You’re an actor. Actors need footage. Yes, of course, you have a headshot and a resumé, maybe even a fantastic agent you’re thrilled to call your business partner. But without a reel, you’re not helping buyers know exactly what you can do on-screen. Sure, sure, we can call you in for an audition and approximate from the audition experience what it is that you would do on a soundstage, but more and more, casting directors are using your demo reel as a determining factor in whether you even get invited in to do that audition!
So, what do you do? You have one scene from a cruddy student film with a boom shadow clearly evident, you have another scene featuring your *really* intense extra work, and you have a package of scenes you bought from a facility that promised your scenes were written exclusively for you (but they weren’t). How is this supposed to help you to the next tier?
Welp, start by deciding if any of this footage accomplishes TWO key things:
- It represents the level of work I want to continue to do.
- It shows the buyers exactly how to cast me next.
If you have no interest in being the next top “very featured background artist,” your featured extra work doesn’t belong on your reel. If your best quality scene from a meaty indie is of you doing something completely off-brand, that misdirect doesn’t belong on your reel. If you’ve aged out of the range (be honest) you used to be able to nail, it’s time to let some footage bite the dust.
Footage is about risk assessment. The buyers are looking for actors who solve a casting problem they have, right that second. If your footage doesn’t say, “Absolutely! I *am* a candidate for filling the specific role you’re looking to cast today,” it’s essentially saying, “Move along.”
Now, of course, it could be saying, “Great actor. Not right for this role today.” Or, “Shows potential. Needs training and experience.” Or even, “Maybe a better fit for this other role on this different project.”
But since it could also be saying, “I do non-pro level work,” “I haven’t done enough work to show you what I can do without paying to create a scene — even though self-producing would’ve gotten me a much better bit of footage and an IMDb credit,” or, “I think just being on a set counts toward your risk assessment, so I’m going to prove that was my elbow in that scene with Daniel Day Lewis,” you’d better make sure your footage is fab.
It’s doing some communicating with the buyers on your behalf, once you put it up at Actors Access, on your IMDb page, embedded via YouTube into your professional acting website. Be sure your footage is communicating exactly what you want it to:
- This is what I do best.
- This is me doing it in the best possible light.
- This is how to cast me next.
There are three weeks left in 2013. You need fewer than three DAYS to create footage that showcases you exactly as you want the buyers to perceive you — as a solution to their casting needs. Will you commit to making your footage FAB in the time we’ve got left before we close the books on this year?
Who’s in? Lemme hear from you. I’ll cheer you on!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001750.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.