Introduction
Your acting portfolio should represent your acting prowess, highlighting why you are the perfect candidate for the role. An ideal portfolio should give the casting directors every essential detail about you while engaging and piquing their interest.
However, creating a comprehensive and exciting portfolio can be a daunting task, especially for aspiring actors who do not have enough experience in the field. Therefore, SETC, an acting and modelling institute in Kolkata, brings you essential tips to build a portfolio that will help you land the audition you want.
Choose your portfolio format carefully
Acting portfolios come in various shapes, sizes and formats. Before diving deep into portfolio building, the first step is to choose a format. SETC, an acting and modelling institute in Kolkata, recommends putting your acting portfolio online. A web-based portfolio allows you to easily update the contents, and it’s an easy way to present your clips. When scoping out potential acting jobs, you can easily direct everyone to your website.
Add in a Resume
A resume provides an excellent opportunity to highlight specific details about the acting process and past experience. You can point out specific skills, types of roles, training and other information that might help the casting couch make an informed decision.
Your resume should include – stage name, affiliations, contact information. personal information (measurements, weight, height, eye and hair colour, etc.), work experience (if any), training (acting workshops and classes) and special skills (other talents, languages, accents, martial arts training, etc.)
Print your resume on the backside of your best headshot. This creates a one-page document that you can easily hand out when you audition. Include your portfolio website URL on your resume to make it easier to find your reel, photos and other content on your portfolio website.
Create a compelling narrative about yourself
How can a director, producer, or anyone on the casting couch measure your success as an artist? How do they determine if you will be competent in their artistic medium? How can they measure the level of artistic enlightenment that you have achieved? It is through your portfolio narrative.
Your portfolio should tell a cohesive and exciting story of your journey throughout the years, says SETC, an acting institute offering expert portfolio-making services in Kolkata. Your narrative should highlight your training, the roles you played, your process of playing the characters, any difficulty you faced, and how you overcame the problem. Remember, every good actor is a good storyteller.
Include examples of your work like photos or videos
Include your best headshots and demo reel in your portfolio to let the casting couch see you in action. SETC’s expert photographers can help you shoot the best headshots from various angles to highlight your features and character. A good acting portfolio should include two or three headshots with different facial expressions. Update your headshots according to the type of role you are applying for to appeal to casting directors. For instance, do not submit a headshot in which you look lovable and sweet if you are applying for the role of a rebellious and edgy character.
Similarly, your portfolio website should feature demo reels of your best work. Demo reels typically contain footage shot in a theatre or clips of an actor’s performance on film or television. However, if you are an aspiring actor with little experience, SETC’s demo reel producer can help you put together a short video to showcase your acting prowess.