Advice for Actors – Actor Artist Design Blog For the Digital Actor

The most powerful thing to present in your acting reel: moments.  Your acting reel should consist of a collection of excellent moments that show your range, strength on screen, appearance on screen, and professional work.  You can literally ‘count’ the moments in a great actors reel, because each moment connects with the viewer by capturing your emotional and mental attention in it’s entirety.

The best actors reel I have ever seen, was during my time managing an acting studio in New York City.  The owner, Grayson McCouch (visit www.imdb.com for his list of professional credits), has a great list of credits and a ton of acting talent to go along with it; Armageddon, Another World, As the World Turns (where I worked with him for 3 years), Momentum (for Sci-Fi w/Terri Hatcher and Louis Gosset Jr), and several excellent network pilots.

McCouch’s reel opens and ends with him riding horse from scenes in a UPN series, the shots are brief but show an additional talent and work great as ‘bookends.’

His acting reel is a powerful collection of contrasting moments, featuring his best work.  In one scene, from All Souls (a series that had run on UPN), McCouch plays a doctor and interacts with a young boy who is concerned for his mother in surgery.  McCouch uses a pen (with a liquid in it that creates a visual effect when you turn it upside down) and some calming words to sooth the boy’s concern.  The scene is captivating and shows McCouch’s ability to use subtle gestures to convey his empathy.

Another moment is from Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck.  McCouch actually took the part, knowing he would be in most of the film (as Munitions Specialist Gruber) but that his dialogue was very limited, he made sure he got his moment.  He shared with me that the production was running a little tight on the day he was to have his moment.

McCouch’s moment comes just after it appears as though the other space shuttle was lost during the mission to drill into the asteroid.  McCouch recalled to me that they were contemplating skipping this brief scene, and therefore his moment.  But he respectfully, yet confidently, asserted himself in front of Willis and director Ridley Scott and in doing so, Willis actually complimented him on his confidence and assertion.

He got his moment and even ended up with another strong moment in the film on another filming day.  The second moment occurs as he is defusing the nuclear bomb, by cutting the wires as the clock ticks down.  The moment when the camera comes closer and closer to his face and you can see the sweat and intensity as the time runs out.  Both of these moments are in his acting reel, and if you rent the movie Armageddon – you can see precisely why he chose them.

Another moment, from Legacy (another series that had run on UPN), on McCouch’s acting reel features a scene with actress Betty Buckley, his love interest in the series.  It is one of the defining moments of the series because McCouch’s character reveals his love for Buckley’s character.

Each moment was carefully selected by McCouch, and placed in an order that made the most sense, ending with the most intense scenes (the Armageddon moments).   At the end of the reel, you can’t help but feel like you have just been moved six different times by the same actor, but in completely different situations.  This makes his acting reel one of the most powerful tools in his actor marketing package – you should strive to make it yours as well!

A few good notes to remember;

-do not use acting material from classes
-do not use any material that isn’t professional lit, or shot – it just decreases your credibility with the viewer – even if you are amazing, it looks like you were shooting it alone in the corner of your basement and that doesn’t do you any good with an agent, manager, or casting director
-do not exceed 4 minutes with your acting reel, unless you absolutely have the most incredible and amazing set of moments and without them, the world will fall apart – even then, keep it under 5 minutes without exception
-put your acting reel on your acting website!!  I literally just booked two industrials (shooting January 2009) in Connecticut without even auditioning, just because I have another industrial on my acting website.  I was on Christmas vacation, while they were viewing my work and hiring me for the gig!
-if you aren’t sure about a certain scene – DROP IT – you should have no reservations about the material you present, otherwise, you shouldn’t be using it and you should keep working until you get some excellent material
-if an agent, casting director, or manager asks you for an acting reel and you are considering throwing some luke-warm material together just to have one – DON’T!  You are MUCH BETTER OFF telling them that you don’t have one than ruining the relationship with an acting reel that makes them pass on representing or using you, you should just wait until you get your moments and then give them a reason to be excited about representing you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jason C Small
Business Development Manager
http://www.ActorArtistDesign.com
Actor Artist Design, a division of Great Young Minds, LLC

*Jason has worked as an actor in New York City for seven years appearing on All My Children, As The World Turns (3 years as “Lou”), Guiding Light, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Good Morning America, at Radio City Music Hall, in the New York Fringe Festival, and in many more productions. He has more than 15 independent films to his credit, and has managed an acting studio for a celebrity in NYC, and served as Marketing Director for one of the top casting websites in the New York market. Jason owns and operates Great Young Minds, LLC, a graphic and web design company servicing the entertainment industry, with offices in New York City.