Acting demo reel: how long it should be, what to put in it, and where to get footage

An acting demo reel is a short video, usually one to three minutes, made of your best on-camera scenes so casting directors and agents can see how you look, sound and act on screen before they call you in. Make one when you have footage that shows you acting well in roles you could book next; until then, a few strong single clips or a well-shot self-tape do the same job better than a padded reel.

Your headshot says what you look like and your resume says what you have done; the reel is the proof. Casting Frontier lists a reel among the materials agents may ask for, alongside headshots, a resume and a cover letter (Casting Frontier). This guide covers length, what to include and in what order, where footage comes from when you have none, how to edit it, and where to upload it in Los Angeles. Voice actors need a different kind of reel; see how to get into voice acting.

Both, if you have the footage. Casting director and coach Marci Liroff wrote that clips had become "the norm": each one "its own self-contained clip that runs about 30-60 seconds," labeled at the top with the show or film it comes from. She also suggested separate comedy and drama reels rather than one mixed reel (Marci Liroff).

Clips help because a casting office looking at you for a cop drama wants your best dramatic scene, not to scrub through a minute of sitcom to find it. A combined reel still earns its place on your website, IMDb page and agent submissions, where someone wants the overview. In practice:

• One to three clips of 30–60 seconds each, each a single scene, labeled with the project title.
• One short reel that strings your two to four strongest clips together, best first.
• Optional genre reels (comedy, drama) once you have at least two good scenes in each.

Shorter than you think. The sources agree on the direction even if the exact number varies:

• Casting Frontier (2021): aim for one to two minutes of engaging, concise content; newer actors can use two to five quick scenes (Casting Frontier).
• New York Film Academy (2017): two to three minutes maximum, ideally 90 seconds to three minutes (NYFA).
• Marci Liroff (2012): reels of 30, 60 or 90 seconds had become more common than long ones (Marci Liroff).

Platform limits are far above that: IMDb accepts demo reels of "10 minutes or less" (IMDb Help Center). The limit that matters is attention. Erica Arvold, a casting director quoted by Casting Frontier, wants to see your face "first and foremost when that demo reel starts", and the article notes casting professionals may watch only the first scene (Casting Frontier). If your best minute is excellent, a 60-second reel is finished.

1. Open on you, speaking. Liroff advises front-loading your strongest footage and opening on a speaking scene; Arvold wants your face first (Marci Liroff, Casting Frontier).
2. Best and newest first. Liroff puts the best and most recent footage at the top and warns that old scenes where you look very different confuse viewers (Marci Liroff).
3. Scenes where you carry the moment. Cut scenes where your partner outshines you (Marci Liroff). Trim each scene so you are on screen and talking or reacting for most of it.
4. Your type, then your range within it. Casting veteran James Levine says that if you don't know your brand, "you're vague. And vague gets you nowhere"; the article's advice is to show the roles you fit best and your range inside that type (Casting Frontier). One dramatic and one comedic scene is a common minimum for range (NYFA).
5. One clip per project. NYFA advises not reusing the same project for several clips (NYFA).
6. Contact information at the end. Name and how to reach you or your representation (NYFA).

A montage of quick shots is optional. Liroff suggested keeping an opening montage to "no longer than 7 seconds" or moving it to the end (Marci Liroff), and NYFA warns that splicing too many short pieces together makes a reel choppy (NYFA). A name card at the start is fine if it is brief; it should never delay your first line by more than a few seconds.

In rough order of how much a casting office will trust it:

• Paid film, TV and commercial work. Use material from recent jobs (NYFA).
• Student films, shorts and indie projects. Casting Frontier points newer actors to student films, which give you set experience and a finished copy for your reel (Casting Frontier). The LA casting calls guide covers where to find and submit to them.
• Self-produced scenes. NYFA says you can create your own footage and suggests splitting costs with other actors, since one shoot can serve several reels (NYFA). Arvold's advice: "write your own thing and direct your own thing and have actually a crew" (Casting Frontier).
• A strong audition tape. Casting Frontier says an audition performance can work if its production value is excellent and you have the owner's permission (Casting Frontier).
• Reel production companies. They can handle the technical polish; Casting Frontier's advice is to look at reels they have finished before you hire one (Casting Frontier).

