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What if I told you your demo real, the

thing you're most proud of

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might actually be the reason you're not

getting called in.

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And your voice over demo, it might

sound great,

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but still be working against you.

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Today we're fixing that

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this is casting actor's caste.

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Well, hello everyone, and welcome back

to casting actor's cast.

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We are your backstage pass to the

acting industry.

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From the casting side of the table.

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I'm Geoffrey driesback.

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I'm a casting director, teacher and

author of bookditt, the actor's play

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book for getting cast.

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And today we're talking about something

that every actor has, every actor

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worries about.

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Almost every actor

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gets wrong.

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Your demos,

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your video reel, your voice over demo.

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Now I'm going to say something right up

front that might shift your thinking immediately.

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Your demo reel is not there to show how

talented you are.

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It's there to make you

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feel confident

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about where to put you, as far as

casting is concerned.

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You see that's very different, it's a

very different job.

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And once you understand that,

everything changes.

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So let's talk about what demos are

really for let's.

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Let's start here, because this is where

actors get into trouble.

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You might think your demo is, oh, I

don't know, a highlight reel, a

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performance showcase?

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A, look what I can do.

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Montage

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it's not

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really, it's not from casting

perspective.

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Your demo is a short cut.

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It.

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Is it?

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Answers three questions very, very

quickly.

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One, do I believe this person on camera

or in audio?

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Two, do they fit the tone of my project?

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Three,

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do I know where to cast them?

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That's it.

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We are not, I promise you studying your

range.

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We are not analyzing

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your emotional depth as an actor.

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We are not watching your full scene

unfold like it's Sundance.

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We are scanning.

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And here's the hard truth.

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If we don't know where to place you

within the first ten or fifteen seconds,

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yeah, you guessed it.

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We move on.

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And it's not because you're not

talented,

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because you're unclear.

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And unclear actors don't get called in.

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We need to talk a little bit about the

show real versus demo reel.

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Those are two different things.

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So let's clean up a term that gets

confused all the time.

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Let's first re, be really clear about

defining a show reel

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and not a demo real.

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They're not the same thing.

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A show real usually is longer

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in length and duration.

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It often includes

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full symbol Scenes beginning.

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Middle end.

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It's also a collection of work that you

created.

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Does that make sense?

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Because there are companies out there

that now create a demo real for you.

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They'll write the scene, they'll shoot

it, but with good lighting and good

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sound and good editing.

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And then that's something that you have

that you can call your real.

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But guess what?

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It really isn't a demo.

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It really is a show real.

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And that means it's something that you

created,

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it's something that you made up in

order to show others how you look and

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act on camera.

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Now let's contrast that to a demo real.

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Not a demo real, more often than not,

is short,

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it's very, very targeted,

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and it's designed to get you hired,

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because it is clips of you in actual

real productions,

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right?

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So as your career grows,

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you're able to cut little excerpts from

film and television projects you've

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been in and put them together

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so that you get a really good sampling

of the kind of work you've been hired

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to do.

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Already.

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It is not a show reel where you make up

the material.

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It is a demo real of you actually doing

professional work.

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But I also have a very simple way to

think about it.

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A show rill

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shows what you can do,

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and a demo reel shows what you have

already booked.

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And I hate to say this, but I am going

to say it because you deserve the

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truth.

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Casting doesn't usually have time for

show reels

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because it feels too manufactured.

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We need demo reels

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because we're making fast decisions

about whether you are right.

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But also, where are you in your career?

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And we only have a short period of time

to do it.

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So if your real feels a little bit

long, or is indulgent, or

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like it's asking for patients,

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you're already in trouble.

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So having said that,

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I don't want to discourage you if you

don't have any

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previous booked

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work.

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That's not what I'm saying.

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And I don't want you to be upset or

frustrated by that, because a show rule

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can be valuable in certain

circumstances.

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Now listen, I don't want you to get

upset about whether or not

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you have material that you can put on a

demo real, and that hurts you.

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And you know, agents all the time are

asking, do you have a real?

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And so you feel compelled to put

something together.

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So that you can say, yes, I have a

real.

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And here it is.

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But I also have to say there are

companies out there that

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claim that they can put together very

professional looking Scenes for you.

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They'll sometimes write the material,

they'll assemble it, they'll

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give it good lighting and good sound

and good elements.

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But guess what?

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It's still not the same as a demo real.

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Again, it's something you've created,

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but I really think that should not

dissuade you from considering it.

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Here's why,

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if you are interested in looking for

representation,

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an agent, a manager,

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somebody that would really benefit from

seeing your acting,

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whether it's on a real show or not,

kind of becomes irrelevant because

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they're looking for something very,

very specific.

