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Take That Crap Off Of Your Demo Reel

TAKE THAT CRAP OFF OF YOUR DEMO REEL!

By Marci Liroff

Did that headline get your attention? I hope so. As a casting director, producer, and acting coach, I spend a good portion of my day viewing demo reels. Despite the recent changes in how a demo reel is produced, we still need to see a quality piece of film that shows you off at your best.

In the past, your demo reel would be anywhere from five to 10 minutes, depending on how much great footage you could gather together. The length of a demo reel—along with what is suitable for it—has changed over the years, and our brains have been rewired in terms of the speed at which we get an impression of who you are. When I’m sitting with film and television executives, I’m always amazed when they take a nanosecond to look at your audition (or demo reel) and say, “That’s our guy!”

A few years ago, it was inappropriate to put anything on your reel that wasn’t professionally produced. By that I mean the footage was always from a network television show, a studio film, or an indie. With the advent of inexpensive video cameras, the Internet, and Web series, all that has changed. So much of what I’m seeing now is either footage that you and your friends shot and cobbled together for an “indie project” or literally self-taped auditions edited together. There are also plenty of production houses staging “scenes” in their studios that you can use for your demo reel. Unfortunately, the quality of these productions is not very good. The writing, lighting, acting, and directing are subpar. I’d rather see nothing than see a bad demo reel. That bad impression will take a while to rectify.

There are many different opinions on this topic, but I like to see broadcast quality in picture and sound. Homemade videos look like homemade videos. They look like a scene out of all those Mickey Rooney–Judy Garland “let’s put on a show” movies. I know I’m generalizing here, and of course there are exceptions, but what this footage doesn’t show me (and what is crucial for me to see) is that a studio, a network, or a group of filmmakers has hired you. Along with your great acting, I can see that you have a record of being cast in legitimate projects by other professionals in this business—not just a scene or two that you’ve paid someone to put together for you.

Make sure to front-load your reel with your absolute best work. (And don’t start it with a photo montage set to music; that style went out in the ’90s.) As I mentioned before, most of the people viewing your demo reel have the attention span of a gnat and if you don’t grab them immediately they will click away.

Make sure your scenes feature you, not the other people in the scene. Just being in a scene doesn’t mean it’s worthwhile to show.

I shouldn’t have trouble identifying which character you are in a group of actors. You and your editor have to be merciless in editing your reel.

Monologues tell me nothing except that you can memorize a large piece of material and are probably better for theater auditions. We need to see you interacting with your partner. We need to see you listening. For me, this is the most important part.

In lieu of including everything, you can also post short individual clips of your scenes on various shows. Categorize them under “drama” and “comedy” so that we can view exactly what we need. They are, hopefully, short and concise and feature the best of you.

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Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

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Why You Should Stay Curious

CURIOUSITY

By Marci Liroff

They say that curiosity killed the cat, but that simply cannot apply to actors. I find curiosity one of the sexiest qualities a person can have. As an actor you’ve got to be continuously curious and fearless to dig deeper into your role while being open to discovering what’s behind the closed door.

As you can imagine, I get dozens of Facebook friend requests daily. I’m one of those people who like to keep my personal Facebook page private, so I created a business page to interact with the acting community. I check each request to see if it’s someone I’ve met recently and my addled brain can’t make the connection, or if it’s an actor I don’t know trying to “friend” me. I usually send those actors a friendly response: “Hi there! This is actually my personal page, for friends and family—I’m sure you understand. Thanks so much for reaching out! I set up another page where we can talk so please feel free to connect over there to get all the updates on casting, private coaching, and my Audition Bootcamp.” I give links to my Facebook business page, my Twitter account, my online class for actors, my website, my blog, and the archive to my articles on Backstage. The usual response is one of gratitude to be exposed to so much information.

That’s why I was so gobsmacked to receive this response after sending my usual “connect with me over on the other page” reply. “Joe Facebook” said, “I went to Stanford and I’m on national TV. I’m good, but thanks.” “I’m good.” Really? You’re good? Believe me, I’m not so full of myself to think that everyone has to follow me on Facebook and Twitter, but are you really going to close yourself off to learning anything new? At the very least, check out the Resources page on my site, which is chock-full of industry-related links and useful information.

When I was in my early 30s, I thought I knew everything. Of course, that was my ego talking, as I didn’t want anyone to know that I actually didn’t know everything.

It took me quite a while to let down my defenses and open up to stop talking, listen, and learn.

Does “Joe Facebook” really not have anything to learn from someone who’s been in this business for decades? This weighed heavily on me for a few days until curiosity got the better of me (see what I did there?) and I looked him up on IMDb and Actors Access. Sure enough, there’s not a single credit. Going further down the rabbit hole I found his YouTube channel, where he has no personal acting videos posted but has subscribed to a number of musicians’ channels—still no acting-related channels.

