Demo What??

Today it's probably more important than ever for actors to "show, not tell" their performing ability and experience.  I know that when you submit for a project on www.actorsaccess.com out of the zillions of submissions, the ones listed first for the casting director to see are the ones with video attached.  And really, there's no excuse if you don't have a reel and submit with it.  No footage?  You can get a flip cam for 80 bucks, and HD flip for about 150, and just get a friend or two and shoot a couple of scenes!  Obviously you can use any camera, big or small,  and where did it come from?  Duh!  A student film (btw, I'm rarely asked where my clips came from).  Make up a name for it... or don't, and voila! You're only going to use 30-40 seconds of each bit, just make sure each clip starts and ends on your lovely face.   You can even edit it yourself in a simple program like iMovie or for PC users, Windows Movie Maker.  That might sound hard, but I swear it's not!  I did mine on windows Movie Maker:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fDHp57kG-U Regardless, if you're not feeling up to the task (albeit FREE) here is a short collection of demo reel editors I've collected from actors I know and trust:

Paul Preston: $50/hr plus a free, very upfront consultation catered to your needs, also SHOOTS scenes!http://www.digitalmindproductions.com/Services/services-demo_reels.html

Jacob Strunk : www.shotgundigital.com He's about $125/hr, but put this together in 45 mins:http://www.amymotta.com/Reel.html
Jeff Castelluccio: littlecastle1@mac.com    Contact for rate, loved by Erin Cummings, just look:http://littlecastlefilms.com/erincummings/Reel_v7_01.29.10sm.mov
Matt Riddlehoover: 323-963-0527    He does a flat rate of $150 and did Brian Nolan's:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dzw3j0prw
Josh Fong: 323 650 5854    Noted to be great with comedy.  Did all of Naomi Grossman's:http://www.youtube.com/naomigrossman
Allison at  Advanced Media: 323-469-0707    Noted to be very good, sweet and reasonable, about$35/hr.http://www.advancedmediallc.com/
David Conner: davconn@roadrunner.com   Noted to be awesome,  $60/hr, reels starting at $240http://www.facebook.com/l/4a2f8;www.connerpost.com


So shoot, cut or both, but you've gotta have a reel to be in the game, and you can't win a game you're not playing!