Make your showreel work for you

The Words of Wisdom this week are Make your showreel work for you.

There are probably few areas in the acting business where you can more easily waste your money than in getting a showreel made. A brief search of the internet will reveal an enormous number of companies that offer showreels and, I hate to tell you, many of them will charge you a lot of money for a sub standard product which will do nothing to advance your career.

So, if you approach, or are approached by, one of these companies, the first thing you will want to see are the links to several examples of their work. Not just one, which might be cooked up for promotional reasons. Click on these and have a look.

What will you be looking for? You will be looking for something of a high technical standard, beautifully cut. It's no good having a mate do an edit as a favour - unless that mate is a professional film editor. If it's not up to standard it will reflect on you. It should be clips from actual professional work, or indistinguishable from it. Four or five, demonstrating your range, is enough. They should be recent ... and short. Just a few seconds. The decision whether or not to see you for a part will probably be made on the first thirty seconds of material, so that's what really counts. You want them to want to see more of you. The sole purpose of a showreel is to make a casting directot or director say "Let's get that one in to read for the part." That's all, so show them the best of you and nothing else.

Make your showreel work for you.