When Anna Met James

The Story Behind Snowreels – Actor Showreels based in London

Hi all, and welcome to our website—and our blog!

It still feels a little surreal that this project, which started almost by accident, is now nearly two years old. We’ve honed our model, filmed nearly 100 actors, and written more than a feature film’s worth of scenes. And through it all, one thing’s stayed the same: our mission to create affordable, bespoke duologue showreels that help actors shine.

At the heart of that mission is a creative partnership: myself, Anna Fordham, and my boi James Morgan. So for our first blog post, I thought we’d rewind and share the story of how Snowreels—born from collaboration, built over pints shared in pubs around London to create cinematic actor showreels—really began.

Anna and James, co-founders of Snowreels, creators of actor showreels in London — POV: You just booked an actor showreel session with us

Autumn 2017: A Pub in South London

I was 23, freshly out of drama school, and had just moved to Streatham, South London. I’d been lucky enough to work steadily after graduating—a No.1 UK tour and the pilot for a teen drama—but now I was in between jobs and, to be honest, feeling a bit lost.

I ended up working at The Bull, a pub in Streatham. Many actors know this story. Bar work is not what we envisioned doing long term, but it pays the bills, allows us time to go to auditions, and boy are we good at it. We also inevitably meet like minded creatives in hospitality work, and within a couple of weeks of my new job I was aware of a Cinematographer by the name of James, who had connections to some of the staff. He would often sit at the exit end of the bar (on the opposite side of the noisy food service area) and nurse a pint of neck oil while loosely storyboarding an upcoming project. Being an out-of-work actor, it was only a matter of time before I was in one of them.

The Bull pub in Streatham – where Snowreels co-founders first met and the idea for actor showreels in London began — The Afformentioned Bull in Streatham, South London

First Shoots, Cinematics to Politics

The first was a short film on which James was the Director of Photography. I not only played a very small role in the project, but also acted as de facto casting director, recommending actors I knew for other outstanding roles. This turned out to be a pretty solid arrangement, and two music videos followed; ‘Blink’ for Midas Fall and ‘Flood of Light’ for Rolo Tomassi. Both James and I remain big fans of these two bands. Off set, repeated trips to The Rebel Inn and Pratts and Payne (RIP) revealed lots in common. We both had radical left-wing sensibilities, with a love-hate relationship with the Labour Party. We talked social justice, equality, folk music, and where all those things intersect. We generally agreed on most movies, although I still stand by Sister Act 2 Back in the Habit being one of the best things ever made, and were both Gooners. It is indeed possible that Snowreels would not exist had I been a Tottenham fan.

Blink music video still – early roots of Snowreels cinematic actor showreels in London. — Some say Anna is stilll wander around the woods somewhere in Surrey

Rivets, Reels, and Real Talk

A few years later, I finished writing Rivets, my first proper short script. James was one of the first people I showed. He told me I should also direct it, and I laughed in his face. I had absolutely no technical filmmaking knowledge. James told me that he had loads, and would happily be my DOP to plug the gaps in my experience. Watch this space for ‘Rivets’ to be released online sometime soon. I’m immensely proud of it, and it wouldn’t exist without James.

Snowreels was the natural next step. It gave us a space to keep doing what we loved: collaborating, storytelling, and making cinematic actor showreels right here in London.

Rivets BTS – Snowreels co-founders building their actor showreels London style from scratch — On the set of "Rivets"

Why Snowreels Creates Actor Showreels

From the start, we wanted to challenge the idea that professional-quality reels had to be expensive or intimidating. Snowreels is proud to offer cinematic, performance-led actor showreels, actors in London and across the uk trust—crafted from scratch and shot with industry-level gear.

James brings the cinematic craft. I write every scene from scratch, tailored to the performer. Together, we shape each reel around you. Here’s how our process works and if you want a peek at what we’ve created, you can check out some of our actor showreel examples here.

The best part? We’ve kept it affordable without cutting corners. Our pricing structure is built so actors can split the cost of a filming day—making us one of the most accessible options for actor showreels in London.

Behind the scenes of a cinematic actor showreel shoot in London — Snowreels Day 1

From Streatham to Spotlight

A lot’s changed since 2017. We have moved away from Streatham but still live in London. Arsenal's had they're downs and now ups. Neither of us is pouring pints anymore but both of us setting the world to rights over 568ml of something cold and pale remains the same.

If you’re looking for affordable, cinematic, professional actor showreels in London, we’d love to work with you. Book your shoot today