Acting Basics: Create Your Acting Showreel

1. Introduction: If you're an aspiring actor looking to work in film, theater, or TV, then you need a way to be able to market yourself effectively to people in the industry. Hello and welcome to this short class on getting professional actors show real. Show reels are such an important part of an actor's career these days. And yet so many people when they are starting out either don't have a show real or they have one which doesn't actually promote them in a very positive way. So in this class, we're gonna be breaking down everything that you need to know about show reels and showing you exactly how you can go and get your own professional acting show reel, which markets you effectively two agents, casting directors, producers, and everyone else in the industry who was going to be able to get you the roles that you deserve. My name is Ed and I have been a professional actor for over ten years. In that time, I've starred in Award winning film, theater and voice-over. And I've been fortunate enough to perform all around the UK, Europe, and even Off-Broadway in the United States. So in that time, I've learned a lot of different things about how to make a good show real what not to do. I've made every single mistake that you can think of and I want to share with you all of that experience that I've gained so that we can fast forward your roots from wherever you are to having a fantastic acting show reel that shows you off in a really good way. So here's what's coming up. So what actually is an actor show real and how do we use them to develop our career? What are the core elements of successful show reels? And what are the common mistakes that a lot of actors make when they are starting out. How do you get footage for your show real? We'll be looking at three different ways, doing short films and collaborations, using paid for show real services and doing it DIY, making your own footage. We'll also be looking at some pro tips that I've picked up from both agents and casting directors that will elevate your footage and your show real to the next level. Finally, in the class project, I'll be inviting you to share your real widows here in the Skillshare community. Whether you have a full show real reading, or just a few bits of footage, you'll be able to share it with me and the other members and get some personalized feedback on your footage. So that's everything. Thank you for being here with me. And if you are ready to start building your acting career and getting the role that you most want by marketing yourself with an amazing show real. Then let's get started. 2. Class Project: So in today's class project, I'm going to be inviting you to share some of your acting material with me and the other students here on Skillshare. If you already have a professional acting real and great, you can share that with us. It would be a great example to other people. And you'll get some more personalized feedback. If you are just starting on your acting journey and you don't have a show reel yet, then don't worry. Because we will be exploring within this class three different ways to get your own material. And one of those ways is simply to film it yourself at home. So if you have nothing else, I will encourage you to just film something on your phone and share it with us at the end. Because even that will give you the opportunity to get some feedback. And feedback is the most important thing for them to be able to sit down and watch some footage of you acting. Tell you what they liked, what they didn't like, what you can improve. All of that is really good to do before you go e-mailing out your show reel to casting directors, agents are producers because remember, you only have one shot to make a good first impression. So I will remind you again at the end to complete today's class project by uploading some show real material that you already have. And I will look forward to seeing all of your amazing acting skills and giving you some personalized feedback. For now though, let's crack on with the first lesson, which is all about what exactly a show real really is. I'll see you in the next lesson. 3. What is a Showreel?: So what exactly is an act as showroom? Why are they so important? And how do they help us get ahead in the industry by being seen and being cast? In this first lesson, we're going to break down all of the fundamentals. So you know exactly what a professional actors shall reel is and how you can start getting your own. So actors are creatives, but we are also a business. Unlike any business, we need to be able to market what we are selling to the people who are buying. And in our industry. That happens to be agents, casting directors, producers, and anyone else who is trying to cast actors for their project. So we have a number of ways that we can do this. We have our acting profiles online, which includes spotlight Casting Network star now, many different other websites. We have professional acting headshots, which gives a visual representation of how we look. And we also have acting show reels. Now acting show reels are simply a short video which has different examples of your work as an actor. This could be from films, that could be from commercials. It could even be from things that you filmed at home. The real benefit of a show, real is that it allows people to not only see what you look like on camera, but also here what you sound like on camera. Which means that they can really easily and quickly understand whether you are right for the role that they are trying to fill. Once you have an agent, they can also use your show reel to submit you for professional acting castings as well. So show reels are really quite simple, but play a very important role in our career. Professional acting show reels all follow a similar set structure. They're generally between three to five minutes in length and usually contain anywhere from three to six