LATEST NEWS!! Taking registrations for slots on FEB 7 to shoot actor demos. CLICK HERE to register.
When I was casting Rising Stars, I came to realize that local actors have some serious challenges to overcome in landing roles. The biggest is a bias towards LA/NYC actors. Another, is that a lot of local actors just don’t have any good material for demo reels.
One problem is that often the micro budget indie that they get to act in– they get promised a DVD but in actuality rarely ever get one. The filmmaker gets too busy and just can’t or won’t pop out the discs for their actors. Another problem is that they just don’t have anything that can showcase their skills in front of a camera.
I decided to offer a service– I would write an original little scene, that looks and feels like it came from an indie film. Then I would get my DP and small crew and we’d shoot it. To pay for crew and equipment, I found that I have to have minimum six participants to spread the cost around.
The way it works– upon registration (usually $350), I contact the actor and get recent photos/headshots and talk to them about what kind of scene they need. Then I write the script and send it to them. I usually write a one page scene between two people (although I have done it differently), with the top half being heavy on one actor and the other half heavy on the other. Edited together the scene might be a minute or two, but what we’re really looking for is ten or twenty seconds that the actor can really shine.
Here are some samples:
Madelyn Allen is a young actor and she did a beautiful job. In this case, the scene was just her (and the other actor off screen). In this next example, you see how the two actor situation is done.
Because we need a handful of actors to make this work, I usually wait until acts contact me. I’ve recently had a couple contact me– so if you think you’d like a demo, contact me.
