Show reels.
1. Please keep them as short and to the point as possible. Too many show reels are far to long. On average if the first 30 seconds doesn’t catch their attention well sorry, but it is game over. My personal opinion is that a minute and a half is more than enough for a show reel. But you can do individual pieces which I will talk about later.
2. Everybody feels they need to have a professional show reel done. Now if you have fabulous material, I would say great idea. The number of show reels that come into my inbox, I can tell they have been expensive but they really are not worth it.
I have had more success in the actor doing an honest, natural, heart warming piece to camera that shows them as their true selves. If they can capture themselves in this way it really does work.
3. An example of this although it was not a show reel. We had a casting to do in a matter of an hour. The poor guy was in rehearsals. I gave him the brief. He sat in his car at the side of what sounded like the M1 and did a self tape to camera. The quality and sound was shocking but it did not seem to bother the casting director and she thought he was excellent and offered him a commercial.
4. Now this doesn’t mean that you should cut corners, but a simple camera filming you (take note of myself tape tips) can do the job at a fraction of the price.
It just confirms to me every time that if it is simple, short and to the point and you give that Oscar winning performance they will not rule you out.
5. Another tip is that if you do go down the show reel route with lots of different clips please make sure you are seen straight away. So many of the show reels that I look at, another actor is seen well before your performance and to be honest it is the first 30 seconds that count the most so make sure you are seen in the first few seconds. It must be riveting thoughout to keep their interest.
6. Finally what I do as an agent and it has worked time and time again. Film three one minute acting pieces to camera, one comedy, one serious drama and then something that really appeals to the actor but improvised only. A scenario needs to be given (examples given below) to them or decide what you as an actor feel comfortable with that can show off your best qualities. This one usually works best. For the written pieces, I write most of mine for the individuals themselves or I get them to write it. When I submit their cv to the casting director and let’s say it is for a part that wants a comedy actress, then I put their comedy piece at the top of their cv. You have probably doubled your chances of being seen.
Anyway I could quite happily go on forever but will finish now. I do hope this comes in handy and remember this is based on my experience only.
As always I wish you all the luck in the world:)
Alyson.
Examples of improvised scenes.
1. An inexperienced waiter serving in a posh hotel
2. Stuck in a lift with some very annoying people or you can be annoying.
3. A court room scene. This can be any character you would like to portray.
4. Going on a first date. Not the dream date you thought it was going to be or the date cancels but they send someone else on his/her behalf.
5. Birthday party. E.g. You were mistakenly an uninvited guest.
6. Funeral Scene. Could be emotional.
You can vary the themes or come up with ideas yourself. Could be based on something that has actually happened to you.
Basic tips
On all the above you need to think of the character, the characters background, the situation he/she is experiencing, the mood, the pace. Has to have a great beginning and ending.
