When to give actors footage for reel?

R

RyanMKincaid

Well-known member
We did a feature last year (summer of 2010), finally completed post this past summer and now the film is being submitted to film festivals. Typically, when should I give the actors footage for their reels?

I personally want to wait until after we get a festival screening.
 
did they do it for free? if you promised them a reel then give it to them. i know plenty of times doing student films and never seeing the reel they promised, word gets out and actors won't do student films anymore.
 
No, they were paid, and I stipulated in their contract that I would provide footage for a reel. I just wanted to know what the customary wait time usually is.
 
As soon as physically possible. Honestly, your film isn't Avatar 2, and your actors depend on the most up to date footage to get further work. In your case, 12 months ago.
 
It has been my experience to receive the copy of film at the cast and crew screening (A separate event, set up usually before any public performance of the film) or at the premiere (Which, in my experience, has been the first public performance of the film, and very hyped). Of course, I have done quite a bit of work where I have never seen the free copy promised, and on a couple of gigs, I had to buy the sh*t I shot retail. I am less than pleased about those experiences. My two cents is to set up a cast and crew screening and give out the free copies there. These events do not have to be super duper formal or anything. A really informal event, with good presentation, of course, can be one of the highlights of the film experience.
 
Of course I'll be giving them copies of the film. Just not yet, most likely after a festival bid. While I know my film is not Avatar, there's an insane amount of buzz surrounding it here in NYC in the urban scene. And my fear is that these actors would give away copies because of it. Trust me, some don't see the bigger picture.

As for giving them copies for their reel, I want to start putting them together after the special effects are complete on it, and we've completed all of our festival submissions. I just wanted to know what standard practice was. As for the year wait, I had to go back to work in order to pay for post production.
 
You don't need to give them the entire movie before it's done; just give them each a showcase scene (especially if they end up being cut out!).
 
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