Create Best Acting Portfolio with no Acting Experience| Beginners Guide

Want to get that call for audition of your dream role? Want to enter the acting field as a mainstream professional? Well, if you are a beginner then a correct acting portfolio is a must have to make all of it reality.

So, why do we need an acting portfolio or do you really need a portfolio for acting? An New York headshot photographer Dorothy Shi will shade a light on it.

Being a newbie, everyone around you must be reckoning to assemble a presentable portfolio for reference work purposes. But this not the only role a portfolio has to play, rather getting you acting jobs is one of the many purposes a portfolio facilitates.

An appropriate professional portfolio will definitely leave a lasting impression over talent agencies, producers and casting directors to help you land at your desired cinematic roles.

Having an acting portfolio is an inevitable practice if you want to get ahead and make your own mark in the show business. But in most cases, people with no major acting experience do not know which specific details constitute an effective portfolio.

So here we are going to discuss those key elements of a portfolio which will help you stand out from rest of the applicants who are applying for the same acting role.

1. Headshot:

As per the usual industry practice, a portfolio headshot is 8*10 inches portrait of an individual with major focus on the eyes. Among all the submissions made by a person, an actor's headshot is the first thing which is seen by casting directors. It has to be a fully retouched, magazine quality photograph.

As per the latest trend in headshot stream, coloured photographs are preferred over black and white ones.

Also, if you are submitting more than one headshot, make sure all of them are depicting completely different set of facial impressions. For example, if you are going with the idea of submitting two headshots, choose one with a strong expression and the other with a warm expression. This will help you showcase a range to the producers and directors.

Once you get yourself a professional headshot done, you can use those images for:

• Submission to casting agents and directors.
• Post them on your own acting website.
• Social media profile.
• Post them on various online casting platforms.
• Carry them while attending acting workshops to have a better experience.

2. Demo Reel:

A demo reel is an opportunity to show acting skills even before an actual audition. Aspiring actors should choose high quality clips from their past acting work. It can be an excerpt of your performance from a theatre or some other acting role. Be sure, that the clip is worthy enough of a casting director s time. Because if your reel is not up to the standard quality in terms of clarity and timing, no director or producer will bother to watch it. Some key points to remember while making a perfect demo reel for portfolio purpose:

• A two to three minute reel is considered best for submission.
• You can use different short clips from various roles that you have played, so as to display versatility and range.
• Choose the work about which you feel most confident as an actor.
• Use a good quality editing software while making the reel.
• Take professional help (if needed), in order to prepare a perfect submission worthy final reel.
• For further reference purpose, upload the other good quality reels on your own acting website and profile.

3. Resume:

Even for the beginners a resume for acting portfolio is quite similar to that for any other job. However the quantity of details to be mentioned in resume will depend upon the work experience you have had in the industry. It includes all your up to date details such as:

• Personal details:
  Name, 
  Address, 
  Age, 
  Gender, 
  Height, 
  Weight, 
  Complexion, 
  Eye colour; etc
• Professional details:
  Acting jobs that you have taken in past. 
  Specific zone of your performance (if any) like action, comedy, etc.
• Acting academic details:
  Details if you have gone to any acting school. 
  Mention about the acting workshops that you have attended.
• Highlight your skill set:
  Describe if you have undergone any professional training like martial arts, classical dance, etc.
• URL of the acting reels on your website and profile.
• Any other relevant information which might help you to grab the audition. One important thing to remember is ideally you should not pint resume on the back side of a headshot. Understand that both are two different submissions having different usage for the casting directors.

Acting portfolio as a whole for the beginners:

Beginners who have no inside connections or with no in depth knowledge about industry have to face harsh struggle in even getting considered for an audition. Now we know how significant an acting portfolio is. As a new entrant always remember that a headshot, demo reel and resume should be the key components of your acting portfolio.