Showreels – Do I need one?

Yes you do…..a showreel is an ever more important part of being a performer, a tool created to showcase your experience, skills and talent to agents and casting directors worldwide – here’s how…

Once you have uploaded your showreel, please post about it on Instagram and tag us #MDShowreel.

More often than not a casting director will request a show reel when casting their latest role, a head shot and CV is good, but for actors and presenters it’s not always enough. Models Direct ask all their talent to supply a showreel to us.

Your showreel will give a casting director a quick overview of you! It should be a 60 to 90 second collection showcasing your potential, experience, style and any aspect of performance they may be looking for. A showreel accompanied with headshots and a CV is the perfect combination for Models Direct to promote you with for those big roles!!

Top Tips to creating the perfect Showreel:

  • Get copies of any professional filming work you have done. These should be obtained direct from your agent or the production company you worked with.
  • Choose your best material – remember a showreel is designed for casting directors not to entertain your friends.
  • How do you want to be represented in the industry? Choose content and material that achieves this.
  • Choose scenes that show your character in detail and also includes close ups.
  • It’s important the scenes you select are fairly short, you don’t want the to dominate the whole showreel – approx 45 seconds long.
  • Make sure you make them aware you would like a copy of the material to add to your showreel, this is not an unusual request.
  • If you are going to be on TV then make sure you know when it will be aired.
  • Once you have chosen the scenes you’d like included on your showreel you will need to edit them together. This can be done by a professional showreel editor or you can do it yourself. To do it yourself you will require video editing software, iMovie if you use Mac or Windows Movie Maker. There are of course more advanced editing programs available if you have the technical know how!

Remember a showreel is similar to a models portfolio, it’s something you build on throughout your career, so don’t panic if you feel you don’t have much content to start with, it’s better than having nothing and shows you are keen to progress!

Here are a couple of examples of showreels from talent Models Direct currently represent;

Elena

Ethan

Oliver

Annie

Once you have uploaded your showreel, please post about it on Instagram and tag us #MDShowreel.

If you have any questions about creating your showreel or uploading your showreel to your eportfolio please contact the Models Direct team who will be happy to help you!