The Writing Jigsaw – How our showreel Service tailoRS Scenes That Work for Everyone

One of the ways that we stay affordable as a showreel service is shooting actors in groups of four. This allows everyone to effectively quarter the day rate between them, but also means that everyone has three ready-made scene partners. Anna’s job is to make sure that each scene suits what each actor has asked for equally, which can be quite the jigsaw!

It’s one of the big things that sets us apart from other showreel companies. A lot of providers focus on ready-made scripts or standard packages, but our actor showreel service is always written from scratch with the actor’s casting and goals in mind. So let’s hear from them about a recent shoot in August as a case study.

The Pieces

• Actor A didn’t have super specific needs, but needed at least one comedy, and at least one scene where they open up and speak from the heart.

• Actor B needed something that showcased a Scottish accent, a character with a caring professional side, and maybe something with a romance spin.

• Actor C needed one scene with a romantic drama vibe, one comedic, and to showcase an RP and an estuary accent.

• Actor D identified a dramatic scene from our unused database that she claimed, and to contrast it asked for a comedic scene that showed “High status, RP, Snob, bit glam” and a more dramatic offering for “Professional high status but empathetic role.”

The Scenes

1. B and C are a couple. He’s struggling with unemployment, and she is supporting him. Romantic relationship, softly dramatic in style.

   • Having identified that both Actors B + C asked for something with a romantic style of plot, that became an obvious pairing for one scene.

2. B is A’s counsellor, in a session in which A is sharing something vulnerable.

   • B and D both wanted a professional, caring, and empathetic character, which means they can’t play that role with each other. Given that B already has a scene with C, the obvious pairing is B + A to showcase this, which also fills A’s need for a scene in which he speaks from the heart.

3. D is a social worker visiting C, who is initially hostile but eventually lets her in.

   • The obvious pairing once scene 2 was written is this one, in which D can be professionally caring. To contrast C in scene 1, I made her character more angry than upset, eventually being able to be won over by the social worker. I also theorised that this could be where she showcased her estuary accent if she liked.

4. C is a teacher, supporting a new trainee with a lesson plan. A is a well-meaning trainee, but completely clueless.

   • The only thing left to write for C then is the comedy, and the only person left to do that with is A. This worked out really well as A had also identified wanting to do a comedic scene. This also allowed C to showcase her RP accent.

5. D’s snooty parents are about to come over for dinner, and she is prepping her partner (B) on what to expect.

   • B did not yet have a more light-hearted scene on this shoot, and so we decided that pairing him with D’s need for a more comedic snobby character was perfect.

6. D confronts A after he’s home late, having spent all evening in the casino with his buddies.

   • The last thing to do was to give D the scene she identified from the drive. This also gave A the opportunity to stretch out into a slightly more sinister character in contrast with the ones he’d done in his other two scenes.

   
   
   
   
   

   

   

   
   
   

Jigsaw Complete.

I had a really good time writing these scenes, as each actor was pretty clear on what they needed. Where they did have some flexibility and wiggle room, I was able to steer them in directions that I thought would work, and we came out having shot six really great scenes.

It’s a reminder of why we love doing things this way. By tailoring scripts to actors, rather than forcing them into pre-written material, our approach as an actor showreel service means everyone walks away with something original. And in an industry crowded with showreel companies, we’re proud to keep the focus on collaboration, affordability, and creativity.