Editing a good actors reel is tricky and having a an effective one has become really important, as casting directors will view your reel without you even knowing it!
When they call you in for an audition, it's pretty much a call back.

We cast by looking at reels first at reels4artists as well. It saves a lot of time for everyone. That's why a good reel has become so essential.

There are several things to consider.

Anyone casting, be it a producer, director or casting director wants you to be truthful, have a good sense of character, and of course see what you look like on film.

You can achieve that in 30 seconds, with one or 2 clips. That's enough!
However, if you have contrasting scenes, different characters, worked on known shows or films, have scenes with celebrities, that's icing on the cake...but don't linger...30sec per scene max! If your reel is longer than 3 minutes, you better have some great stuff! Short and sweet is the way to go with a reel.

Build your reel like you build your resume, one step at the time. Adding clips is easy for your editor to do!

Tell your editor to edit around the beat changes, that usually works best. Whenever I edit a reel I really enjoy finding those moments that are most active, truthful and compelling, beat changes are a good guideline to find them.

Photo montages are less and less popular. Anyone who clicks on your reel wants to see the work, not a slide show. Think of it as your "special skills" section, physical stuff be it fighting, sports, dance etc. And a few looks that we won't see otherwise in the reel.
I feel that it should be no more than 12 seconds.

For commercial reels, cut quickly from one "character" to the next. Show the big brands, but keep it short. Make it as contrasting as possible.

More questions about reels?
Call or e-mail.

cheers,

Gerrit Vooren
gerrit@reels4artists.com
917.566.3046

Voted "Best reels in NYC'"
Backstage Magazine Readers Poll 2009
reels4artists.com/backstage.html