusted you with acting next to him without falling apart. It shows confidence and boosts your value - it IS still Hollywood after all. This could also mean you won an award for your performance or were part of a successful project. Write us a note about that or put it on the DVD. It never hurts to tell us someone thought you did a fantastic job because it makes you stand out right away.
Please keep in mind that even with a great demo reel we still want to meet you and see the same excellency in the audition. It doesn't mean we want to check up on you... We simply want to make sure your talent and charisma are still up to par. You wouldn't believe how many actors shine in their demo reel performances but suck in the room because they got lazy. Being an actor isn't about achievements. It's about the spirit. The only way for us to see that is to meet you in person.
The reel is the first impression — the audition your opportunity to make the character we're casting your own!
Your DemoNista.
Casting people and directors don't have time, so come to the point - fast please. A reel should not be longer than 90 seconds for TV or 3 minutes for film. Just show us your best and most emotional scenes that give us a sense of what you look like on camera, your types, and what you can do. Inspire us. Open with an emotionally loaded scene, make us laugh, or impress us with playing Julia Robert's brother.
Start every scene with YOU, so we know whose reel it is. Cut down your scene partner's screen time so we don't have to watch both of you act. You want us to focus on you without any distractions. It has even happened before that the scene partner booked the project, because he had just as much screen time and was better than the actor submitting for the part. ;)
Don't make this a short film. That's not what a demo reel is. Don't focus on the entertainment value as this is an evaluation of you. Therefore stay away from snippets, montages, an overall arc, etc. We want to see if you can carry a scene and how versatile you are. Long scenes are perfect to see if you can stay in character and create an arc. Gimmick-y reels with tiny snippets show me the performer cut around performance flaws, shows off with the quantity of his projects or tries to distract with flashy editing.
Don't jump the gun if you don't have enough presentable footage yet. Sometimes it's better not to show anything instead of projects that look cheap, are poorly written or don't feature you enough. Wait for better things. It's crucial at times, but you might even have to stay away from using scenes if they're not adding anything new or are clearly lacking quality (which essentially distracts from your performance.) Which brings me to my next point:
Stay away from being repetitive, PLEASE! I have seen reels with seven scenes which all seemed to have the exact same character or dialog without any noticeable stakes. Zzzz... There's a huge difference between playing your type and just playing the same movie over and over again. Play as many emotional notes as possible and show us at least three different types. Versatility is more important than ever! Explore yourself, find variations of your own personality - even if there're small - to show us. If you can play a mobster, I'm sure you have potential to play a cop or business man as well.
Show your work proudly when you're READY and everyone agrees. I can not stress that enough. It won't do you any good sharing your 'process' publicly (even bothering professionals with it), because we'll remember that you thought what you presented to us was good. Learn to reflect and stay in reality- although talking our progress up seems to help our confidence for the moment. It's important to be ready to perform but even more to be consistent with it — so we know we'll get a solid performance.
Use your bonus if you have one. Put a scene with a major star first so we know someone trusted you with acting next to him without falling apart. It shows confidence and boosts your value - it IS still Hollywood after all. This could also mean you won an award for your performance or were part of a successful project. Write us a note about that or put it on the DVD. It never hurts to tell us someone thought you did a fantastic job because it makes you stand out right away.
Please keep in mind that even with a great demo reel we still want to meet you and see the same excellency in the audition. It doesn't mean we want to check up on you... We simply want to make sure your talent and charisma are still up to par. You wouldn't believe how many actors shine in their demo reel performances but suck in the room because they got lazy. Being an actor isn't about achievements. It's about the spirit. The only way for us to see that is to meet you in person.
The reel is the first impression — the audition your opportunity to make the character we're casting your own!
Your DemoNista.
