A demo reel is a sample of you acting on camera, so you can send it to casting people to get film acting jobs. I don't have a demo reel. A lot of my friends don't have demo reels. Either we haven't been in any films or we don't have usable footage of our work.
I was talking about this with a friend of mine. The conversation went something like this:
C: I may be in a web series filming in albany
me: wow, that's great!
2:25 PM what kind of web series?
2:26 PM C: thanks... it's a comic book kinda thing
me: I'm intrigued
2:28 PM C: haha it's a one liner, but i am hoping it develops into more
it's about a super hero who knocks up a super villain and they try to raise the kid together
me: Wow
that's hilarious and awesome
Where do you hear about the auditions for these things? I'm trying to take a short break from theater to break into film stuff
2:29 PM so to speak.
2:30 PM C: nice... i actually met those guys at comiccon
it's not paying or anything
me: shrug possibly something for a reel? I don't have one of those yet
2:31 PM C: me neither... someone just asked me for one yesterday and I hated that I didn't have one to give
me: we should draft some of our friends to make a bunch of shorts so we all get reels
mini 48 hour film fest
2:32 PM C: that would be awesome!
I would definitely be in for that
And then I though about what I'd just typed. And I started liking it. And I sent it to my girlfriend, Dana, asking if she'd write for it. She liked the idea too and said yes. So I posted on Facebook and sent a few more messages and more people said they want in and want to tell their friends... I think we might have some attention.
So I'm going out of town for a couple days. Tonight five of my friends and I are going down to join Dana and more of our friends at the beach for two or three days, for the holiday. When I come back, I think I'm going to have the outline of something big that will end in demo reels for me and a lot of my actor friends, portfolio builders for my writer friends, and resume builders for my directing, cameraman, sound design, and film editing friends.
It's gonna be short, ultra low budget, and it's going to be awesome. More announcements to come.
Can people who aren't in NYC take part as writers?
ReplyDelete...I'll think about it. I have a bias towards writers here who can meet here and work with the directors and actors in person, but if we can work something else out... where would you be working form?
ReplyDeleteThen you tube samples? Would need to be of very good quality, but could be demo of editing too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie, the first time we do this, the production quality is not going to be outstanding. We're going to do the best we can, but it will not be the same as the reel of someone who has been on national TV shows or Major Motion Pictures. But it will be better than the nothing a lot of these actors currently have.
ReplyDeleteHere's how I view it. If you come into an audition room and hand someone a professional headshot, that's great. If you hand the a headshot that's not professional, it shows you're new in the business, but they'll still remember what you look like. If you hand them a resume and no headshot, you're screwed. I want to help people get from the third stage to the second stage. The director you send these reels too won't hire you for your production team, but they'll still get to see you act on camera.
Just saw your reply -- I'm going to be in DC for all summer, but I can come up most weekends (except the weekends of 7/29, 8/5, and 8/19). If it doesn't work out, I totally understand: if you think it can work, send out a call for writers.
ReplyDelete