Acting Tips. Demo Reels

This is a selection of your best performances edited together on a videotape, or onto DVD. It may cost you some money but it's worth it in the long run. If you can't afford a demo reel just yet, keep it in mind for when you have a few dollars spare.

The tape should be about 7-10 minutes long. Your reel should be professionally edited. Do you have a friend who can do this ? A lot of newer cameras have in-camera editing facilities. Photo developers often have tape-to-disc transferrers these days, your edited video tape can be dubbed onto disc quickly and inexpensively.

In Melbourne, Open Channel has resources, you will have to enquire and negotiate a price yourself but they are cheaper than bigger commercial studios.

Voice-over CD/tape

If you're interested in doing voice-overs, a CD or tape is essential. If you haven't done any voice-overs before, it's quite acceptable to put a recording together of material that other actors have read. The recording should be done in a professional recording studio. Put your best material first. The entire tape or CD should be no longer than 3 or 4 minutes.

If you don't have access to friends with superb sound equipment you can hire a studio at 3CR for a modest fee.