If you work in the entertainment industry as an actor, director, stylist, or any other capacity, a great demo reel is essential to getting your name out there and in the hands of the people who make the decisions that matter.

As an editor for the past fifteen years (check out the rest of my web site), I have worked on many projects, including documentaries, national television programs, music videos, commercials and many other forms of media. I've also edited many demo reels for other industry professionals just like you, that has given me the knowledge and experience to produce innovative, original reels which will showcase your true talent.

WITH YOUR FOOTAGE, I CAN DO THE FOLLOWING:
 

• Create a professionally made DVD, the kind where you put it the player and it will automatically play or one with menus, music & your contact info allowing the view to navigate the DVD.
• Create a montage that can be cut to music along with titles and your headshot to introduce your reel.
• Make you a DVD-rom including a Full-Resolution Quick Time file & one web-ready Compressed File of your reel
• Make a slide show that will showcase lots of still photographs of yourself or your work while a song plays.
• I could also build & host a web page for you (consisting of your headshot, reel, a brief bio and/or resume).

A great headshot can cost anywhere from $375.00 to $700.00 and that just gets you in the door. Acting classes can cost from $200.00 to $500.00 a month. A great reel on the other hand, will truly showcase your talent and not just your looks. Invest in yourself and your career.

Please review my credits, resume, and the rest of this website to see more of what I've worked on.

Here are examples of some reels I've edited for others. Click on their name to view their reel:
 

FRANK CASSARA - AUDITION REEL	WILL SASSO - ACTOR REEL	KATHLYNE PHAM - ACTING REEL
JODI LIPPER & CERINA VINCENT - SHOW REEL	CHRIS KAZARIAN - ACTOR/COMEDIAN REEL	MOCEAN MELVIN - VOICE OVER REEL

EDITING YOUR REEL, WHAT IS THE PROCESS?


It could be as easy as capturing a few clips and adding them one after another or adding a few new clips to your already exiting reel. But sometimes it could get a little more complicated...

The more organized you are, the quicker the editing process will take. Think about what you want it to look like and how will it be seen. Is this going onto a DVD, the web, or both? Do you want the DVD to have menus (which will give the viewer the choice of how to view your reel) or would you rather have the reel play automatically when the DVD is put in?

Gather all your clips. They may be on VHS, DVD, Mini-DV, Quicktime files, etc. Watch them and make notes of what you want to be in your reel. If there is a chapter on the DVD, write it down along with the time (hours, minutes and seconds) as a reference. Jot down the first few words spoken and the last few words spoken, so when I capture it I will know exactly what portion you want used. Make yourself a paper edit with clips in the order you think would work best.

Once you've gone through everything bring all your footage to me so I can convert it to be edited. This is a process in itself and takes some time. Special software programs such as Mac The Ripper, Mpeg-Streamclip, or Handbrake are the best out there to convert the media of I can put it into a DVD player and capture it straight into the computer. Once converted , it can be then brought into Final Cut Pro and the actual editing process can begin. Is the footage in great quality? If not, would you want it color corrected to look better?

Once you are happy with the final edit, it will need to be exported in the program Compressor to either be a file for the web or for a DVD or both. Then if a DVD is to be made it needs to be brought into DVD Studio Pro. Photoshop or Live Type are other programs that may need to be utilized when making titles and graphics. Will there be a menu or menus to let the viewer choose how to view it? If so, do you want some still photos of you on the menu or a montage of various clips of you to loop as the viewer decides how to view it? Should there be music playing underneath the menu? Think about what song you would like and bring it with you, along with a headshot.

All of the above questions should be thought about before we begin the editing process. I would also advise you to bring or purchase an external hard drive so when everything is done, it can all be copied onto your own hard drive to save as a backup or in case you ever want to change or add to it.

Now the best part, what will this all cost? My editing rate along with my editing system is $75 an hour ($300 minimum) or a possible flat rate can be discussed. If you are interested in having a reel edited, please contact me at chris@chrisnicholas.com or chris@chrisnicholas.net with your contact info and we can discuss what you would like done.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to helping you with your reel.

Chris Nicholas