04 Jun New Demo Reels
Berning Marketing & Productions stays busy! Check out our production demo reels that take our clients to new heights.
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A demo reel is a compilation of your work that shows your range in two minutes or less. It’s like an audition without a script. The goal is to make it look film-like, so that an agent or casting director can see what you look like on camera—because some people look great in person and horrible on camera and vice versa.
If anything, it’s the professionalism of showing up and the willingness to take direction. For example: One actor whom I’d never worked with wanted to smoke in his scene, and I asked him if he knew how to use a cigarette while performing, because smoking is one of the hardest things to do as actor, due to the continuity. We’re shooting different angles, we’re shooting coverage, mid-level, close-ups—all that stuff. So it’s your responsibility as an actor to know continuity, where you put stuff down and on what word. For him, he kept changing the cigarette, inhaling and exhaling on different lines. Sometimes the cigarette would be in the box or in his hand or in his mouth. So when I went to edit nothing matched, though luckily I was still able to save it. We do rehearse, but we don’t reshoot. So the best results come from finding your type and taking direction.
You have the opportunity to showcase your best performaces and let others see what you look like on film. Many actors starting out get a lot of one-liners, and you don’t want to put those on your reel because they only last two seconds. But with a demo reel you can show off your range of work with a quality production, and show an agent or casting diretor what you would look like on TV or film. Instead of doing a monologue with a screen in the back, it’s a real scene. Reels are as essential to your career as a resume or a headshot.
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