different scenes that you have chosen. A professional acting surreal always begins by showing your information. This could include your acting stage name, your spotlight pin, or other resume information, and your agency if you aren't represented. It will also often show your head shot to begin with as well. It will then proceed to show each of the clips that you've chosen. These are usually somewhere between 20 to 40 seconds in length. And then at the end, it will reshow the same information that you had at the beginning. Simply because anyone watching might be watching dozens of different show reels. And we want to remind them who show real they are watching right now. So that is the standard format for an active show real. It's very simple, but as we will go on to see, there is a lot more nuance that goes into a show reel that we need to be aware of. So one of the most important questions you have to ask yourself about your show reel is, who is your audience? A lot of actors when they are beginning get this wrong. We think of our audience as being social media or our friends or our family that we want to show our Acting work too. But our real audience is none of these people. It's the casting directors, agents and producers who are ultimately the ones who are going to be able to give us work as an actor. And their life is generally very busy. They usually have many different actors to go through and very limited time with which to go through them. This means that everything within our show real needs to be chosen extremely carefully and extremely strategically every second counts. So we want to be able to remove any fluff from our show real or anything that isn't necessary. And only keep the things which really rare the show us in the best light. In other words, a professional actors show real, needs to be absolutely about substance over style. So the best way to understand all of this is by looking at a real-life example of a professional actors show real. So let's jump in, let's pull it apart. Let's look at exactly how a real show reel is structured and put together. Right? So here we have the show real. I am going to walk you through. This is a good friend of mine called Daniel Allen, who is a professional actor. And this is his current reel on spotlight. So the first thing we notice is his head shot is right here at the very beginning. So before the show real even starts, we can put a face to the name. That's very important. Right? This is my first time back on TV in six months. I need this. Come on, help me out with it. Surely. Obviously, nobody's going to see that stupid documentary. Channel five numbers have gone up recently. Like there's not even a massive clear I'm telling you that director, he's a complete and utter can't wait to get back to work. Is that right, Shannon? Where's the rest? If you've got Tempe or anything. Sorry. You said you'd saw there. I'm sorry. I laughed. And heme it is normally 40 a bag. Don't disrespect. Why the extra tempi, my G and the plastic Nike. The baggy. Seriously. Okay, so let's just pause here for 1 second, a couple of things to point out. Firstly, Dan seen so far have all been about 30 seconds in length. And they all have the main focus on his face and his dialogue. So he's getting the most time on each of the scenes. That is a great comedy actor. So he's definitely highlighting that to begin with. And he's really showing those scenes that play to his casting type. Let's carry on. Sorry. So I thought back to what you always say. Ask them lots of questions. So do you like this restaurants? Webinar before? Never been before. No one's ever asked me. Was they were never asked you to have maybe people think I'm okay. What do you think made you ugly? Excuse me. Oh, I didn't mean that. Yeah, that's good. Yeah. Yeah. Come on. No, no, no, I can't pay our debt back to society. Points. If you didn't get hit anywhere. Crashes Mercedes. I crush when Mercedes. Yeah. It's fine. It's fine. If anything, the doctor, Sasha walk again into three years. So there you go. That is a fantastic example of a professional actors show real. It's quick, it's fast paced and it's been edited in a clever way so that Dan is the primary focus of every single scene. And that it's showing off his strongest casting types. As we can see, it's finished off at the very end with his professional information is agency details and his spotlight pin. So show reels are incredibly potent tool for all actors. If we want to be cast in film, theater, TV, or any other professional work, they seem deceptively simple, but an awful lot goes on under the surface to make a show real, really stand out and capture the attention of casting directors, agents, and producers. So now that we've covered all of the basics, let's look at the biggest do's and don'ts to make outstanding professional actors show reel. 4. Showreel DO's and DONT's: Since I began my own acting career over ten years ago, I've had many different versions of my own acting show reel. And I'll be honest, the very earliest versions are extremely cringy. I made all the biggest mistakes. I got everything wrong. And fortunately, slowly over time, I was able to learn from those mistakes, get brilliant tips and guidance from other people around me. And now I have a professional show reel which markets me as a professional actor. So there are a lot of different mistakes that can be made and a lot of different things that we need to get right. But rather than going through that whole process yourself, much better to learn from my mistakes. So in this lesson, we're going to cover all of the biggest do's and don'ts of making your own professional acting showroom. So some actors like to add background music over the show real scenes. Music, of course, is a very powerful way to make people feel different emotions. That's why in film and TV, they use music all the time to set the tone of what ever seen that they're trying to portray, whether it's