Acting is a tough field to get into. There are very specific lessons that anyone can learn from everyone else, and from only one person will make a difference in the industry.
It is difficult to find Introduction articles, because there are so many that talk about how great an actor is versus what an actor does. This article will not talk about what an actor does, but will instead talk about the building blocks that make a great actor.
These building blocks include: character development, emotion, delivery, and overall craftsmanship. Each of these elements can be combined into one show or program that truly showcases the perfection of acting.
This article will take a look at some of the building blocks that make a good portfolio for an artist or model looking to enter the acting industry.
Contents:
Make your acting resume
Now that you have your acting portfolio, it is time to make a new, more complete resume. Your first step in creating this new resume is to divide your experience into sections.
These sections should be grouped by area of experience. For example, you may have previous jobs as a private tutor, college professor, and stage director. These experiences should be grouped by area of experience and listed in order of importance.
This will help you to show how well you can organize your work and highlight important pieces of your career. In this case, the most important sections are the ones that include your teaching skills, theater skills, and film skills.
At the end of the day, you want people to see you as a person with passions and what they’d get out of them. If one piece of work is less important than the others, then don’t try to downplay them. People who are passionate about what they do should not be put on a pedestal.
Add photos of you acting
This is a no-brainer, but we will say it again: Include photos of you in the casting calls and in the studio. People see your work and they will know you are someone special, even if they do not know your professional identity.
By including photos in your portfolio, you also include your photos in the searches people make when looking for jobs. This can be helpful and/or annoying, depending on your view!
You may find some organizations will only look at video or résumé-only examples of past work, but still include some photos. You may even include pictures of yourself wearing costumes or doing action moves because that helps show off your understanding of the characters you are auditioning for.
Add videos of you acting
You can add videos of you in your dressing room, in the freezing cold before a show, or just filming yourself getting ready for the job.
Many acting schools require video evidence of an audition or training class to shore up their files on you. So if you do a good job in your video, you will be invited to practice with the school!
Make sure they are high quality and that they are not just you walking around and practicing your lines. It will look less authentic.
Edit them once you get hired so you have perfect footage of you doing your job! Then, all of your hard work paid off — people see how great you are and want to hire you!
Add any other props or clothing items that may be used for modeling or practicing lines with your role. These things may help prove your individuality and skill set-case study.
Add reviews of your work
Your portfolio is your back up plan for your acting career. Having a few honest reviews from other people about your work will help increase the number of potential employers to contact you.
It is also a good way to network and add more people to your list of contacts. Networking is important in the industry, and more than likely many companies will only request samples of your work so far as an indicator of whether or not you can complete a project at their level of quality.
By having some reviews, you are proof that you can! Most web hosting services have review sites where you can easily create a account. Create a username that matches what you use to put on the site and make sure it is actually yours to use.
This is very important! If someone else has theirs registered, do not send anything because they will judge your project based on that account.
Include testimonials from others
Your portfolio should include a few pieces of work from which you took some steps towards creating the piece you wanted to share. This is how most successful artists create their portfolios.
It is also the best way to get other people to look into your work and feel comfortable enough to endorse it. If you are trying to get funding for your project, adding a couple of put-upon friends who’ve used your work and enjoyed it is a good idea.
It helps establish your reputation as a reliable artist and establishes how well you can communicate your project. If there are any problems with it, these people can send feedback that others can use.
Include testimonials from others that are similar to what you would, so people can see what other people say about your work. It also gives them an opportunity to ask questions and verify the piece they are reviewing was similar to those others reports says it was.
Make a website with your portfolio
Your website should have pictures of your work, links to those pictures, and a description. This helps other people find and work with you!
Link to your picture or picture gallery
Many acting agencies have a link to their portfolio or pictures on their social media accounts. You can also make a quick link to your profile on ActingUCLA!
Description of your work
Your description should be short and sweet, focusing on your goals. It is important that you give enough space for other people to respond to and apply to you, so make it clear what you want out of this project!
Making a website for yourself is an easy way to make sure people see what you have done.
Promote your portfolio
Once you have your acting portfolio, it is time to promote it. You can do this by posting it to social media, linkating it to your website or blog, or by linking to it in other venues.
Linked-in profiles are very common on web sites and in blogs. Create a list of your most important accounts and link them in!
By promoting your portfolio, you are also promoting yourself as an artist and how talented you are. Your fans will come back to you for projects because they know you’re quality work– even if they may not always see your project right away.
Keep adding to it
Once you have your first piece of acting work, it is important to keep adding to your portfolio. You can do this by re-teaching yourself some new pieces of work or by picking up new material, but both of these should be done by you.
You should be the one who made the decision to turn in your audition and take a shot at getting what you want. Nobody else should be taking credit for your work, so do not!
By adding new works to your portfolio, you are showing off what you have learned over the years as an actor and sharing that with people. You are also teaching people how good you are at what you do and how they can improve their arsenals for drama, which is great stuff!
Do not feel like you need to include everything in your portfolio, though. If something does not fit into one piece, then only included on one hand should be counted.