Hide
The Blue Compass Network
Please select which of the site you wish to access from the Blue Compass Network.
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |
| Topic: Would appreciate feedback Please | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hello All, I've completely had my show and voicereels revamped and decided to just let the scenes speak for themselves (i.e no flashy montages or music etc...). I think I've learned from the mistake of the last one (i.e initial one minute montage=way too long). When I last asked for feedback, I was met with a wall of deafening silence, so even if you think it's bloody awful, I would really appreciate some comments,on any or all of them, please. I'm a bit computer illiterate I'm afraid, but they're on my profile under Showreel 2010, Showreel 2 and Voice Collage. Thanks, in advance. | ||
| [add comments | all topics] |
| Reply #1 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 26/08/10 | |
| Anyone? | |
| Reply #2 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 26/08/10 | |
| It all seems good to me. I am not *entirely* sure why you have come up with two different showreels (other than acknowledging that there is a wide variety of material you could be using, so that the choice of what to include in a single reel without making it run for far too long was surely problematic) - I don't think most casters would be prepared to sit through the viewing of two reels (I didn't mind doing this, as a fellow actor, but, then, I'm not in a hurry!) and so, prioritising the one reel specifically (the 2010 one, I assume) is a good plan. The material on both is good though - and I don't see any harm in having them both posted to the CCP site, at least. By and large, there is no doubt about the basic quality of the material that you are uploading - some very impressively filmed pieces, and with some great atmospheres - I found the comedy funny, and the drama dramatic, so it all read well for me. I also found most of the material pretty engrossing, and just the right length - so I wanted to watch it rather than speeding through it. The only choice that might be held to be a little 'contentious', in my opinion, was your use of the Sky footage initially, which is not screen acting in the conventional sense. Still, I appreciate that this was a high profile piece, it allows us to see the 'natural' you, and it proves that your acting was good enough to convince people in real situations (plus, showing that you are saleable for this kind of project on TV!), so I didn't dislike it either. Had it been, say, a presenting piece or the equivalent, I would state that it had no place on an acting reel, in my opinion - but it's still acting at heart, so I think it's fair it made the cut. On the other hand, I think you have enough good performance material (split between reels) that you might usefully ditch the hoax material if you wished, and replace it to produce a reel of similar length entirely showcasing your performances per se; and this *might* (I can't say for sure) be more 'convincing' to screen casting directors. The only other (slight) gripe I had was that, in some of the material, the edits are so good, and the action so frenetic, that, in actual fact, it can be hard to tell what *you* are doing in a scene - this especially applied in the case of the final WWI piece (which looked great, and which I realise is a very recent project). Still, there are other sections throughout the reel in which the close ups showcase your performance to the maximum, so perhaps on balance, it all evens out. I would imagine that prefacing this all with a montage was surplus to requirements, and you have done a very nice job at putting it all together. The captioning is a useful touch. And I liked the 'finale' which seemed to give a solid end feel to the pieces. All in all, good stuff as far as I'm concerned. | |
| Reply #3 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 26/08/10 | |
| Thank you, Lee for taking the time to give such a thorough response. I've just had two PMs that also express doubt on the inclusion of the Sky piece. I think I might keep it (for the very reasons you put forward)but put it on the reel last. I've got more material arriving soon which I might put on the second showreel and possibly label showreel B to indicate preference of viewing. Thanks again for your intelligent and pertinent points. Best, Pete | |
| Reply #4 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 26/08/10 | |
| I really liked it Peter, it shows good range and is just about short enough. Just a small addition that might be useful to a CD looking at it would be your details at the end of the reel as well as the beginning. It would mean if they had sat through your reel and enjoyed your work (which I'm sure they would do) then you give them a chance to record your name and number instantly. Just a thought :O) Well done though I wish you the best of luck! | |
| Reply #5 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 26/08/10 | |
| Excellent point, Thank you, Amber, I shall do precisely that. | |
| Reply #6 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 28/08/10 | |