a scary scene, loving scene, or exciting, whatever. However, in your acting, show reels, music that you've added on top will likely be more of a distraction than a positive addition. So unless the music is within the original footage that you are using, I wouldn't recommend adding your own extra background music on top of your scenes. So this one is one of the big mistakes that I made when I was starting out, my very first show reel had a classic montage at the very beginning with all of these different shots of me doing different things in different scenes with music over the top. And I thought at the time that this was the most amazing show real effort. However, I've since thankfully learned that montages are not a good thing to have any professional acting show real. Why will it comes back to our audience? Casting directors, producers, agents, they don't have time to sit through even ten seconds of a montage at the start of your acting real. It's not doing them any favors. It's not telling them anything about who you are or what you're acting ability is. It's just using up time. So avoid the montage and get right in to your footage. So there is no exact right or wrong for how long each scene should be within your show real? There were a few things to consider them. Firstly, we want the scene to be just long enough so that we can get the context of the scene. We can see a little bit of the back-and-forth going on and we get the best moments of your acting. On the other hand, we don't want to seem to be too long to the point where it's going to become boring or the person watching is going to lose interest. Again, remember, casting directors and agents, attention spans are very short because they have so many different actors to go through. So we need to make sure that each scene is punchy, it's quick, and it's keeping people engaged. For that reason, I would suggest keeping your scenes between 20 to 40 seconds in length. And once the best moment of your acting has been shown, move on to the next scene. So a lot of actors, when they are first starting out, wonder whether they can use a monologue as part of the showroom. So for anyone who doesn't know, a monologue is simply a single conversation between one person. So there's no one else in the scene, It's just me. Now, the benefit of this is that at least people can see you on camera and they can hear your voice. So if you've got nothing else, then I would suggest using that. However, they say that acting is really about reacting. And what most casting directors and agents and producers want to see is not just you delivering lines, but you listening to someone else and reacting to their lines. That is what really good acting is all about. It's about the reactions. And for that reason, it's much better to have a proper acting scene, what you're playing opposite another actor rather than a simple monologue. So if you've got nothing else, then use a monologue. But as soon as you've got all the material, use that to replace it and only show them scenes where you are acting opposite somebody else. Another big question that people have is, what scenes should I use? Where do I start? Most actors believe that they need to be versatile. And the first thought is, I want to show these casting directors and these agents just how many different roles I can play. I'm going to have a scene where I'm a doctor, I'm a student, a scene where I'm a drug lords, a scene where I'm the President of the United States, whatever it is right now. On theory, this sounds good. It's showing how much of a versatile actor you aren't. But in practice, this does not help you. Because actors, as I said before, we are a business and we are a product that we're trying to sell. And as such, we need to have a niche. If you try to be everything, then you are nothing. But if you try to be one thing and do it really good, then the chances are a casting director watching that we'll be able to book you for a role. So what does all this mean in practical terms? The first thing you need to do is figure out what your casting type is. A whole other course on this which if you haven't seen yet, please go and check that out. And it helps you to define what roles you suit best. Ideally, you want to narrow this down to maybe two or three different casting types. For me, it might be a student, a teacher, and an artist say because of my long hair. For you, it might be three completely different things. But once you know roughly what you're casting type is, that's going to inform what type of scenes we're going to use in your showroom. For instance, if you look quite mean and quite tough, then you're sure wheels going to want to show you in those types of characters. So you might have one as a policeman when you're being, you're arresting someone won as a criminal, maybe while you're on the opposite side butt, you're still playing a similar tough person. And maybe one where you are showing yourself as more of a family figure but in a difficult situation, whenever that is, the basic idea is you need to figure out what your casting type is. And then based on that, choose, which seems to put in your show reel. So that's some of the biggest do's and don'ts in terms of what the industry expects when they watch your acting show real. If you make sure that you're not making any of those mistakes and you're doing things right, then you will already be way ahead of most actors who are starting out, who end up making a lot of these mistakes and having to learn as they go, just like I did. So now that we know more about what we want in our real, the question is, how do we start getting footage to make an acting show reel? In the next class, we are going to be looking at the three best ways to get footage for your acting, show reel and the pros and cons of each of these three ways. So when you're ready, head over to the next lesson, and I will see you then. 5. Getting Footage: Collaborations: If