Acting : Your Demo Reel by Tony Stengel

I wanted to share my thoughts on Reels, gained from decades of Acting, Casting and Representing Artist. ~ "What makes a good reel?" The answer is simple… once explained. Your reel should start and end on you! Again… on YOU! The TRT (Total Running Time) should be around 3 minutes and never over 5. Also list it on the cover (TRT: 3:26) Along with you name, face and contact info. Same info should be viewable on the reel. Why lose a part because we lost your DVD cover? Think it goes without saying that we need your contact info to reach you? Then you have never worked in casting. We get reels and resumes daily with no contact info. Do not cloud it up with a lot of actors and try to make the majority of you scenes with the opposite gender. We want to see how you connect with your co-stars but you do not want us confusing whose reel it is. Start with your best work at the top. Don’t count on the entire reel being watched, especially if you did not grab our attention at the beginning. And if we want to see more, that is a good thing. We’ll call you in. You may consider “flying in” the shows title but not as necessary with “Branding”, (the annoying little logo at the bottom of most every show tells us that this actually aired.) Don’t be afraid to edit! The scene does not need to play out till the end, especially when it drives up the time, does not add to the piece as a whole and ends on an actor other than you. If yours is an online real, be damn sure it is free of any and all viruses, spyware and the like. Crashing a Casting Directors computer is not a good career move. It may generate a phone call, but not one you would ever want to receive. Variety is ideal, but quality is more important. Better to have a short reel or even no reel, than to have one of poor quality. It comes down to the rule of first impressions. And quality includes the sound as well as the picture. You may shoot some scenes for you reel but be sure they look, and sound professional. As in one cannot tell that it did not come from a quality film or series. Music at the beginning can be used with the same music at the end to pull it all together. When in doubt error on the side of less is more. And as always your reel, picture, resume, and any other Industry Calling Card, should be above all else – Professional!