My DS has one short clip so needs more material - are there people who will film a showreel of him plus a friend ? How long does the showreel need to be, and how much does it cost ? Any recommendations of who to approach to do this ?
Thanks a lot
Truffle
How to get a Showreel
Moderator: busybusybusy
Re: How to get a Showreel
I recall a few recommendations and examples on the forums, including some very good ones made using Windows Movie Maker on a PC.
If you put showreel into the search box on the top RH side of this page, you'll get taken to the relevant pages - and some irrelevant ones, so just skip those
Hope this helps
Deb x
If you put showreel into the search box on the top RH side of this page, you'll get taken to the relevant pages - and some irrelevant ones, so just skip those
Hope this helps
Deb x
Re: How to get a Showreel
Do you have an agent? If so I would recommend asking them whether they think one clip plus perhaps a home-produced monologue would be useful as a start - and whether they consider it worth uploading to Spotlight. I would ask their advice about your ds's showreel in any case - they might well be able to suggest someone.
If you do want to go down the "shot from scratch" showreel route then it can be costly - and sometimes the results are pretty dreadful. There are companies that do them well, but it does need lots of research. I saw that Welshmum had recommended a company used by her dd - and I did think that one was pretty good (helped by very strong performances
) - so it may be worth searching through her posts to see who it was. Others may also have recommended companies.
Very often it is the script that lets it down in shot from scratch material. Sometimes it is the lack of an experienced director to guide the actor (by their very nature, shot from scratch showreels tend to feature relatively inexperienced actors who do need some guidance). Often the production values are good - because the companies making them have good equipment and know how to use it. In my opinion it ideally needs to be original material not used by others - and it definitely needs to be good material for screen with believable casting for the actor. Writing good screenplay is hard - writing something that stands up as a believable showreel scene is really hard.
When choosing a company, make sure that you watch as many showreel examples as you can by that company. I've watched hundreds of showreels (and of course CDs will have watched hundreds more) and it's glaringly obvious sometimes that companies are using the same scripts for lots of actors. In some cases they also use the same bedroom, the same sofa, the same bridge, the same window, the same pot plant - even the same blooming mugs!
The best shot from scratch material looks as though it's come from an original short film (or feature film). If you are using a well-known speech or scene to showcase your acting then that's a perfectly valid thing to do (though not strictly what is understood as "showreel" material in the industry) but if you choose to do that then I wouldn't bother spending lots of money trying to pretend it's from a genuine production, because no-one in the industry will be fooled, I would just get a talented amateur to help you record and edit it.
If you do want to go down the "shot from scratch" showreel route then it can be costly - and sometimes the results are pretty dreadful. There are companies that do them well, but it does need lots of research. I saw that Welshmum had recommended a company used by her dd - and I did think that one was pretty good (helped by very strong performances
) - so it may be worth searching through her posts to see who it was. Others may also have recommended companies.Very often it is the script that lets it down in shot from scratch material. Sometimes it is the lack of an experienced director to guide the actor (by their very nature, shot from scratch showreels tend to feature relatively inexperienced actors who do need some guidance). Often the production values are good - because the companies making them have good equipment and know how to use it. In my opinion it ideally needs to be original material not used by others - and it definitely needs to be good material for screen with believable casting for the actor. Writing good screenplay is hard - writing something that stands up as a believable showreel scene is really hard.
When choosing a company, make sure that you watch as many showreel examples as you can by that company. I've watched hundreds of showreels (and of course CDs will have watched hundreds more) and it's glaringly obvious sometimes that companies are using the same scripts for lots of actors. In some cases they also use the same bedroom, the same sofa, the same bridge, the same window, the same pot plant - even the same blooming mugs!
The best shot from scratch material looks as though it's come from an original short film (or feature film). If you are using a well-known speech or scene to showcase your acting then that's a perfectly valid thing to do (though not strictly what is understood as "showreel" material in the industry) but if you choose to do that then I wouldn't bother spending lots of money trying to pretend it's from a genuine production, because no-one in the industry will be fooled, I would just get a talented amateur to help you record and edit it.
Re: How to get a Showreel
The company is called Show 'n Reel
http://www.shownreel.com/Welcome.html
Highly recommended. Very competitive price and high production values.
However I do know that the actor who runs the company is on tour atm so might not be available straight away.
http://www.shownreel.com/Welcome.html
Highly recommended. Very competitive price and high production values.
However I do know that the actor who runs the company is on tour atm so might not be available straight away.
The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.
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eleanorrigby66
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Re: How to get a Showreel
Worth trying Spirit Young Performers Company as well.
Re: How to get a Showreel
In terms of length: three minutes is plenty. 5 minutes should be the absolute maximum - and only then if you have masses of excellent material.
Most CDs watch between 30 secs to a minute (very unlikely to watch past a couple of minutes if they are actively casting and sorting through submissions) to decide whether they are interested enough to call someone in. Don't have a montage at the start - go straight in to the strongest acting scene with you featured strongly from the very first frame. Don't worry about context
Most CDs watch between 30 secs to a minute (very unlikely to watch past a couple of minutes if they are actively casting and sorting through submissions) to decide whether they are interested enough to call someone in. Don't have a montage at the start - go straight in to the strongest acting scene with you featured strongly from the very first frame. Don't worry about context
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francescasmum
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Re: How to get a Showreel
my dd's show reel was put together by show 'n' reel too, we were very pleased with the outcome.
Though she did have lots of material, I understand that they can also film monologues and two-handers.
I sent links to lots of her material and Paul chose which clips to use and what order, then he put it together with her details etc. He put it on Vimeo but our agents website doesn't accept Vimeo clips so he put it on You Tube for us too on request. He was extremely helpful, made amendments and answered e-mails very promptly.
https://vimeo.com/69809148
Though she did have lots of material, I understand that they can also film monologues and two-handers.
I sent links to lots of her material and Paul chose which clips to use and what order, then he put it together with her details etc. He put it on Vimeo but our agents website doesn't accept Vimeo clips so he put it on You Tube for us too on request. He was extremely helpful, made amendments and answered e-mails very promptly.
https://vimeo.com/69809148