If an agency asks you to use its own reel maker, say no. California Labor Code section 1700.40(b) bars a talent agency from referring you to anyone in which it has a financial interest for services including "audition tapes, demonstration reels or similar materials," and 1700.40(c) bars it from taking referral fees for them (California DIR). The acting agent guide covers the other fees a real agent may not charge.

Getting your footage after a shoot. Footage usually takes "a few months at least" to arrive. NYFA's advice: stay on good terms with the director, editor and producer, collect their contact details before you wrap, and when the project is finished, email the director to ask politely for a copy of your scenes (NYFA). If you were in a trailer or teaser but not the full cut yet, Liroff's view is to use the snippet only if you are in it, otherwise wait for the full footage (Marci Liroff).

Don't pay for a reel you can't fill. Liroff's line is blunt: "I'd rather see no footage than bad footage" (Marci Liroff). A workable sequence for a new actor in LA:

1. Train on camera. An on-camera class with playback shows you what reads on screen before you shoot anything permanent; the on-camera and self-tape classes guide lists LA options, and audition prep classes are on Arlo.
2. Submit to student and indie projects on free casting profiles, and ask for footage as part of saying yes.
3. Upload single clips as they arrive. One good 45-second scene on your profile beats an empty video slot.
4. Shoot one or two scenes with a crew if months pass without usable footage: a written two-person scene, a real location, a proper microphone, and someone checking focus and sound on a monitor during the take (Casting Frontier, NYFA). For scene text, use a published play or screenplay from Offbook, which hosts monologue and script text, rather than copying scripts from random sites.
5. Cut the reel when you have two to four scenes you are proud of.

• Broadcast-quality picture and sound. Liroff's standard (Marci Liroff). If a clip's sound is weak, cut the clip.
• First frame is your face. No long logos, no slow fades in.
• Each clip labeled with the project title at the top (Marci Liroff).
• Trimmed to you. Cut the setup lines that only exist for the other characters.
• No reused projects, and nothing so old you look like a different person (NYFA, Marci Liroff).
• Contact card at the end (NYFA).
• An outside opinion. Liroff recommends someone with an objective eye, "not a family member or good friend" (Marci Liroff).
• Export at 720p, MP4. Casting Networks recommends uploading video at 720p (HD) and accepts MP4, MOV and M4V; drop to 480p if a long file keeps failing (Casting Networks).

• Casting Networks. The free plan includes "1 free video upload"; Premium unlocks unlimited media, including multiple skill clips and reels (Casting Networks). Video files can be MP4, MOV or M4V, up to 300 MB (Casting Networks). On a free plan, use the slot for your single best clip.
• Actors Access. Neither the free profile nor Actors Access PLUS includes performance media; Breakdown Services says additional media can be added to your profile for a fee and does not list the amount, and PLUS lets you attach existing media to submissions (Breakdown Services). Check the current price in your account before you upload.
• IMDb. Reels go on your name page through IMDbPro: only a membership that has claimed the page can add them, there is no cap on the number, and IMDb recommends MP4, WMV, AVI or QuickTime files up to 500 MB and 10 minutes. Reels are removed if you cancel IMDbPro and restored within 24 hours if you renew (IMDb Help Center).
• Your own website, YouTube or Vimeo. Liroff suggests posting there too, with your contact details on the video or in the description (Marci Liroff); NYFA suggests embedding the reel on your site (NYFA); the actor website guide shows how to embed it without making it public.

When you send a reel to an agent or casting office, send "an easily clickable link", not a large file (Marci Liroff). Put the same link on your resume; the free resume builder has room for it, and the acting resume guide covers the rest of the page.

NYFA's advice is to update the reel consistently with your latest projects (NYFA). A simple habit: each time new footage arrives, ask whether it beats your weakest clip. If it does, swap it in and re-export; if it doesn't, upload it as a single clip and leave the reel alone. Refresh the reel whenever your look changes enough to need new headshots, so the first frame matches the photo casting just clicked on.