There are so many mixed messages out there when it comes to getting yourself on tape in what most aspiring presenters refer to as a TV Presenter Showreel.

We get sent showreels all the time from presenters who want our advise and sometimes, like many producers it’s really hard to know where to start.

What 99% people do is that they put together a tape of them pretending to be a TV Presenter.  They try to keep their options as broad as possible – presenting everything from news to comedy to children’s shows.  They often remind us of when people were kids and you said to each other ‘lets pretend to be TV Presenters’.   It’s a real problem and it’s a real shame to see so many potentially talented people all making the same mistake.

As TV Producers it’s our job to put together the whole team, and then hire the presenter. Once we have found who we like the commissioner at the channel will ask us to put something down on tape.  This is what you usually refer to as a Talent Taster Tape.  It’s a taste of who you are, what makes you different and why you are right for the job.  It’s all about your personality – how you are going to help bring a programme to life, what audience are you going to attract – it very rarely (unless you are going for news) has anything to do with your technical ability to be a TV Presenter.

So if you learn one thing from this post – it’s to think about yourself as a unique personality NOT as a TV Presenter.

So here are our top do’s and don’ts!

1.  DON’T ACT THE ROLE OF A TV PRESENTER.

2.  PUT TOGETHER SOMETHING THAT REFLECTS THE TYPE OF WORK YOU WANT TO GO FOR/OR ARE SUITED TO.

3.  WORK WITH A PRODUCER WHO WORKS IN THE INDUSTRY.  PRESENTERS ARE NEVER ON THEIR OWN – SO SEE IF YOU CAN BE PRODUCED TO BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE.

4.  MAKE IT SHORT – NO MORE THAN 3 MINS 30 SECONDS.

5.  AND THE FIRST 10 SECONDS ARE KEY SO GET THEM RIGHT – IF PRODUCERS DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BY THEN YOU WILL SIMPLY GO IN THE NO PILE!

We hope this has helped you.  Good luck!  Our industry is built on new presenting talent so if you are looking for a presenter course or a TV Presenter Training Programme make sure you go on the right one!

Best wishes as always.

The Presenter Studio – Proud to be as Different as You Are!