you're an aspiring actor and are looking for the best ways to get material for your show real, then really you have three primary options. Doing collaborative work. Using paid for show real services or doing it DIY, which is doing it yourself. Each of these options has got different benefits and some drawbacks and different things to consider before going ahead. So we're going to explore each of these in a bit more detail. Give you some great tips for each different option. And then you'll be in a better position to decide how you're going to go about getting new material for your acting show real. Let's begin with collaborative work. So my collaborative work, I mean, getting involved in all kinds of different projects that other people are doing in the creative space. This could be film students making films for the university course. It could be amateur film enthusiasts who are making projects just for the sheer enjoyment of it. Or it can also be semi-professional people who were making films for the festival circuit or to get their own careers off the ground. All of these people are out there making projects, doing films, and needing actors to be involved. So it can be a fantastic way to go out and get your own footage. So there are a number of ways that you can find out about these collaborative projects that are happening near you. Firstly, and most obviously is by using the casting websites. These are things like star now spotlight casting call pro Casting Networks. And I'm sure there are many others depending on where you are in the world. These casting websites will usually have listings for low paid or unpaid work. And it's usually in these areas that you will find out about local people that are looking to collaborate on different projects. It's also a good idea to Checkout facebook groups and other social media channels where people are searching for different people to come on board and join them with whatever projects. Be there on the production side or on the reacting side. It's also a great idea to find out if there are any film schools nearby. These can sometimes be independent film schools are part of a university, whichever one they are, they usually require the students to create a number of different short films every single year. So if you are nearby a film school or can get to one, this can be a great source of different projects that are being filmed and shot and usually will require actors to be part of it. So all of these ways are great at finding out what collaborative projects are happening near you. And then being able to get involved with other creative people in order to get material for your showroom. There are many different benefits to this approach to getting footage. First and foremost, it means that you are out the meeting and networking with other people who are working in the creative industry. These might be filmmakers, they might be students, they might be writers. But all of these people are trying to work in a similar field to yourself. And getting to know them now might be great in terms of getting some show real material, but also a few years down the line. These are the people who might be making professional films, casting reel productions. And they can make great contacts for you to have, not just now, but further down the line in your career. Doing collaborative work is also great at enhancing your skills as an actor because it really gives you a great experience of what it's like to work on sets, to having to go to the casting process, to getting your first scripts, to having to learn your lines, and then turning up and being part of that creative process. So why think that working on collaborative projects, B them student films or semi-professional projects is a fantastic way, not just to get your acting experience and your show real footage, but to really kickstart your career within the industry. So the only big drawback to this approach is that you won't always find the roles which are actually perfect for your casting type. Generally, you will throw yourself out the undo loads of different things. When I first started out, I got involved in gangster films and fantasy films, playing psychopaths and students and all kinds of different roles. Now, as we mentioned earlier, this isn't the best way to market yourself in the industry because you want to find your niche. But when you're collaborating with other people, generally, you are doing a project which is meeting their needs rather than meeting your needs. You have to be a little bit picky and choosy about which projects you want to be involved with. Having said that when you are first starting out on your career, it can be helpful to do a wide variety of different roles and characters in order to then find out what roles you most enjoy doing and what rules most suit your casting time. So that's a slight drawback with this approach, but it can also be a benefit. If you're looking for collaborative work to get show real footage. Here's some top tips. Firstly, if you're working with film students, always ask them what year of study they are in. If they are first-year students, then there is going to be a risk that the footage you get might not be great. You've got to remember that they are still going to be figuring out how to use the camera, how to set up the lighting, how to record the audio. And so sometimes the final result won't be what you hoped it is. However, if you work with second year, third year, or master students, there is a much higher chance that the final product and the final film is gonna be a really high-quality and something that will show you off really well in your showroom. So it's worth asking what year of study they are in. Another great question to ask anyone who you might be collaborating with on a project is to see some of their previous work. If it's a filmmaker or a film student, they should have some other work that they can show you, which proves to you