Audio/Video Media Manager - Help With Naming and Uploading Your Resume Reels

Resume Builder - Audio & Video Help

Multimedia Resume Media-Display-Builder Interface -- Upload Audio & Video Items

You can upload multiple video and audio items (media files and embedded media) to your BackStage.com Multimedia Resumes. Each resume can display 20+ audio/video items.

Simply create a new resume or click the "Edit" button next to one of your existing resumes, and then click the "Audio/Video" tab on the resume builder/editor interface. Then click on the "Browse" button next to the "New Audio or Video File " option to begin uploading audio and video files to your account -- or fill in the "New Embedded Media Item" field to add audio, video, and slideshow items files that you already have hosted on another site (e.g., YouTube, OurStage, MySpace, Flickr, etc.).

Then click the "Add" button to add each audio/video item to your resume(s) -- you can share your media items across all of the resumes within your account, or add unique audio/video items to every individual resume, and/or showcase all of your media items on a single resume.

Instructions, Tips & Tricks:

• Assign each media item a good (short, descriptive, and accurate) "Display Name," since the Display Name will be seen by employers and casting directors. (Note: The" Display Name" is the name that you assign to each media item when you upload it to your BackStage.com resume account; the "Display Name" is not the Filename, although the Filename and Display Name can be similar, if you'd like. Example: A good Filename might be JoeActorVideoReel001.mov, while a good Display Name for this file might be "Joe Actor's Video Reel")

• The following file types are accepted: .aac, .avi, .m4a, .m4v, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, mpeg, .mpg, .mpg4, .ogg, .qt, .ram, .rm, .rv, .wav, .wma, and .wmv.

• To upload a file, it must be under 15MB in size. However, you can use the "Embed Media Item" option to include much larger files in your resume, work with more varied file-types, and have more control over how your media items are displayed.

• Audio/Video filenames should not contain special characters, such as quote marks, apostrophes, and other punctuation, inlcuding ~!@#$%^&*-)(",'. Spaces should also be avoided in filenames. Instead, only use normal letters, numbers, and the "underscore" character (_) to name files prior to uploading the files to your BackStage.com resume account. The use of special characters in filenames is a frequent cause of errors. Example: I might call one of my videos LukCroweActingReel009.mov or LukeCrowe_SizzleReel_009.mpg -- but I wouldn't call it "Luke's Commercial (& Acting) $izzle* R-e-e-l! #009.mov."

• To use the "Embed" option, simply upload your files to a free audio or video site such a OurStage.com, YouTube.com, or MySpace.com. Then copy the video's "embed player" HTML code from the video site and paste it into the "Embed Media Item" box on the audio/video page of your BackStage.com resume builder/editor.

• Find your code: After uploading a file to OurStage.com, click the "Promote: Player Embed Tag" option; on YouTube, highlight the "Embed Video" text; on MySpaceTV.com, look for the "Video Code" box. Copy the code from any of these or other sites, then paste it into the "HTML Embedded-Media Code" box above. If you need additional assistance, visit the Audio & Video Help and Resume Help sections of the Casting FAQ.

• If you delete an audio/video item from your resume, it will be removed from the particular resume you're editing at the time, but the media item will still exist in your overall (private) resume account, in case you need to use it again later. To add a deleted item back to your resume, simply choose the item from the drop-down "Existing Media Item" menu and then click "Add." Or,  click the "Manage Audio/Video" link on the audio/video page of your BackStage.com resume builder/editor to view, rename, or permanently delete any existing items. (The "Manage" option might only appear when you have media items available in your account that are currently not being used by the multimedia-resume you're working on; you cannot permanently delete media items from your account until after you've deleted the items from all of your BackStage.com resumes.

• All successfully uploaded media items will be available for playback on your resume within 30 minutes or less.

Related links: 

• FILE HELP: Photos, Audio, Video, and Documents

• Creating & Editing Multimedia Resumes

• Find, Use, and Shorten "Your Resume Link" -- Promote your Multimedia Resumes' Shareable URL

• Upload your high-quality Video Reels, Stand-up/Improv Comedy Performances, and Vocal Performances for free on OurStage.com, then embed your personal OurStage player into your BackStage.com resume.
• Upload your video reels, sizzle reels, demo reels, and short films to YouTube for free, and then embed the YouTube video into your BackStage.com resume.
• Recommended Article: "Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Video Embedding."

--Luke Crowe, National Casting Editor, Back Stage