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Agents and managers especially, are

looking about

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where they can use you.

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They're looking for how you fit into

their

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group of talent that they've already,

that they already have on board.

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So it really is a matter of having

something really nicely done and put

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together for that purpose.

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Now having said that, I can also tell

you it is not something that casting

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directors immediately want to go to.

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They immediately want to check out just

because

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time is valuable and short.

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So a demo real that shows where you are

in your career by having your guest

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starring appearance on law and order

svu, for example, that becomes

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something that establishes you

professionally in the industry, forecasting

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directors, forecasting directors and

producers,

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purposely.

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So let's talk about your own camera

real.

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First

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length,

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sixty to ninety seconds.

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Yeah.

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That's it?

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Not two minutes, not three minutes,

not?

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Oh my gosh.

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The scene is really good.

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No, no,

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short.

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Because Shorter Forces clarity.

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Ok?

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Somebody write that down?

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That was really good.

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Shorter Forces

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clarity.

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We have to really invest in a short clip

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in order to make the determination.

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A longer clip almost sabotages you

because there is too much going on, or

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it just goes on for a

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particularly

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an exorbitant length of time.

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Now let's talk about structure.

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Generally speaking, three to five clips.

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Those clips need to be ten to twenty

seconds each.

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Now you also have to consider your

strongest clip first.

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And why I say strongest.

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I don't mean the most emotional.

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I mean the most castable,

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the one where I go, oh, that's exactly

where this actor fits.

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Now here's what works

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you on camera immediately.

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In other words, the first scene of

whatever real you have has to be on you

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involved in whatever the situation

calls for.

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So the first image has to be on you

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only, because it's your real.

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We want that first impression on

camera.

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We want that,

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how do they look on camera?

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Sensibility to hit us in the face right

away.

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We need to make sure that, no matter

what's happening in the scene, that the relationships,

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if you and another actor are in a

scene, are very, very clear.

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So clear relationships

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are valuable

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and simple.

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You want to keep them simple.

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Believable.

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Behavior

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is so critically important.

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We don't need to see all kinds of

complicated depth and emotional turmoil.

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We just need to see a good, clean scene

that is authentic

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and believable.

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So the behavior being believable is a

big deal.

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And other things, of course, you know

this, I'm sure.

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But good sound.

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So let me repeat that.

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Good sound.

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You can survive slightly imperfect

visuals.

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You can.

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But guess what?

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You can't survive bad audio.

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So whether you're doing a show real, or

you are doing the editing yourself on a

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demo reel, if I can't hear you clearly,

I'm done.

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Now what doesn't work?

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This is where I see actors sabotage

themselves.

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This is what doesn't work

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right after this.

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Welcome back.

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We're talking about demo reels and show

reels.

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And this is where I see actor sabotise

themselves all the time, with the

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assembly of a real,

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long scene.

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Builds.

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If the scene takes too long to get to a

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crescendo, to a dramatic element, to a

major point.

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If it's too long, you've lost me.

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I don't want to have to wait for your

moment.

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Be careful about group Scenes where I

can't find you, even though that was a

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long shot, and there are several people

in the shot

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don't.

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And be careful about making you have to

work to find you.

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And that is, if you've got material

that's already been shot professionally

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in.

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Not.

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Every little snippet that has you in it

should be considered your demo real.

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You need to be very, very selective

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again.

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I need to see you in that environment,

on that set.

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But I need it to be absolutely clear.

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It's much, much better to leave it out

if there's any confusion whatsoever.

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The other issue when editing a demo

reel,

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sometimes I see demo reels with

additional music, or flashy cuts,

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an opening

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montage sequence that leads into the

scene.

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You know, that just honestly takes up a

lot of time,

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but here's my favorite,

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when actors try to show range.

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Now listen, carefully, range

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gets you admired.

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I love knowing an actor's range.

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You can go from

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quiet, inhibited character to an

outrageous axe murderer.

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I'm just making that up.

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But you see what I'm saying,

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but it's really your brand that gets

you hired.

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So it is not about showing me your

range.

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See, your real is not your acting

class.

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Final exam,

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think of the real

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as your business card.

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Yeah.

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Now listen, voice over demos,

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what I call the invisible audition.

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Now we have to shift to voice over

work.

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And this is where actors get,

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oh, kind of

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performy.

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You think I need to sound like a voice

actor?

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No, you need to sound like a human

being having a thought.

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Voice over, especially commercial voice

overs,

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they're about authenticity,

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specificity,

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connection,

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not performance.

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Now, a demo should be about sixty

seconds.

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That's about six to eight clips, five

to eight seconds each, fast, clean, clear

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and not overly edited at all.

