Gayla Marie LeJeune de Guise: Actor and singer in New Orleans, Louisiana.

That is correct. I have edited thousands of reels over the years, and cut several a day to go to Actors Access for the past several years. Agents and casting absolutely depend on AA, and the more quickly they can make a decision and move on, the better their reputation will become, and the more casting they will be asked to do. Back in the days of Performers Audition Showcase, in LA, where agents would troop out to watch audition scenes at lunchtime, more agents than i could count told me they mad their decisions in the first ten seconds of watching an actor. On the other hand, you have to use what you have as long as it's good. I made a reel for an actor last year who played a maid on a popular episodic. Her appearance was literally 8 seconds long. She posted it on AA. Now she is now a regular on the show as "the maid." That may not have been because of AA but it didn't hurt. I have a rule when editing; "when in doubt, throw it out." If it's not your best acting don't show it. Also, if your footage doesn't look like you, don't show it. If you're playing a deranged homeless person, don't show it first, unless that's what you want to be cast as. Make sure it's the highest quality you can reasonably produce. I will be posting an article on how to "self-tape" with your iPhone. It is never recommended, but if your on location in Antarctica, it may be your only option. The main considerations are: make sure the sound is clean, you're in a medium close up, there is light on your face and the camera doesn't shake. You can purchase a little book of mine from Barnes and Noble, Lulu.com etc. How to Shoot Better Camcorder Videos Help from the Hollywood Pros or just read what I post on Stage 32. A last suggestion, for now, is to also post your Reel on L.A. Casting, IMDB, and other places it might be easy for casting to access. If there is a network watermark on the video, YouTube will pull it so be careful of that. Scenes from shows you've been in are legal to use on your reel for the purpose of getting more work.

You are absolutely correct, Alle. I would love to have had more time to talk further about this. Three point lighting, and a mic that's close to you, can give you great results no matter what you're using. I recently shot an audition for a major star on his iPhone, when the studio we had booked screwed up. We had no lights, but a lovely warm light was coming through a window and the hallway of the building made a neutral background. We dragged some fake trees over to cut the echo of the hallway and held the iphone as close as possible to him. The results were excellent. I've heard people were shooting movies, just like you, on their iphones and I'll bet there will be iphone festivals springing up all over, if they are not already! I learned a great lesson some years ago when a gallery portrait artist hired me to put his work on video. He had shot his entire exhibition with an ancient Hasselblad and one single open incandescent light bulb. The results were stunning. Sometimes, "the medium really is the message." I'd love to see some of your movies, even if they're no-big-deal :)

Thanks for bringing me up to date on mobile phone cams. I think it's fantastic and i'll be looking at your page right away. Oh no! The fake trees were not in the shot! It was all I could find to cut the echo of the hallway and it worked. The late afternoon (golden hour) sunlight was just right, cut by some pretty grubby windows and we used an extra white shirt my actor brought along to add some bounce. For my first book, I made up a ton of little rules to ease the stress of production and one of them goes "Don't shoot what you went to shoot, shoot what's there." I'm looking for two young Quebecquois (one male and one female) actors to do some narration for a fireworks competition. Must speak educated French Canadian; just putting the word out. I'll get back to you after I view your mobile movies.