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I’m often asked “How can I get television or screen work with no clips online to showcase me as a screen actor?” My answer is always the same, if you can make your own, do so.
Casting directors will often argue whether actor’s should create home made reels. Is it professional for an actor to create footage of their own or should they only stick to legitimate clips of their work?
What casting directors do not argue about is the fact that actors need to have clips or a reel online so that theatre professionals can see them at work. It’s never been easier to get video online. By sending a link to the right people your Actor Clips could easily get seen on Youtube by more people than would ever watch a sitcom pilot which never even got greenlit.
Sometimes it’s difficult directing yourself on film because you can’t quite separate yourself from the subject.
If you are able to get something shot yourself which is professional looking and showcases you in the right light, I think you should go for it. It could easily open the right doors.
Always remember that if it is not getting you work, it is costing you work! If you do plan on making your own footage make sure you do it right. Here are the Actor Hub tips on making your own clips. If you showcase yourself with something that is poorly produced you could easily do yourself more harm than good.
The Do It Yourself Actor Clips Top Tips
If you are going to film your own scenes for your Actor Clips or showreel make sure you do it right. Here are our four top tips for making it work.
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Don’t do it aloneEnlist help from anyone and everyone. It’s so important to hang onto your contacts and here is the one time when they might become useful. Team up with a student filmmaker and ask them to shoot your scene, sometimes they are desperate for the opportunity to work with actors and you could both use the results for your CV. If you know a great theatre director, maybe they can help you too. They could even team up with a DP (director of photography) from your Facebook network who is also looking to build a reel.The help shouldn’t just be limited to just the shoot. Before you start putting the results online run it by as many of your contacts and network as you can. Get their honest opinions, and re-edit or throw it away if you have to. -
Make the scene your ownIf you don’t feel confident to write your own scene, find something obscure. Adapt what you are doing to make it your own. Improvise around with the lines and the scenes, you can sometimes really easily change a four hander into a duologue and the results can be impressive.What you must never do is take a famous scene and re-shoot it with yourself. No casting director will thank you for reliving Jack and Rose from Titanic on Brighton Pier or giving them ‘the life is like a box of chocolates’ scene from Forrest Gump in Forest Hill.
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Cast yourself wiselyIf you are not leading man material don’t film yourself as the dashing hero. If you are not the sexy seductress type then quite simply don’t cast yourself in this role. This is not a time for your ego to take over or a time to stretch your range. This is your chance to show the industry what you are good at and to help them see what they will cast you as. Find material which suits your type and gives your type some great lines. You are after a chance to shine as you are. Your scenes want to show them you doing what you do, at your best.
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Pay attention to the detailsSound and light if done badly are what are going to give you away. If you send out something with shoddy sound or which is badly lit, then no matter how great the performance is you are going to be selling yourself short.You need people who know what they are doing when they are filming you, just because Rowena from number 12 has a flip camera it doesn’t make her Kathryn Bigelow! Choose people who will pay attention to the details, making you look and sound professional. No matter how good the gift, if it comes in skanky wrapping and bashed packaging we will always think it is a little bit below par!
By following these four simple rules you should easily be able to make one or two great scenes which can showcase you as a screen actor to the right people. Remember casting directors rarely watch a whole reel, they will most probably only sit through 30 seconds of any clip, so give them a couple of choices. Actor Clip can get these titled and ready for Spotlight for you.
A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad.
If the clip is really well done then the casting director probably won’t know you did it yourself. They will think it is a scene from an unaired pilot, an internet series, or a low budget film. If a casting director is watching your clips then chances are they are making sure you know what to do on a set and not waste their time at a casting. They are looking to check what your type is, how you are castable, and whether you are right for the current project. They are on your side, they are already interested.
If you have shot your own material then as and when you get professional stuff it is your first job to start replacing the DIY stuff with the pro stuff.
Your clips are the cinema trailer for the movie that is YOU. Make them memorable. Make them professional. Make them fabulous. Make them want you!
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