Whole Show vs. Demo

[MarcusM]

Question: Do you find that most of the bigger agencys that do booking will want to see a 3-6 minute demo of your act vs. a video of the WHOLE set??
hmmmmm
~Marcus

[Steven Ragatz]

You'll want to have both available, but most of the time you can assume that the first piece that you give an agent is a short, three to five minute exemplatory collage from the entire show to see if they are interested in your look and style. After that, they may need to see the entire show depending on the venue, so you may need to submit a video of the whole set.

After they receive the promotional short, if you don't feel comfortable passing out tapes of your show to prospective (thieves?) clients, instead of giving the agent a copy of the tape, arrange to have them see you in performance somewhere.

Steven Ragatz

BTW: If you are anything like me, you will never have "the" tape that really does justice to your show the way you think it should. Whatever you end up doing, avoid the temptation to apologize for the video when you do pass it out. Promotional material is always a work in progress - nobody needs to be reminded of that. Your work is what it is, so give the viewer the authority to make their own judgment. Good luck.

[Sam X]

It does not hurt to give your potential agent a tape of your whole act. That way they know what you do so can best describe it to their potential clients, You may also be required to make a shorter Demo tape to give to potential clients just to give them a flavour of your work.

If you do send an agent a full tape of your complete show then the advantage is you are sure you have given them enough, they see a variety and can stop when they have had their fill.