Reel Clip

How to Get an Amazing Demo Reel

AUGUST IS DEMO REEL Month!

Part I-   How to Get an Amazing Demo Reel

1-  Choose Roles That Show Your “Type” And Range. That means how would you be
cast in Primetime/Daytime TV and Films TODAY? Almost all TV series are written in a
consistent format which includes classic types: Interns/Doctors, Lawyers/Criminals,
Detectives/Investigators, Spies/CIA agents, Geeks/Ordinary people and Sexy women
doing something naughty or illegal. That’s why we have series like; House, NCIS,
Raising the Bar, Law & Order, CSI, Criminal Minds, 24, Desperate Housewives,
Burn Notice, How I Met your Mother, 30 Rock, etc… OK, so you need to show
WHAT characters in WHICH of these shows you could play. If the clip you want to
put on your reel isn’t in the genre of one of the above shows, exclude it. Simple.

2- Don’t put “Heavily Dramatic” Scenes on your reel.  This is the biggest mistake
of beginners who want something “juicy” and “serious” to show they can act. Wrong.
Good acting is subtle. Did you ever notice that most student films include a lot of
screaming, heavy drama, crying, yelling obscenities and firing of guns? They think
it’s cool. The real industry does not. Scenes that are clever, fast-paced, witty or
humorous, entertaining, intelligent and subtle are closer to the real thing. Go for
those.

3 – Don’t Include the Horror, Alien Or Other Sci-Fi With Special Effects Scenes.
Exclude anything overly graphic, gratuitously violent and unwatchable. First time
indie directors love these scenes because it fulfills their agenda to produce a
sensational, money-making, low-budget first feature. It doesn’t fulfill YOUR
agenda. No A-list Casting Director or top Agent wants a client whose tacky
demonstration of talent consists of being pursued across the Mall’s parking lot
by a maniac wielding a chain saw. Get something better to represent you if
you want representation and any work at all!

4 – Don’t Shoot Or Write Your Own Scenes Unless You Really Are A Professional
 Writer who’s been writing for years. But then why would you need an actor’s
 demo reel?  Find a company (see TAM below) that can produce, write, shoot and
 edit a scene or two for you. You deserve the best so go to professionals. And NEVER
 use a scene that’s from a REAL series- it’s illegal and you’re breaking the copyright
 law! Besides, you’ll never look as good as the original. Don’t shoot yourself in the
 foot as well!

5- Get The Advice Of An Excellent Editor Who Has Worked On Major Primetime
TV series not just edited low budget indies. The style is different, the pacing, the
music, the LIGHTING and the length of scenes. Better yet, find a Career Coach to
advise you on choice of scenes/roles, wardrobe, image and style. The roles
you will be offered are exactly the ones you display on your reel. Get advice.

6- Make It Short, Fast Paced And FUN! – Show Off Your best traits, personality and
acting ability. Agents can tell in about 10 seconds if they want to work with you.
They don’t need to see a long boring dramatic scene. On your website you could
post two or three (1-2 minute) complete “scenes” but if you have a good editor you
should create a “SIZZLE reel”. It has about 6-8 (5-10 second) clips that come to a
total of one minute and is much like a fast paced, fun, intriguing trailer to a great
 movie. You can even include a clip from a commercial or music video. Agents, CD’s,
 Film producers – EVERYONE in the Industry loves “SIZZLE reels”! So get one!

HAPPY AUGUST!

Successful Marketing!
Gwyn

About the Author

Gwyn Gilliss is the Executive Director of TAM, The Actor’s Market (http://www.theactorsmarket.com) a marketing firm for actors. They provide every marketing tool an actor needs – HEADSHOTS, RESUMES, BIOS, DEMO REELS, CAREER COACHING, MARATHON SEMINARS to met the INDUSTRY-AGENTS & CASTING DIRECTORS – as well as FREE monthly seminars, FREE weekly marketing tips and access to top photographers, graphic artists and videographers to create great demo reels (sizzle reels). There are Training courses via teleseminars, downloadable Podcasts and Home study courses with DVD’s and the ACTOR’S MASTERMIND a bi-monthly FREE teleseminar for all actors globally. (check for more products and services at The TAM Store) . Gwyn’s acting career spans several decades during which time she appeared on and off-B’way, in classical roles in American Repertory companies, in over 18 contract and recurring roles in Daytime/Primetime TV, Films and dozens of network commercials/V.O.’s. As a Career Coach she is available to work One-on-One with actors at all levels.

Criminal Minds: Season Four Gag Reel

The Best of Real Sex – HBO Presents As with sex itself, the better parts of HBO’s long-running magazine show Real Sex are a matter of personal preference. However, the cable channel’s official greatest-hits package, The Best of Real Sex, is an accurate overview of the series’ polymorphic interests: loving intimacy, outright orgies, voyeurism, transvestites, computer sex, self-pleasure. The more sensational stuff, such as a story o…

Karcher 2.642-182.0 Pressure Washer Trigger Gun With 25-Foot Hose And Quick Connect $34.00 Includes Replacement Trigger Gun and Hose – 2.642-182.0, Quick Connect Adapter…

Tajima CR301JF Chalk-Rite Jam Free Chalk Snap Line Box $13.21 Jam free, fast-wind chalk snap line with 100′ of extra bold 1.0mm premium grade braided line. Smooth 5-gear rewinds, up to 4 times faster than standard snap lines. Compact, fits comfortably in the palm of your hand yet holds up to 3.5 oz. of chalk. Durable, translucent ABS case with protective, sure-grip elastomer cover. Positive gear-lock line hold, automatically releases during rewind. Also feat…

Applied Magnets ® 10 Name Badge Magnets – Magnetic Name Tag Holders w/ Three Neodymium Magnets $4.99 Magnetic Badge Holders with Plastic Back Plate and Adhesive Tape Never use clips or pins to hold that badge to your garments again! Our magnetic badge holders will not damage your clothing and are easy to use!! One plastic plate with 3 round rare earth neodymium magnets. One plated steel plate with pressure-sensitive foam tape. Imprinted On Back With: Caution – Magnetic Device Do Not Use With Pace…

Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938, Vol. 1 $8.83 In 1933, a squint-eyed sailor with outsized forearms danced a hula with Betty Boop–and began one of the great series in American cartoon history. Popeye had made his debut in Elzie Segar’s comic strip “Thimble Theater” four years earlier, and the jump to animation only increased his popularity: by 1938, he rivaled Mickey Mouse. During the ’30s, when Disney was creating lushly colored, realistic …

Jennifer Lopez – The Reel Me (DVD & CD) $11.98 With 16 music videos under her belt, Jennifer Lopez has a few things to say in this sexy anthology about what it takes to connect people to her songs. She says them concisely in an interview that wraps around The Reel Me’s collection of sweet ballads, sweaty dance music, and jagged hip-hop, but the videos actually speak for themselves. “If You Had My Love” makes a closed-circuit, home-security sys…

The James Dean Story $1.99 …