Demo Reels and Auditions on DVD When you’re told to put yourself “on tape”, you need it done yesterday. But you don’t want to run all over town and pay a fortune. What a comfort it is to my clients to walk out of my place with their best work on a DVD ready to send to whomever requested it - DONE! Time is money! Why waste time driving to your coaches to work on your sides, then trying to find a trust worthy friend (hopefully one with a camera) to read with you--while running said camera, and then, scheduling time with an video editing facility to try to get them to fit you in between their commercial work, and finally driving there to transfer your digital miniDV tape to a DVD or VHS (edited to only your selected take)--paying the RUSH FEES to get it today? One Stop Shopping: Actors who put try the do-it-yourself mode of making an taped audition rarely get the call-back. After spending a day or more running around what have they got? An audition tape that makes them look like crap because it’s poorly lit, with poor audio quality so lacking that THEY can hardly be heard while their buddy, the reader, sounds great? Plus, IF their friend was skilled enough to be both reader and actually operate the camera, (instead of just putting on the tripod and never changing the frame) chances are the headroom is unprofessional or worse, they have their head get cut-off because the friend got into acting his/her part! Professional Auditions are Produced by Professionals: We record your scenes (with coaching & direction by Crystal) direct to computer (and tape as a backup) with professional video and sound equipment! We burn to DVD only your best takes-- while you wait! You leave the session with a finished product. The time spent coaching and taping is billed at the normal rate for Crystal’s coaching services, $85 per hour. You may use your pre-paid coaching coupon (see the Coaching page for coupon pricing and restrictions.) Burning your selected scenes to an “Instant Play” DVD occurs immediately and for only $50. (Additional copies - $5 each.) We can film in 1080i Hi-Def, 16/9 Wide Screen DV, or Normal 4/3 DV, your choice. Of course DVD’s can only be burned in Wide Screen DV or Normal 4/3 DV. Custom Filming and Editing Whether you have miles of tape, or no tape, we can make you look great with our custom services. For experienced actors with plenty of tape, we provide consulting and editing services to produce a compelling professional “speed reel” or a comprehensive “demo reel” or both. For those just getting started, we can create a showcase for your talent and personality on DVD, including material selection; coaching and direction; filming and editing; and burning your finished DVD. Of course this is all available in your choice of format, 1080i Hi-Def, 16/9 Wide Screen DV, or Normal 4/3 DV, Material selection, coaching, and filming and direction are at Crystal’s standard rate of $85 per hour. All editing services are $100 per hour for actual editing time. Generally editing can be done in one hour max for a basic demo reel. The time to encode and burn your DVD is free. Additional copies of the final DVD are $5. A DVD or mini-DV tape of all scenes is $10 per DVD/Tape. We can also provide Demo Reel files in a format suitable for use on the various Internet demo reel sites (Actors Access, Demoreels.com, Speedreels.com, ReelAccess.com, etc). And of course we are happy to put your reel on our “Clients’ page at CrystalCarson.com with your permission. One More Thing... All video and photos we shoot are exclusively your property. We suggest you ask this question of anyone else you work with. After all, this is the age of the Internet, for good or bad, just ask Paris Hilton. http://web.mac.com/crystal.carson/iWeb/Crystal%20Carson%20Video%20Examples/Video%20Examples%20Home.htmlhttp://web.mac.com/crystal.carson/iWeb/Crystal%20Carson%20Video%20Examples/Video%20Examples%20Home.htmlCoaching.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2

When the video transfer/editing company we referred clients to decided to double their prices for “rush service”, going from charging $50 for a regular transfer to $100 for same day service (and even then, they could not guarantee same day product), I decided to add this to my services.


Films and television shows have directors and hire coaches for a reason.


Professional camera operation is essential for an exceptional end product; knowing when to pull back or go in for a close-up adds to the power of a performance, causing it go from pretty good to out-standing!


Optimal lighting is the difference between looking attractive and...not.


It’s difficult to book the role when you can’t be heard! Projecting during an intimate scene doesn’t work on film. A boom-mike makes all the difference to a performance.