that they can at least film and record and get the audio in a professional way. This is really important because you don't want to be wasting your time doing projects with people, which it's not going to end up with any usable footage for you to put into your show real. So you want to check that they are a certain level of professionalism before you commit to the project. It's also always a good idea to ask to see the script. On a typical casting breakdown, you will get a character synopsis and maybe a little bit of a synopsis about the overall projects. But until you see the script, you cannot know what the writing is like, an exactly what type of character that you're gonna be asked to play. So always asked to see at least a section of the script beforehand. So you can judge how good the writing is and whether the character is going to be a good match to you. So these are the three things that you should always ask what year of study they are in. They are film students to see some previous footage and to see some of the script. If you make sure to do these checks beforehand, you've got a much better chance of being involved in projects that will be really good, really professional, and result in really effective material for your show real. Okay, so that is the first of our three methods of getting acting show real material, doing collaborative projects. This can honestly be such a fun and exciting way of getting to know people, of gaining experience and getting footage for your show real. But always do your research first and make sure you understand who it is you're working with and what the project entails before you commit to it. Now let's look at the second way of getting material, which is using paid for show real services. 6. Getting Footage: Paid-For: So the second way of getting show real material is to use a paid for show real services company. This is a relatively modern phenomenon that's come about. And it's because so many actors require show real material. So other people out there are the filmmakers or people with a camera have decided that they will set up their own businesses where they create, show real scenes specifically for actors and charge them for doing so. So what generally happens is you will speak to this specialists, show real makeup. They will ask you about your casting type, about the types of scenes that you want. Then they will go away and write a scene specifically for you. Then you will generally find another actor. It could be a friend or just someone you find online to come in and play alongside you within the scene. You will then meet up with the show real filmmaker who will film the scenes for you, edit them, and then send them back to you. The price for this can vary as can the quality. And it can be a really good way of getting guaranteed quality footage. But let's dig in a little more detail to the benefits and the drawbacks. So the main benefit of using a paid for service is that it's all about you. Rather than working on collaborative projects were the story and the characters have already been roped. A paid for sure real services company will write a character specifically designed to be a perfect match for your casting time. So if you really want to get into do an action films, they might write a scene exactly like that. Or if you want to get into period drama, you can ask them for a period drama scene. The other benefit of this is that you get a guaranteed level of quality because you can look at all of the work and know that you're going to get a piece of footage which is filmed, properly recorded to a good level and looks great on your real. So what about the drawbacks? Let's dig in to them. Obviously, the first drawback is you have to pay for a show real services company. Unlike collaborative work that you do for free, here, you can spend hundreds of pounds on getting individual scenes filmed depending on who you go to. One of the other big drawbacks to using a paid for show real services is that oftentimes to the trained eye of a casting director or an agent. They can see the difference between a real projects and a paid for show real scene. Now, most people might not ever recognize the difference. If you showed them to your friends and family, they probably think that this was from a feature film or something that was on TV. But again, to a casting director on agent, they can often spot a paid-for show real scene. And this can mean that it can slightly damaged your credibility as an actor. Because they can see your show real scene and understand that rather than actually coming from work that you've done in the real-world. It's simply something that you've gone and paid for. Anyone with the money to pay can go and buy one of these scenes. So it doesn't always give the same level of credibility as seeing footage, which is from either real projects or collaborative projects or things that you've done yourself. So if you are going to use a painful show, real services, makes sure that you bear this in mind. Here are some final tips. If you are going to use a paid for sure real services company, then make sure you always do your research first, look at the material that they've made for other actors and make sure it looks genuine, it looks authentic and it looks professional. Secondly, always make sure any scenes that they write for you are really suited to your casting types. A lot of people use paid for sure real services to get themselves a really outlandish seen in a pretend period drama or a pretend fantasy film or something like that. But really what you wanna do is focus simply on the acting. It's not about having some crazy set, are amazing costumes. It's about showing off the best of your acting and the best of your casting type. So always bring it back to that. Finally, if you're going to use a painful sure your services, make sure you find a good actor to act opposite you. If you bring in someone who isn't very good, that's going to bring your performance down. But if you bring in another actor who is really talented, that is going to raise your delivery up. So always find a good person to act alongside. 