This Blog is for those of you who also act. If you haven't breached the world of acting yet, maybe its time you tried. 

If you follow my blog then by now you will know that I am a huge promoter of marketing yourself!
As and actor you need several tools to market yourself. A stellar resume, great headshots, a website, business cards, and a demo reel! 


A demo reel is the live version of your resume. An edited summary of all your best work put together in a small segment for clients to enjoy and see 1. Your look 2. Your skills 3. Your diversity/specialty . 

I am constantly updating my resume, website , and pictures. 1. Because its necessary to stay on the forefront of your industry. 2. Because I can.  I have built up my skill level so that I am capable to work on my own website eliminating the wait time of someone else doing it. Likewise I am a photographer, and so is my husband, therefore I can manage to get new pictures almost immediately. Up til now I have relied upon other professionals to edit my demo and I've been so grateful to them. John with October Sky Media did my last one and it was outstanding! Thanks John:)

One thing I've realized though, is outside of the challenge of getting your hands on your material, is the challenge of keeping your Demo up to date and we as professionals don't always have the time, or money to consult with an editor to produce our material. If you are like me and want to take a front seat to the Brand you are displaying, then you will also want to have creative control of your Demo. That is why I decided to dig into my MAC's store of awesome software and pull out IMovie to produce my own Demo. It was a bit of a learning curve but not impossible to figure out. I completed my new demo, and although it may be a bit long, I'm really proud at how it turned out. And best of all, now when I have new material, I have simply to go into the software and cut in the new material instantly! 

Now if you aren't super computer savvy, don't let this be an excuse for you to not get yours completed. Like I said, there are many professionals out there who do a stand up job and they are waiting and ready for your business. So get to it!

Here is a link to my demo page. At the top left you will see my new reel. Or you can view it on the home page under my headshot and bio:)


xoxo

Amy West
www.theamywest.com