Today I am joined by Guy Chachkes, the co-founder and managing partner of REELARC, a leading Cinematic Demo Reel Production Company that specialized in creating and filming original scenes for actor’s demo reels. REELARC is based in both NYC and LA. Guy and his team have filmed over 7000 scenes for actors and is your go to guy for everything you need to know about how to make your reel stand out! I partner with him in the Young Actors Film Experience where awesome demo reels are created for young actors.
Denise: So actors need footage and they don’t have any. They audition more than they work and even if they have filmed something they might not get the footage for a while. So you create footage?
Guy: Totally. We exist for that specific reason. There is an outdated system of actor’s waiting for footage for projects that they work on… sometimes it is very hard to receive that footage so we exist for that purpose of filling those gaps in your demo reels.
Denise: Let’s start with what a reel even is for those who may not know
Guy: A demo reel is a piece of media that an actor has for their marketing materials. It’s usually a video reel that is comprised of three clips at a minimum…but a demo reel should usually be a two minute video showcase of what you can do as an actor or pieces that you have done as an actor in television or film. A demo reel is usually a video representation of their work.
Denise: So in your opinion what makes a great reel?
Guy: That's a great question. There are several things that need to work in tandem. The brand of the actors needs to be presented well. The writing is important and needs to be a section within their piece that they’re representing on their reel that is very engaging. So how engaging the material is. And obviously talent. Talent is a big part of what makes a good demo reel. So when those three things work in tandem, the sky's the limit of how impactful you can be in your demo reel.
Denise: So what do you think makes reel arc’s reel stand out from good self tape footage?
Guy: So in addition to the brand engaging content and being able to extract or help nurture talent, we say that context is very important. So everyone can do an audition take or a self tape in front of a blue screen, but context is very important and sometimes you want to put yourself in the surrounding or setting {of the script}. We believe that setting an actor in an investigation room or a family drama actually taking place in an apartment and creating context behind their performance really brings in the watcher into the world and creates the connections in their mind. So in addition to having a great script and having the brand represented correctly, {we are} putting you in a context of what is shooting today.
Denise: Let’s talk about branding. What is branding? What is an actor’s brand?
Guy: It’s so funny because saying that an actor should have a brand. It is a little hard to swallow because we are all humans and we all bring different things to the table, but in a funny way we have something we bring to the table that tells people what we are. When you walk into a casting office they are creating associations in their mind without you even beginning your audition. So the word brand is something that we use to represent that. What is your signal? What are you putting out there as an actor? If we have to break down what a brand is.
It really is what we think of you when you first walk into the audition or when you first submit that video and we press play. What is the association that we make in our heads about what that is as casting individuals?
Denise: We know that kids are growing and changing so rapidly, so how often do they need to redo their reel?
Guy: I would say a refresh for a reel… you definitely want to do it every year. That would be my recommendation because a kid that is eight years old and twelve is a completely different game.
Denise: So if somebody doesn’t have the footage or they have a little bit of footage and they want to supplement it and they come to you to produce the reel, how do they know what materials to use or what genre to use?
Guy: You must create media content for yourself as an actor. They have to create those marketing materials because that is the first thing that people look at.
Denise: How does someone understand their brand?
Guy: So if they come to Reelarc, they first meet with a writer to understand what the best scenes are to produce for them. During this one on one we create our own way of finding your brand. We talk about adjectives, your store front, there are a lot of ways we go about how we find your brand.
If you take your brand and embrace it and align your marketing materials around it then you find great success in this industry. Knowing your brand is so powerful because you know how to place yourself in this industry.
Denise: So you’ve done this for a while now. So if someone doesn’t have a reel are they passed right over?
Guy: Absolutely! Now there are all of these filters on these casting sites where they can filter by “show my demo reel only” and that’s what they do. They’re not going to spend hours looking at people without demo reels. You’re not even in the game if you don’t have great footage… or footage at all. You have to have some sort of video content to showcase you or you’re not even going to be shown to people.
Denise: And I always say that not having footage is better than having poor footage
Guy: If you have poor quality footage, it doesn’t matter if the sound is okay. The audio is the number one thing that makes us exit watching content. Also poor footage is not representing you in the right way.
Denise: If an actor is just starting out and they’re not ready to produce something yet, then they don't.
Guy: I believe this with all of my heart. It doesn't have to be Reel Arc but you have to have video content that puts you in context and breaks down your brand in the simplest most digestive way that lets casting put you in their imagination that makes them think I can book this person for this role. A casting director needs to make the connection in their mind and they need to feel like they can trust you to come on set and perform. I actually believe that a reel as the starting point is the most important thing you can do.
Denise: If an actor has an agent or manager. What do they do once they have their reel?
Guy: That’s a good question. First of all, get yourself on the casting profiles. Make sure that you align all of your branding materials together. You want to align all of your media marketing together to be able to have the most impact. Once you do that if you have an IMDB page, make sure that it is all aligned. For adults, start going to seminars or agent/manger casting seminars to make relationships and the preferences that are out there for submissions etc. Use these as a networking experience and how they should approach these industry professionals. Once you go on the path of creating everything in the right way, the industry will reveal itself. A lot of this has to do with talent. There is no secret sauce. This is about eliminating distractions to be able to book you.