I spend hours each day doing research to make me a better casting director. As an actor, you never stop learning and studying. I teach my students to read several websites daily to know what’s going on in their business. You need to watch at least two episodes of all the shows that are on TV. Not only do you need to watch the latest movies, I urge you to be a walking, talking library of film history. See plays, concerts, and art; unplug from your devices and plug into nature. Be curious. Trust me, you don’t know everything.

Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

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Do You Know the 4 Levels of Auditions?

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By Marci Liroff

When I was teaching my Audition Bootcamp class last week I was stunned when one of my students asked, “What’s a pre-read?” There are so many different levels of meetings and unfamiliar verbiage when you’re starting out. Here’s a guide so you’ll be familiar with the process.

When you go to an audition or meeting you’ve got to know what level of audition it is before you set foot in that room so that you’ll know what’s expected of you.

The General. This is where I want to get to know you. It’s simply an informal interview. I may know your work, but I want to see what you are really like. Be yourself. It’s a huge opportunity for us to get to know each other on a completely different level than will occur in an audition with possibly 5 other people in the room. Do your homework. Check out the CD to see what work they’ve done in the past and what they’re working on currently.

When we ask you what you’ve been up to lately we don’t want to hear, “Nothing…just stuff.” Tell me what jobs you just did or have upcoming, or how great your new class is, or anything related to your craft. Plus, tell me something about yourself. “I just got a new dog, or I’m moving in with my boyfriend” – tell me a story to give me an idea of your life. Part of this meeting is for me to see another side of you. If you’ve done your homework you can say, “Hey, I just loved so and so film you cast, or I love that series you worked on. How did you find that little girl?”

Unfortunately, these days the “general meeting” has been usurped by CD workshops. Few CDs do generals anymore claiming they don’t have the time.

Pre-read. I just HATE that word “pre-read”. It already sets you up to hate me because I have to pre-screen you before you can go on to the next step. Please don’t think of it that way. The reason we’re doing it is because I’m unfamiliar with your work, or there wasn’t a decent demo reel for me to see. Perhaps I don’t quite see you for the role and want to see what you’d do with it before bringing you to my creative team. Think of it as a work session not a hurdle.

You are prepared and have done your research on the role and the project. You are as off-book as possible but still holding the sides and turning the pages as you go along in the scene.

Remember folks, this is your job! If you were an architect would you come in and do a half-ass job on your first consultation meeting with a new client?

Feel free to ask (brief) specific questions about the character or script. You’ve got to gauge how busy the casting office is in terms of small talk. Due to the fast paced schedule, sometimes the CD needs to do the scene and you’re outta there. So, clip the small talk and get into the scene.

Don’t ask the CD if you are getting a call back. Tell the CD if you are committed to dates that would make you unavailable. Nothing is worse than me bringing in an actor for producers who is unavailable for the project. I will usually tell you then and there if you’re coming back, along with specific directions.

If you don’t get a callback, know that just because you didn’t get the role you came in for, I notice you. If you’re good I will bring you back for my next gig. I always say, “Make a fan of the CD and don’t just focus on booking the job because if you aren’t right for it, you always want the CD to say, “But I like him/her, I’ll keep them in mind in the future”. And we do and it pays off again and again.

The callback or Producer/director session:

At this audition you’ve been selected to read not only for the CD again, but for the creative team. Sometimes the director and producers will be in the room, and sometimes we’ll be re-taping your audition without anyone else in attendance. You’ve got to take in all the info and direction you’ve received from the CD at your pre-read audition and make sure you “bring it” to this audition. Again, you’re off book and connecting with your reader. You can hold the sides. Make sure you don’t make any major changes to your reading at this point. Consistency is important.

The network and studio test.

In my article, “The Four Phases of Pilot Testing” I explain the rigorous and somewhat grueling process you must go through to get a role in a series.

In the old days, we’d do a screen test shot on film with hair, makeup and wardrobe on a studio set. These days we do a screen test shot simply on our video camera in our offices – much more efficient and economical. Sometimes we’ll shoot with 2-3 cameras to get different angles. We might pair you up in a mix and match situation with different actors to see who has the right chemistry. When I cast E.T. we had all our final choices of kids come to the writer’s house and play Dungeons and Dragons to see their chemistry. It became clear that one of them didn’t quite fit with the others. You can watch the full story here.

At this point you are as ready as you’ll ever be to book the job. No sides this time – you are “in the skin” of your character. This is no time to let nerves get to you. Remember that you deserve to be here and you’ve earned your place in this room.

In all these auditions you’ve got to have a good mixture of patience, tenacity, consistency along with being able to listen. Keeping your heart open along the way will take you far.

 Make sure to check out my new online course “How To Audition For Film and Television: Audition Bootcamp”. You can view it on your laptop or your mobile device and your subscription gives you lifetime viewing privileges for this course. I’ll be adding lectures throughout the year.

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