Should I Include Student Productions In My Acting Reel?

Backstage September 7, 2018 1:03 Demo Reels Acting

How to judge whether existing production footage is good enough for your reel, and when to film new material in a studio instead.

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4 Things Actors Should Know About Using Existing Footage in a Reel

Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to spend the 1:03 watching it.

Quality decides whether footage earns a spot

Musical theater actors often arrive with a pile of pre-existing footage from shows they have done rather than wanting to film new material. That is fine in principle, but the deciding factor is quality. The reel exists to portray you as a professional actor, and footage that undercuts that does more harm than the credit is worth.

Cut the shaky video shot from the back row

Handheld footage filmed by a family member from the audience will not read as professional, no matter how good the performance was. Shaky camera work and poor sound tell a casting director more about your production values than your acting.

A studio shoot puts a videographer and sound designer behind you

When existing footage does not clear the bar, filming in a studio gives you a professional videographer and a sound designer whose job is making you look and sound your best on camera. That is the alternative to patching a reel together from whatever exists.

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Full transcript (157 words)
[Music] so when musical theater actors come to me asking for reals sometimes they'll throw a ton of pre-existing footage from different shows that they have at me and not want to film in the studio which is totally fine but one of the biggest things is quality is important you want to portray yourself as a professional actor and if you have footage that's shaky from I don't know your mom in the back row trying to film something live it's just not going to come across as professional as it could be if you go into a studio have a professional a videographer and sound designer in there to make you your best on film that being said if you do have some incredible footage that's been professionally filmed from a production that you have then absolutely put it in but only if it's the best quality to showcase you and your professional Tower [Music]