9 Showreel Mistakes To Avoid! | How To Make a Great Demo Reel

Are you trying to put together a new Showreel/Demo Reel? We are here to help.

I get sent 100s of showreels a month and I see the same mistakes from actors again and again. These are the 9 common mistakes actors make when it comes to their showreels/demo reels.

The key to a great showreel or demo reel that will help your acting career is to keep it short, sharp and professional.

[rhyswilliams]

the first sentence is so true . my show reel is terrible

[larivierafilms]

thank you good points. definitely put your better scenes first because most likely they wont have time to watch the whole thing and definitely keep it under 4mins thanks again

[eileenwalder]

Great advice and will pass on to my students. Maybe time to do a new show reel myself.

[DakotarWolf]

Found his really helpful, except that everything on my reel is from actual productions, so much of what was said didn't even apply to me. But I highly recommend this video for those it may apply to!

[JamieBensonTV]

Hi, thanks for this. I'm wondering more how to title and structure these demo reels and don't see much info. Is there a title card with a headshot? Do you name and organize based on the style of production (i.e. commercial, tv, film etc)? Should I have different reels for these different genres? Do you name the show title and role ever in the clip? This is one of the better videos for naming mistakes but I wish someone would speak how best to specifically break down the demo structure with an example.

[takeshiisisisisisisi]

Thank you Andy! Looking forward to re-doing mine!!

[JTHundred]

In the process of creating a self tape showreel, needed this!

[MrMickao]

Good thing I watched your video. I've edited my showreel this morning and indeed, it sucks….. Now I've got to remove half of it and reorganise the rest…Thank you

[piotrnowak]

Thx I’m a filmmaker from Poland, you got my thumbs and sub. Cheers

[patrickgibson]

Really great stuff!! The obvious stuff that i exactly needed!!

[EmileVinesh]

If I may ask a few questions:
1. Does a showreel need to start with an intro with your name (and possibly website) or is that a no-go?
2. If some of your work is from a couple of years ago (but still better than your recent work), do you want to have it included still? Your most recent work is obviously wanted.

[nettiegurl]

As I understand it - today it's about clips, as showreels have become time and tedious with casting people. Most of the working actors I know still have their "old" reels available on their sites including IMDb, but use their clips for casting auditions.

[thebigshowcase]

Stage Milk really know their stuff. You will learn from these guys - they know the buisness and the people in it.

[abrahamkleinman]

Thank you, this is really great, full of clear actionable information.

[studiokomplex]

Thanks! Some helpful tipps. Used it in my showreel out on my channel here. ⬅

[LaurenLaass]

Should we have multiple reels for different things? Should I have an acting reel for TV/film, then a musical theatre reel for theatre? Should I then also have a vocal reel? I have only done theatre but want to audition for film and TV things as well and want to make sure my reels match what I am auditioning for.

[markp]

Like the point of expensive or cinematic reels feel like reels, no need to pay for that and the point that they prefer self tape like vidio in which your acting is what they want to see. Good quality video n sound n good scenes is what you need.

[charlesaphrem]

Amazing pointers!! Thanks for this video :)

[razabadass]

Thank you bro! I appreciated the ideas, points and explanations! (E.g. it’s better to have a good quality cheap showreel then an expensive one that’s considered bad), thank you! Raza :)

[sallycacic]

Great advice - as always! Thanks StageMilk