7. Getting Footage: D.I.Y.: Okay, let's now look at the third and final way to get footage for your acting. Show real. This method is what I call DIY. Do it yourself. If you have access to a camera or even a smartphone, what is stopping you from filming your own material? Think about it. Even the best directors and cinematographers started somewhere. And there is nothing stopping you from writing, producing, and filming your own material. Let's jump into this and look at it in a bit more detail. So the process for making DIY projects is actually really straightforward. If you know your way around the camera or if you can write than that obviously makes things easier. But if you can't do these things, then find someone who can act as your own producer. Find someone who you need to write it, find someone who can use a camera, find someone else to act alongside you, and bring these people together to make your own project. That way, you are in charge of everything and you can dictate exactly what you want to create. This can be a really useful experience too. Understand how the entire industry works and to really gain a much more deeper appreciation of not just acting, but writing, film-making, sound recording, editing, everything, the entire process. Now again, it can be really useful to get involved in Facebook groups and other acting networking groups in order to find people to help you with your own DIY projects. But as well as that, there is so much information online for how to learn filmmaking, editing, lighting, and everything. And really what you need to have here is a growth mindset. Think about it this way. If other people can learn how to write a scene, then what is stopping you? If other people can learn how to film on their smartphone, then what is stopping you? All of these are just simple skills that the more we practice, we get better at. The biggest benefit of doing DIY projects is that you are going to learn a whole host of different skills in the process. And at the end, as well as having some show real material which is specifically designed and wrote around your casting type. You're going to have a much deeper appreciation for all the different elements that go into making a production. Everything from the writing to the filming, to the casting, to the editing. You will pick up more experience and more skills with whilst you're doing this DIY. This can be a really fantastic way of gaining experience, not just enacting, but in the whole industry of film-making and of production. So wherever you are in your acting journey and whatever ways you decide to get show real material. I always recommend to people for the experience to create their own work and to see how that process works. So of course, the biggest drawback with this method is it's going to take a lot more time and energy and investment from you to make it work. If you're gonna do DIY projects, then this is going to take a bit of a learning curve on your part. And the first thing that you make is not necessarily going to be professional standard, but with some time and effort and energy, it's going to give you back so much more than just show real footage. So I again, really recommend you try this method along with the other methods that we've already mentioned. My best tips, if you're going to be trying the DIY method of making sure your material is firstly to start small, try to write just one scene and film one very simple indoor scene between two people sat across a table. If you can do that well, then you can start expanding out and becoming more ambitious with the types of projects you try to create. Also, remember that there is so much information online. Whether you want to learn how to use your smartphone to film, whether you want to learn basic editing skills, whether you want to learn how to professionally record audio. There is so much information out there available to you. Again, the more of these you learn and the more experience you get, the more of a valuable asset you will be not just in your own productions, but when you are working on other people's productions and even when you're working in professional projects down the line. Okay, so that is our three main methods of beginning to get footage for your acting. Show real, doing collaborative projects with other people. Using a paid for show real services company or being very brave and doing it DIY by creating your own work. All of these options have got fantastic benefits. And honestly, I'd recommend trying all three. Maybe you will start with doing some collaborative work, then maybe you'll make your own projects. And then finally, you might decide to pay for some show real material as well. But they are all great and they can all result in not just helping your career, but getting you a fantastic show real. Next up, let's look at my top advanced tips for how to make your acting show reel standout in a crowded marketplace. 