How to Make a Demo Reel From Scratch and No Money
Before I start, I updated my demo reel this month! I will share my experiences creating one from scratch and on a limited budget. My friends Chase (@thenonexistentone), Dee (@deecasserly), and I got together and shot some scenes and moments to put together for our demo reels. We had no fancy equipment – just a cell phone, tripods, and affordable LED lights.
There were many reasons why I decided to create a demo reel from scratch. Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a film set. My previous demo reel didn’t show the characters I wanted to act. Plus, I look a bit different now, too (or at least in my opinion).
I felt accomplished because I hadn’t updated my reel in about 3 years (time flew by fast). Now that the writers’ and actors’ strikes are over, I have a fresh new demo reel for casting directors. Let’s gooooooooo.
For actors, a demo reel shows your range of moments to sell yourself on top of your resume and headshot. Casting directors want to see what you look and sound like, too. Ideally, it should be less than a minute with about 3-5 different moments. From what I’ve learned, casting directors do not have the time to watch more than a minute of a video, especially when they receive hundreds of actor submissions for their roles. So keep it short and sweet!
This post will benefit new actors without experience and professional actors who want to update their reels. If you have film footage of yourself that you really like, include it in your demo reel, too.
Warning: This is a true DIY version. You will spend hours working on this. However, hiring someone to film and edit your reel can cost hundreds of dollars (which is why this blog is about doing it with no money!).
The best part of DIY is that you will learn new skills as filmmakers by doing production and post-production on a small scale. You’ll gain experience and then see what you like or don’t like within the filmmaking process!
Anyway, here’s how to create your demo reel.
Writing
First, decide what scenes and moments you want to do. After all, we want to act for the characters we want to play. Plus, it could be various emotions and/or genres. For example, you can have a moment for each comedy, horror, and dramatic scene to showcase your range. Each moment could be about 10 seconds long, so it’s really simple!
Then, write the scenes and lines and determine what and how you want to say them. You have control over this, so do whatever you want. Include your personality in this, too!
Filming
It’s fun to do this with friends! However, you can also do it yourself, too. When you are filming, you will need to consider the following:
Camera: We used an iPhone 15 and their free Blackmagic Camera app. Similar camera apps can be found on Android, too. However, shoot your video with 24 frames/second (FPS). It is the movie industry standard for that “cinematic look” in videography.
Tripod: Great for holding your camera in place! A tripod is essential for actors for self-tape auditions, so you don’t need to invest in this (and I assume you have one already).
Sound: I recommend using a boom or a Lavalier microphone for clean audio. However, if you don’t have a microphone, you can still film with the phone’s audio, but it might require more editing in post-production. Keep in mind the noise of your location, too. We also recorded the “still” and “sound” audio of the room, both indoors and outdoors, just in case we want to use that in editing.
Lighting: You want people to see you clearly! Lighting equipment is also essential for actors, so you may also have this (and they’re not too expensive online, too). However, the best lighting is natural lighting! If possible, film during the day when the sun isn’t too bright or dark.
Shots/Takes: Always film multiple takes and angles! You’ll have options and then can use your best take for editing.
Editing
Lastly, this could probably be the most time you’ll spend (because it took me a long time to do this since I’m low-key a perfectionist, too). For this process, you can definitely outsource and have someone edit your video to save you a lot of time. Below is the DIY. 😉
Editing Software: I edited my demo reel using the free version of Davinci Resolve. You can also use other applications, like Premiere Pro, if you have it. I’ve watched many editing tutorials on YouTube, which can be overwhelming. On the bright side, you don’t need all the software's features!
Video: You need to find your best take for each moment. Clipping and adding the videos to the editing timeline was easy, as you must cut before and after your scene.
Sound: You want clean and crisp audio. If your audio sounds noisy from the background, such as room A/C, you will have to add “Noise Reduction” to your audio clips. If your audio isn’t clear, you’ll need to re-record your voice to replace the audio clip using a free audio recording app on your phone. But you can mostly avoid this by having a Lavalier microphone attached to your shirt during filming.
Color grading: This step is less important, but you may need to adjust the brightness if your video doesn’t look bright. I wanted to make my clips brighter for some moments, and I had to adjust my skin tones to look even for scenes with multiple cuts, takes, and angles.
Music: If your demo reel doesn’t have music, it will feel stale. You don’t need music for each clip, but think like a director – which moments do you think should have music? As I mentioned, each clip is about 10 seconds long, so don’t overthink this part! You can look up royalty-free music online. Since I have a MacBook, I used the free Garageband app to create quick music using their loops.
Transitions: Since you have multiple moments, having clips back-to-back without a transition would look awkward. In your editing software, use the “Cross-Fade” transitions on both video and audio so that people can know it’s a different scene for each moment.
After all of this, you’re ready to export your demo reel! I uploaded mine to acting databases, such as Actors Access and Casting Networks.
Check out my updated demo reel below:
Again, the biggest takeaway is that you just need 3-5 moments, about 10 seconds each. I hope you learned that a demo reel doesn’t have to be too complicated, and you can literally do this at home.
In fact, that was a mistake on my end because I overthought this. From what I’ve done, I spent hours editing the sound and color grading, but I learned a lot, which was invaluable. (To be honest, I realized I don’t like editing audio, and I’ll get myself a Lavalier microphone, haha.)
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned something because I love sharing and helping others. 😁 Feel free to contact me to show me your demo reel, too.
Until then, thanks for reading!