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Straight cut, linear edits of each of

those spots, each of those commercials

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that you've got together, if you're

putting together a commercial reel,

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no more than one minute.

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I don't want you to make the mistake of

thinking, oh, I'm doing a voice.

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See, we don't want a voice.

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We want to hear you.

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We want to hear, who are you talking?

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Too, that's a big deal.

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And who are you saying?

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This that's another big deal.

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Why?

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If it feels like you're presenting,

you're losing us?

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If it feels like you're thinking,

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we're leaning in?

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So when you build your voice over demo,

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how do you actually build one?

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There are several elements to building

a voiceover demo that I want to share

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with you additionally

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before we jump into building one.

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Let's just talk about some basics

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in terms of voiceover demos.

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Be really careful to overed it, or

overproduce a voiceover demo.

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You're talking about one minute, but I

also encourage you to try different

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kinds of material

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that you just don't stick to one

material.

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And I'm not talking about versatility

in terms of your

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performance.

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I'm talking about a variety of spots

that you would be cast in.

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Now, you want to do straight cut edits.

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You go from one to the next, to the

next to the next.

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Be really careful not to do a cross

fade or a little beat between each one?

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No, no, no.

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You want a just machine gun, all of

those edits into one.

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Now, the big secret about a voiceover

demo,

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if you are comfortable enough to do

your own editing of your own voiceover

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demo, know that every one of those

little pieces, those clips of various

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spots, they have to sound like they've

already been on the air.

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So in other words, you need to do the

correct amount of eq.

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And I don't recommend a lot,

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but I do recommend some.

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For example, there's a specific

frequency that television commercials

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have that you can add to a spot to make

it sound like it's an on air TV spot.

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Do you see what I'm saying?

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And so

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that's really the most important thing.

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It's kind of like you are pulling the

wall over our eyes, but you're

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surrounding a voice over demo with

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the input

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of a professional sounding

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booked spot.

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It's a little bit, you know, I know it

seems a little bit shady, but it's not,

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I promise you, we just want to hear you

invested in the commercial.

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So

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the question really becomes as you

start putting this together.

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Where do I belong?

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Not?

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What can I do?

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Where do I fit?

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I want you to pick two to three

characters

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or personas

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that are absolutely right for you.

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For example, I want to hear somebody

who is a grounded professional speaking,

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then you're the best friend,

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or then you're the outsider,

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or then you're the real person, the

authority figure,

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whatever it is for you.

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Then build simple

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Scenes, build simple copy around those

characters.

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Two people

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in a demo that you're assembling for

acting.

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That's all you need.

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If you're doing a demo for acting, you

want to make sure there's a clear

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objective, there's a realistic tone.

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00:17:38,258 --> 00:17:41,394

You do not need complex locations, I

promise you.

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00:17:41,561 --> 00:17:44,831

You don't need big dramatic arts or

fancy production.

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00:17:45,465 --> 00:17:50,570

You need clarity, because casting is

not asking, how impressive is this?

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We're asking, would I bring this person

into the room?

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Here's the truth that frees you.

355

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Here's the truth that I hope relieves

some pressure for you.

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Your demo, whether it's a video or

audio, self tapes,

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does not get you the job.

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It gets you the opportunity.

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00:18:13,793 --> 00:18:14,260

That's it.

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00:18:14,361 --> 00:18:15,995

The job comes from

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the self tape audition, turning into a

call back.

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00:18:20,433 --> 00:18:24,504

The self tape audition that asks that

you come into a room to work with

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00:18:24,504 --> 00:18:26,873

another actor in the form of a

chemistry read

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00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,642

so from your presence in the room.

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We can get a sense of whether this is

the right part for you.

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Do you fit the parameters?

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Do you fulfill the vision of what

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00:18:40,20 --> 00:18:40,954

we're looking for?

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00:18:41,788 --> 00:18:45,291

So if your demo is trying to do

everything,

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00:18:46,92 --> 00:18:47,193

it's doing too much.

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Your demo,

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whether it's a voice over demo, or

whether it's an acting democracy,

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has one job.

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The way I look at it,

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you want to make me want more.

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00:19:03,476 --> 00:19:06,79

So those are sort of the demo

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00:19:06,179 --> 00:19:07,247

thoughts that I had.

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And I want to make it clear that all of

this discussion, these are

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00:19:10,984 --> 00:19:11,885

tools to consider.

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00:19:12,185 --> 00:19:13,787

They're not Rules to employ.

381

00:19:14,988 --> 00:19:16,656

Ooh, tools, not Rules.

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Because the idea is

383

00:19:19,459 --> 00:19:25,298

not to waste our time, but also to

establish yourself as a professional

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00:19:25,799 --> 00:19:28,668

whose career is advancing, whose career

is growing.