| I would have mentioned that too, Peter - in fact, including full contact details at the end is a must, not an optional extra, because the casting director can never be guaranteed to take information down from your packaging of the showreel - it is most convienient for them to be able to pause the reel if they are interested and take the contact details straight off the screen (and including a mass of info at the beginning can be cluttering). The reason I didn't mention it was because many people when they are simply streaming the reel online omit the frames with details that would otherwise appear because they can e.g. include them in the title box on Youtube and so on. | |
| Reply #7 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 28/08/10 | |
| Hi Peter I agree I liked the comedy Motzart clips, very funny and definitely a strength of yours. I also agree about the Sky clip. Your performance in the Think Tank clip is great but your American accent... not so much. Ordinarily you could get away with it...maybe you lived in Britain or are half British but the line about hating Europeans kind of throws that out the window lol. The Picnic scene is a bit dull. I guess it is quaint and you act well but I dunno... I watched it and didn't really have any reaction to it at all. Consider moving the trench warfare clip to near the beginning as it is a strong piece and you want to make sure people see it. You could even break it up into two if you wanted... before the explosion and then joing it later for the aftermath. I always find it hard to pick out the actor in question in showreel clips which could just be a reflection on me but it took me a while to work out which actor your were in the Valentine scene as you both look similar! I think you have some great actiony scenes and period pieces which are well shot and which few people manage to get for their reels. What you are missing is perhaps some more simple, modern day scenes. If I was a casting director I'd be thinking...right he can do character roles and comedy and he has shown he can be angry but can he be...well... normal! Perhaps you have some of these to add but I'd like to see you do a piece with a female costar with lots of closeups so we can really see 'you' and your facial expressions. Best of luck. I am making my reel at the moment and I am not sure I am brave enough to post it here when I finish! | |
| Reply #8 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 29/08/10 | |
| Thanks for the follow up, Lee. Underlined now. And thanks, Jenna for your thoughts and for the detail of your observations. I will be definitely be changing the running order so that's very pertinent. I'll take the Valentine Deakin comment as a compliment-that gentleman with me in the clip is somewhat slimmer, but it's true we're both dark and moustached. I did have a contemporary piece with a female actor, but for whatever reason, I couldn't get it on to the disc (Gremlins!??!). All great trenchant observations which I greatly value and thank you for. The Picnic might well get the chop, because I was feeling this way about it myself. Thank you. Do ask for feedback when you put your reel on because positive or negative, I have found the given advice on here invaluable. | |
| Reply #9 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 29/08/10 | |
| Like I said, I am really bad at matching headshots to performers so it is probably just me! I think eventually I will post mine on CCP. I am finding the hardest thing for me is haveing to discard scenes or performances you love because they are too slow paced, confusing for the viewer or for whatever reason they just don't seem to work in the reel. It is frustrating as you want to show the work you have done but sometimes when you get footage back it isn't what you expected. Also there are performances I like but maybe the lighting is crap and I look like **** so I think... hmm do I put it in or leave it out :p. It makes you see why people do shoot a lot of stuff from scratch initially just to retain the sense of control over it. I kind of see showreels as being like movie trailers in some ways. I mean movie trailers rarely make sense and rarely feature the most pertinent, moving or well acted scenes from the film...Yet somehow we get enough of a picture to hopefully want to see the full version. As Psychologists would say, the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts! I am pretty sure there must be a scientific equation for the perfect movie trailer or showreel! | |
| Reply #10 | |
|---|---|
| Posted : 30/08/10 | |
| I think the trailer idea is a perfect analogy; is it exciting enough to make you want to see the film, or in our case are we exciting enough for the Cds to want to see us. As to how one looks in a finished product, I can only sympathise with you so far...as a confirmed character actor whose looks faded years ago, it's not something I have to factor in. LOL (as you young actors say!) | |
| [add comments | all topics] |
Please note: Messages written in the forum do not represent the views of Casting Call Pro, nor have they been vetted by Casting Call Pro staff. If you read something which you believe to be offensive or defamatory, please contact us and we will take the appropriate action.
