In my latest post, I mentioned a way of getting seen if you don’t necessarily have a reel yet. If you have some experience though, there are other useful tools that are a little more “outside the box”. Even though you may have a reel, sometimes a great way of promoting a new project is by showing casting directors the trailer (if it’s a film). This way they can still see you on camera and not only get a taste of your work but a preview of the film. Here is a recent trailer of a short film I starred in called US: A LOVE STORY. Uploading the trailer on YouTube may seem obvious but you would be surprised at how few people take advantage of this social media application.

Hallmark Channel Logo
Image via Wikipedia

Another way to beef up your reel is to keep it up to date. Every time you book something make sure you add it on your reel. I often hear actors make excuses about why their scene from a prime time television show isn’t included in their reel… “They couldn’t record it from their DVR”, etc… This past December, a TV holiday movie that I was in, premiered on the Hallmark Channel and I ran into this same problem. A great friend and fellow actor, David Green, suggested I go to EditPlus, a company that focuses on editing for entertainment professionals. EditPlus does way more than editing. All I had to do was provide the date and time my show was airing and they recorded the show onto a DVD for me, as well as a link that can be emailed to anyone that requests it.

There are so many social media resources out there for actors to take advantage of. In some upcoming articles I plan to introduce a few others. You do need more than a reel to be an actor. It certainly serves as an ideal business card though.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Advertisement