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00:19:29,302 --> 00:19:31,805

And so that's why the careful selection

of your material.

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00:19:32,339 --> 00:19:35,475

And then, of course, as you know, as

you start getting bookings,

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00:19:36,509 --> 00:19:40,580

now, you have to make sure you get the

video, if it's acting work, that you

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00:19:40,580 --> 00:19:43,83

can now re cut into a new demo.

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00:19:43,850 --> 00:19:46,586

You see, it's always evolving, just

like getting your picture taken.

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00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,589

You're going to need to get a new demo

in time.

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00:19:50,256 --> 00:19:52,325

So there's value in that.

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00:19:52,759 --> 00:19:53,626

And the voiceover demo

393

00:19:55,528 --> 00:19:58,264

there's just so much information out

there.

394

00:19:58,264 --> 00:19:59,866

I don't want to kind of waste your

time.

395

00:20:00,333 --> 00:20:04,104

But clearly, if you are interested in

doing voice over work, it's imperative

396

00:20:05,472 --> 00:20:11,77

that you have the right equipment, that

it sounds perfect, that you have the

397

00:20:12,345 --> 00:20:12,645

location.

398

00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,351

When I first started doing voice over

work, I literally was in my coat closet

399

00:20:18,651 --> 00:20:21,788

with a microphone, surrounded by all of

the sound deafening

400

00:20:23,390 --> 00:20:25,158

coats that were around me.

401

00:20:25,558 --> 00:20:28,428

And it was kind of weird, but it kind

of worked at the same time.

402

00:20:29,229 --> 00:20:32,432

So make sure you do your research if

that's what you want to do.

403

00:20:32,499 --> 00:20:35,869

And I would also argue that a voice

over demo

404

00:20:37,237 --> 00:20:39,639

is just one tiny piece of this puzzle.

405

00:20:40,273 --> 00:20:41,908

Because the voice over world is,

406

00:20:42,409 --> 00:20:47,714

my mind, almost a completely separate

industry where different creatives are

407

00:20:47,881 --> 00:20:50,383

involved in the process of doing voice

over work.

408

00:20:51,151 --> 00:20:52,152

And then finally,

409

00:20:53,453 --> 00:20:57,791

both the demos, they can be really,

really useful for getting

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00:20:58,91 --> 00:21:00,827

representation, whether it's from an

agent or from a manager.

411

00:21:01,561 --> 00:21:04,464

So those are some additional thoughts

to consider.

412

00:21:05,65 --> 00:21:06,32

If I'm missing something.

413

00:21:06,433 --> 00:21:09,235

If your experience has told you

something else, I would love for you to

414

00:21:09,235 --> 00:21:13,640

go to the website, gasing actors cast

dot com that's casting actors cast all

415

00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:18,445

one word dot com, and leave me a note

there's a place there that you can fill

416

00:21:18,578 --> 00:21:22,415

out, but you can write to me and let me

know if I'm missing something, and i'll

417

00:21:22,415 --> 00:21:24,784

be sure to include it in the next

episode.

418

00:21:25,785 --> 00:21:28,588

So in general, here's what I want you

to take away from today.

419

00:21:29,789 --> 00:21:30,724

Keep it short,

420

00:21:31,691 --> 00:21:34,94

keep it clear, keep it castable.

421

00:21:34,494 --> 00:21:36,96

Stop trying to prove.

422

00:21:36,730 --> 00:21:39,32

Start trying to place.

423

00:21:39,933 --> 00:21:43,870

And if you take anything from this

episode, let it be this, you are not

424

00:21:43,870 --> 00:21:45,638

building a demo to impress people.

425

00:21:46,339 --> 00:21:46,740

You're not.

426

00:21:47,140 --> 00:21:48,341

You are building a demo.

427

00:21:48,575 --> 00:21:49,876

So casting knows exactly

428

00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:52,12

where to put you.

429

00:21:53,146 --> 00:21:55,715

If this episode helped you, and gosh, I

hope it did.

430

00:21:56,182 --> 00:22:00,186

Please consider sharing it with a

friend or fellow actor who is

431

00:22:00,186 --> 00:22:02,88

struggling with their real.

432

00:22:02,756 --> 00:22:06,126

And if you want more insight like this,

head over to casting actors.

433

00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:06,993

Cast out camera.

434

00:22:07,460 --> 00:22:12,465

Continue to share real, practical,

usable information from inside the industry

435

00:22:13,133 --> 00:22:13,867

until next time.

436

00:22:14,34 --> 00:22:15,68

Keep work and keep learning.

437

00:22:15,368 --> 00:22:19,205

And keep showing us exactly where you

belong.

438

00:22:19,639 --> 00:22:20,473

I'm Jeff