Spotlight, Mandy and casting profiles: what your showreel has to do
Spotlight, Mandy and casting profiles: what your showreel has to do
Spotlight does not force you to upload a showreel, but a profile without one is at a real disadvantage — casting professionals shortlist inside the platform and a profile with video gets opened far more often. Upload a standard MP4; the same file works for Mandy and Casting Networks.
None of the casting platforms make a showreel mandatory. All of them quietly punish you for not having one.
Here's the thing. Casting teams filter inside these platforms, and a profile with video gets opened. One with a headshot and a credit list gets scrolled past.
What the platforms actually want
| Platform | Video | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| Spotlight | Optional, standard MP4 | Shortlisting. Where most UK casting starts. |
| Mandy | Optional | Self-submission to a broad brief mix. |
| Casting Networks | Optional | Commercial and international submissions. |
| Your own site / email | An unlisted link | Direct approaches to agents. |
We deliver files sized for all of these as standard, so there is nothing to convert. The full delivery list is on sessions and pricing.
Hosting: put it where they already are
Upload to the platform itself. Every extra click loses people.
Keep an unlisted Vimeo or YouTube link for emails and agent approaches. Unlisted, not private — private means they have to request access, which nobody does.
Never send a download link. A casting director is not opening a 400MB file to decide whether to shortlist you.
What the reel itself has to do
Answer one question inside ten seconds: what does this person play?
That is why the first frames matter more than the arc, and why a title card is a genuine mistake — there is a fuller list in the mistakes that make casting directors click away.
Sixty to ninety seconds per piece, under three minutes total. More in the FAQs.
The vertical exception
Social and some casting apps display portrait video. A landscape reel letterboxed into a phone screen wastes most of the frame.
A vertical cut-down, captioned for sound-off viewing, is £49.99 alongside any session — see self-tape and promo.
If your slot is currently empty
That is the most common situation we see, and it is fixable in an afternoon.
A monologue reel is filmed from scratch, so no credits are required. £195 for one piece, £295 for up to three, delivered in 5–10 working days. Students take 15% off via the student page.
If you already have footage sitting unedited, editing is probably the cheaper route. Send it and we will tell you honestly which you need.
One thing to concede
A reel will not fix a profile with no credits, a headshot from 2018 and a blank CV. It is one part of a submission, not a magic key.
But it is the part that shows you acting rather than describing it, and it is the part most people are missing.
Journey times if you are travelling in are on where we film, and you can watch the standard on the gallery. Questions: 0161 706 3220 or the contact form.
What to do about an empty video slot today
Two routes, and which one you take depends entirely on what already exists.
If you have usable footage, get it cut. Showreel editing is quoted flat once we have seen it, and it is the faster and cheaper of the two.
If you have nothing, film a monologue reel. No credits needed, delivered in 5–10 working days. There is a full walkthrough for people starting from zero in showreel with no footage.
Keeping it current without redoing it
You do not need a new reel every year. You need one that still looks like you and still shows what you are being submitted for.
When that stops being true, often the fix is a recut rather than a reshoot — see updating a tired showreel.
One thing worth conceding: platform profiles reward activity as well as content. A reel that has sat untouched for four years reads differently from the same reel uploaded last month, even to a human.
If you are travelling in
We film in central Manchester and actors come in from across the country — journey times for 43 cities are on where we film, and prices are on sessions and pricing.
The short version
- No platform requires a reel. Every platform rewards having one.
- One standard MP4 serves Spotlight, Mandy and Casting Networks.
- Host the file where casting already is, not behind a login they have to create.
- Keep an unlisted Vimeo or YouTube link for emails and agent approaches.
- An empty video slot is the cheapest reason to be skipped.
Frequently asked questions
Does Spotlight require a showreel?
No, it is optional. But casting professionals filter and shortlist inside Spotlight, and a profile with video is opened far more often than one with stills and credits alone. Optional is not the same as unimportant.
How do I upload a showreel to Spotlight?
Through the video section of your profile. It takes a standard MP4, so there is nothing to convert if your reel was delivered properly. We supply a version already sized for it alongside the master.
Where should I host my showreel?
On the platforms you actually submit through, plus an unlisted Vimeo or YouTube link for emails. Never make a casting director create an account or download a file to watch you — that is a click too many.
Should the same reel go everywhere?
Yes, with one exception. Keep a vertical cut for social and casting apps that display portrait video. Everything else should be the same file so you only ever have one thing to update.
Do casting directors actually watch showreels?
Yes, but briefly — often ten to twenty seconds unless something holds them. That is why the reel opens on your strongest moment rather than building towards it.