8. Showreel Pro Tips: So like we said before, a show reel on the surface seems quite simple, but there are a lot of finer details that go into making your real, really stand out and be an effective and professional way of marketing yourself in the industry. Over the last few years, I've picked up lots of really good little tips from agents and casting directors and from other professional actors. So let's dig in to my top insider tips to make your show reel stand out from the crowd. A lot of actors want to save the best material for the end. But casting directors and agents will only watch your real for a very short amount of time. So always put your best material first, hit them with your strongest scenes straight away in order to get them engaged and keep them watching. Think of it this way. You might only have five to ten seconds to get the attention of whoever is watching and make them want to carry on watching. So pick your best scenes and put them at the start. My next tip is performance over quality. A lot of people focus far too much on having an amazing costume or a location, or getting a really high production value. All of these things are important, but far more important is the quality of your performance. Because if you have all of the glossy things but you're acting isn't very good, then it's not going to keep casting directors or agents watching far better to have a very basic scene filmed in your living room where you're acting is really authentic and you're connecting with the character than having all the fancy stuff, but not having a great performance. So always remember, substance over style. It's always about the acting. As we mentioned before, the best acting is reacting. And so your show real scenes will always want to have another actor involved that you are performing width. However, when you are choosing how to edit your scenes, to put them into your show reel. Always make sure that each scene starts with your face and your voice. The reason for this is that if a casting director is watching lots and lots of different show reels, they can sometimes be confused about which actors show real scene. It is. If your scenes start with a different actor's face and a different actor's voice. They can potentially get confused and think they are watching that actors show real. So each scene in your show reel should open with your face and hear your voice before the other actors. That way, everyone watching will be of no doubt that they are watching your showroom. Following on from that last point, always be mindful of who the other actor is in your scene. Ideally, you want to be playing opposite your opposite. Let me explain. If I did a show real scene with another male actor who was in his 20s to 30s with long hair than anyone watching that scene is going to see two actors in the same casting brackets. That means the other actor might get picked for the role rather than me. So it's good practice to always choose other actors for your scenes which are contrasting from your casting time. So I might choose to play against a female, or I might choose to play against an actor of a different age bracket so that it's not clashing with my casting time. Always be mindful to try to play opposite your opposite. Okay, my final tip is to learn how to edit. This has honestly been a game changer in my acting career. The simple reason is that show reels are not static things. They are something that constantly grows and changes and develops with your career. And every time you're part of a new project or you get some new show real material, you'll want to be adding it into your show, real and updating that on all of your casting resumes and websites. If you don't know how to edit, then each time you need to update your real, it means you have to go and find someone to come in and edit your material for you. This can either mean paying someone to do it or finding someone who will do it for free. But either way, it can be a bit of a difficult problem to fix. It's much easier if you can edit your own show real, and it puts you in charge of what you want to create a market yourself. As to the rest of the industry, I really recommend using DaVinci Resolve, which is a free professional software editing tool, which is not as hard to learn as it looks, and is a fantastic skill to learn for any actor. So if you can learn to edit and it will help your career massively. 9. Final Take-aways: If you want to succeed as an actor, it's becoming more and more essential that you have an amazing professional. Actors show real. Without it, you will be passed over for other actors who are able to show casting directors and agents exactly what they can do on screen. So wherever you are in your journey, whether you are just starting out or whether you've already got some experience. Make it a priority to start working on your own. Actors. Show real. As we said, you've got three main ways of doing this when you start out. Either by getting involved in collaborative projects, by using a paid for sure real services company or by doing it DIY and making your own work. Eventually when you start to get work as an actor, you can then take footage from your professional work to further develop your showroom. So these three options are really just your best bet to get the ball rolling. Now that you know the fundamentals of what goes into a show real, you know, the major do's and don'ts and the best insider tips about how to make it even more professional. There is nothing stopping you from going out and getting your own professional acting show real. Right now, what I'd like you to do is complete today's class projects by uploading some material of your own. If you have absolutely no material, this could be a great opportunity to go and do something DIY. Film, a short monologue, bringing a friend and film a short scene. Or maybe write your own little project and try and bring some people in and create something that way. Once you've got the footage, come back here and share it with me, and I'll be delighted to give you some feedback. If you already have some material, then please, by all means, share that. And I will watch anything that you post and give you my honest thoughts on your performance on what to do next. So thank you very much for taking this class with me today. And if you need any more help on your acting career, then do check out my other classes right here on Skillshare. They cover both your casting type and getting professional headshots. Two other really important parts of building a professional career. If you've enjoyed this class, please consider leaving me a review and follow my profile here on Skillshare for further updates. Thanks again, I've been ed, and this is how to create a professional actors show real Bye for now.