Acting : Reel tips by Tanner Kongdara

Use what you have! Upgrade as you get more! Best wishes!

You can absolutely make a reel from self-tapes and make your own stuff. Why not? As long as it's your best stuff now, throw it in! You may want to enlist the help of an editor, though, as a well-edited reel is worth its weight in gold!

If you’re going to use self-tapes, then BE SURE it’s original material, or something that has already aired. I’ve seen actors post auditions, and that’s a huge no-no. And like Stephen said, the moment you get material from projects you’ve done, replace the self-made material. In the end, agents and casting directors expect a reel to represent how OTHERS have entrusted you with a role.

Agree with Matthew with not using audition clips. Same goes with random singing videos, etc.

Just get your cell phone, and record yourself acting. If you're a great actor, people will immediately notice.

Vin Diesel made on and on audition attempts in his "nobody" years, it got frustration over his head...he then acted and directed a short film based on these failures just to vent it out...film eventually cough Spielberg's eye and he got cast in "Saving Private Ryan"...now Vin don't have any audition issues any more...

Make the footage yourself! Get together with a bunch of actor friends and shoot scenes. Reel scenes don't need to be more than 30 seconds long. It'll be good fun, it'll teach you a lot, and it'll be useful.

Search out the filmmakers in your area, volunteer to work on-set in any capacity. Be professional, give more than take.

Network, network! After you've built relationships, friendships, get a group of like-minded people (actors, writers, directors, etc.) together and shoot a short.

This is a longer route to getting a reel completed, but a much surer way of building a long-lasting career in the biz.

Agree w/ John. Best advice is to make low-budget 30-sec scenes - 3 to 4 of them that portray you as the characters you want to be in diff situations/locations. Ask your network to film and play opposite characters - free help if you can. Remember to reciprocate and share those clips with the other actors. If you're lucky to know an aspiring director who can edit and add music/ sound, even better My demo is cheesy but it works and I have gotten leading roles with it. It's ok for it not to be perfect. Once you get jobs, you can ask for the clips and edit them together for your professional reel with credits. You can check mine out for inspiration.