Joe Madero's Lounge Discussions

There's an online course by Marci Liroff I'm enjoying which you can check out here: https://www.udemy.com/how-to-star-on-tv-and-in-the-movies. Also, "How to Book Acting Jobs in TV and Film" by Cathy Reinking has good stuff in it, although she can be a little rough at times.

I concur with Joe on Michael Shurtleff's "Audition." An easy read and a step-by-step process to have you auditioning at your best. Good luck!

I'm not an actor but as part of my reading a while ago, I read a book by Michael Caine which I enjoyed and thought was insightful. Acting in Film - An Actor's Take on Film Making . (I hope I got the title right.)

Michael Caine's DVD of screen acting was the most insightful for me. Simple and effective tips for new and upcoming actors'

Amy Jo Berman has some really wonderful webinars that you can purchase the recordings to, and she consistently does new, live ones as well. She is really amazing and has a wealth of information to share. www.amyjoberman.com There are also many great educational articles, blogs, and webinars here on Stage32. I wish you the best!

Casting directors and agents will never get to your 2nd or 3rd clips. The first clip is waaaayy too long. Remember a reel is about showing your buyers how they can cast you. It's not the goal of a reel to tell the whole story of the project or even your character. So unless your character goes through some noticeable ups and downs, limit the amount you show of any project. Also, the first image on the screen FOR EACH CLIP should be your face. In the case of your first clip, you could L-cut your first line over the title card so that when we cut to the scene, you're already on camera.

Nice work Derrick. I'm an Actor myself, so take my suggestions with that in mind. 1) As several folks already pointed out, maybe shorten the reel by, say, 2 minutes. 2) Have somebody re-cut that first clip so that we (the audience) see YOU more. That may mean cutting other people's dialogue -- but still having their lines 'make sense' so that YOUR character's responses are still on point. 3) I would lose the second clip altogether -- as it doesn't show as many INTERESTING levels as you demonstrate in the first clip. 4) Keep the Commercial... It shows you in a completely different light. FUNNY. Keep pushing... E www.DElliotWoods.com

Good work Derrick, the rule of thumb of demo reels is to keep it at two minutes so try to edit it down a bit, good luck and hang in there.

My comment is just about identical to the above. Good work. Cut it down to 2 minutes of the clips that show a diversity in your character development, and it's good to go. In addition, if you are seeking to be taken as a diversified actor, consider getting clips of other projects that project a "lighter side." If being a character actor is your game, disregard that suggestion. You are doing great! I wish you the very best with your career :)

Just peeped this. Yeah, good stuff here it's more like a collection of clips and not a reel. I'd cut it up so it flows into 90 seconds, 2 mins max, and have that as your reel, and have it link back to your YouTube where the longer clips are. Don't know if you've edited this since, but this could be really, really good with a touch of editing. Good stuff man, keep it up!!

Congratulations Debbi, I'm excited for you!!

That's great news. Congrats!!! How did that come about?

Congrats

Isn't this site excellent? Congratulations.

Fantastic accomplishment Debbi, Congratulations!

Study movies.... the best actors in the world are literally showing you exactly what they do in the best movies ever made. If you can separate yourself from the story and force yourself to see the actor for who they are instead of who they are playing you will learn a shit load. I like to pretend I am on the set of the scene, standing behind the director or the light or anything really, watching the performance that way. For some reason it makes me see the performance as it feels on set, when everyone feels real almost like a documentary, and before it ends up with that "cinema" feeling.

Best book? 'Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus' by Marina Caldarone & Maggie Lloyd-Williams. Inspirational.

"How to Stop Acting" by Harold Guskin

awakening the actor within by myself coz I wrote it and I think it's helpful to actors

Hollywood 101 is not directly an acting book, but a great film book that everyone can benefit from, cast or crew. So worth the read. For actors directly, Ice Babies from Oz...best stand alone monologue book. One of the early versions of a book written of monologues from no show...to give the actor something fresh that everyone else was not using. Now that is is older...few use it as much and a great chance for some new talent to go to material others may have yet to spot! The flame thrower monologue a personal fav!