Dear actor, "Get for Reels". Get to the point 3/24/15

I was watching hundreds of actor reels for a few different projects I am casting this upcoming year for me and for others the past few days..... I was again reminded of the jazz improvisation saying (I studied jazz sax in college) : "Get in, get hot, get out," Some observations:

Dear actor,  about your reel....

-GET TO THE POINT. Cut the 20 sec music intro/any intro. We want to see you speak and act NOW, not fish around your reel searching for you, hoping to watch you speak and act, not your scene partner or watch the whole cast.

-We want to see you acting in several contexts/scenes to assess your range, skills and approach.

-Singers/musical theater players/models, please have reels that show you acting not just musical numbers or music videos or fashion, if you want to act in a dramatic TV, film role.

-3 to 5 LABELED reels are cool. 18 (labeled or vague) is overkill.

-Make sure your reels work and play and weren't erased or aren't password protected with no password.

-Reels ON the casting page are MUCH better than having to open another window and search or input a link. Saves time and helps us not wanting to go to the next actor, when we have THOUSANDS of submissions to get through.

-Ideal length, for me personally, is 3 minutes tops, hopefully with varied material, not just one long scene. Even having a few taped monologues is better than no reel.

-Just HAVING a concise, good reel up separates you from most actors, even a lot of experienced union and nonunion actors who don't even have one up, and having an excellent reel keeps us from having to guess if you can act, take care in what you do and piques our interest, even if you don't have a great headshot, extensive credits or notes, to invite you to a casting. Good luck and happy hunting this pilot season.

Sincerely,
The other side.


Be well,
Vincent
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My name is Vincent Veloso. I am a writer, producer, director, actor and musician. I have worn many hats in my career, learned some things, still learning, but in this blog, I will be addressing my experience and insights  making films and music... stories from casting to wrap party... the good, the bad, the really bad and the ugly.... and the really ungood.

I never use real names, and many times I address my concerns on the day directly to people in real time. I point out my own missteps just as much if not more because I have been that actor/writer/producer/director who has made the same gaffes just as much if not more. Hopefully as I address the circumstances,  people can gain valuable insight, through story and my experiences, it will give people help. It is not meant to be mean spirited, but like all subjective commentary and blogs, and many other existing advice and commentary articles, I understand that audience perception is subjective and do hope you know that I hope to help others.

 © 2015 Vincent Veloso, Xavmax Multimedia Productions L.L.C. All rights reserved