C100: C100 Owner/Op Reel

Looks great!
Only thing I'd say is try and do a bit more with the titles at the start & end of the reel. The plain-ish white on black titles don't do the rest of it justice.
And I would get rid of "Affordable" in the end title. I understand wanting people to think "you can get this on your budget", and being affordable is great and all, but if someone with a budget sees it and thinks "hmm This might be our guy"...but sees you advertising "I DO IT CHEAP", they might either think "I need someone more pro" or just try and pay you less... IMO you seem to be discrediting yourself a bit.
(if someone can afford $1000/day, but your reel says affordable, even though your work is worth it, they may not pay you fairly)

My 2 cents anyway! Great work!
 
Agreed - drop affordable.

If your going white on black make it smaller, minimalist and clean.

Nice work.
 
Policar, NEVER sell yourself short. Get rid of the "affordable" RIGHT NOW :laugh:.
I guess you´re trying to be humble, because hobby or not, you clearly have talent for camera work and I don't believe someone creating such image goes home after a shoot and says "Well, at least I was affordable...".
I´d even get rid of the "C100" labeling or make two separate reels, one for ENG/documentary/HireBecauseOfCam and one for cinema/DOP/HireBecauseOfTalent.
Some will say you don´t need the first reel, but we all know, also the jobs that appreciate talent might scout for a certain type of camera.
(Side note: I never hear photographers call them selfs "Hasselblad Owner/Operator"...).
You`d probably also want a couple of more shot´s in there, for docu/ENG type I wouldn`t hesitate to ask friends/relative with interesting jobs/lives to shoot a few interviews and b-roll with them.
For the DOP reel just use a longer sequences...
All in all: Great work and please link to the films/music vids if they're available online ;)
 
Nice reel! Even though I was warned about the upcoming "affordable title" I still cringed when I saw it. Remove now.
 
Amazing work. May I suggest doing what I did in terms of your title--copy Ryan Patrick O'Hara. Use your footage to highlight your name in the beginning. It's a title, not an apology. I would also advise using an email address rather than a phone number.
 
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You both do amazing work.Loved both showreels....Can should have hired you to showcase their cameras. It is footage like this that makes me want to get the C100 but no 720 50p holds me back.
 
I too agree that you should drop that affordable bit. Anyway people will negotiate with you like hell. So why start the negotiating point low?

People mostly try to show a variety of work. However, it is also important to see different lighting and shot construction. If I am looking to hire somebody for narrative short, then I may not like to see a music video type music and imaging. I think you can create two different reels for different clients. You have the talent. You will do good. Keep the passion burning.
 
Thanks all! I'll drop "affordable" and just make it a DP reel. Trouble is, while I enjoy DPing most, corporate-style work pays better and that's what I need more of. It's frustrating being turned down from a $300/day local commercial (including kit rental) because I haven't done local commercials before!

Spartacus said:
Policar, NEVER sell yourself short. Get rid of the "affordable" RIGHT NOW :laugh:.
I guess you´re trying to be humble, because hobby or not, you clearly have talent for camera work and I don't believe someone creating such image goes home after a shoot and says "Well, at least I was affordable...".
I´d even get rid of the "C100" labeling or make two separate reels, one for ENG/documentary/HireBecauseOfCam and one for cinema/DOP/HireBecauseOfTalent.
Some will say you don´t need the first reel, but we all know, also the jobs that appreciate talent might scout for a certain type of camera.
(Side note: I never hear photographers call them selfs "Hasselblad Owner/Operator"...).
You`d probably also want a couple of more shot´s in there, for docu/ENG type I wouldn`t hesitate to ask friends/relative with interesting jobs/lives to shoot a few interviews and b-roll with them.
For the DOP reel just use a longer sequences...
All in all: Great work and please link to the films/music vids if they're available online ;)
Click to expand...

Thank, this is very helpful feedback! What should be on an owner/op reel? ENG/doc/cam/etc. I shot B camera for a feature and have some pretty good footage from that and of course the corporate stuff here. Or should I ditch dramatic stuff entirely? Do you have a sample of a good owner/op reel? I think shooting more interviews/doc stuff is a good idea. I have shot a fair amount of this, but just recently got the C100 so most of it is with dSLRs, so I can't use it to advertise my new camera. What is a good sample owner/op reel? Concerts? Events? Need to pay bills.

indiawilds said:
However, it is also important to see different lighting and shot construction. If I am looking to hire somebody for narrative short, then I may not like to see a music video type music and imaging.
Click to expand...

I'll do this once I have enough content. Thanks... this is a very good idea I think.

EIREHotspur, admittedly not all of this is C100 footage (which is why I should do two reels and change the titles, thanks again everyone) but I highly recommend the camera if you don't need slow motion. If you do... I can't really recommend it as highly, but it's very nice all the same, something of a breakthrough for the money with excellent IQ and ergonomics.
 
A hobby or extra income? Well now I'm depressed.

Nice work, man. It hasn't been mentioned before, but you should drop "affordable" from that end card.
 
Scott F said:
A hobby or extra income? Well now I'm depressed.

Nice work, man. It hasn't been mentioned before, but you should drop "affordable" from that end card.
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Thanks, I changed it. To be completely honest I would drop my day job in a heartbeat if I could support myself as a shooter, but the work is not there for me yet.

Do you do primarily corporate video? How did you break into that market? I've been shooting a bit of corporate as an owner/op with other people who've booked gigs (for many years, actually, but all my old material is hopelessly, well, old), but don't know how to progress from there. Is it possible to find work as a shooter for other companies or did you find you did better once starting up as a production company? Maybe my failure is at networking; I'm doing ok, but I would like to transition to a shooter rather than sticking with my day job.
 
Policar said:
Thanks, I changed it. To be completely honest I would drop my day job in a heartbeat if I could support myself as a shooter, but the work is not there for me yet.

Do you do primarily corporate video? How did you break into that market? I've been shooting a bit of corporate as an owner/op with other people who've booked gigs (for many years, actually, but all my old material is hopelessly, well, old), but don't know how to progress from there. Is it possible to find work as a shooter for other companies or did you find you did better once starting up as a production company? Maybe my failure is at networking; I'm doing ok, but I would like to transition to a shooter rather than sticking with my day job.
Click to expand...

Matthew, to answer your question, at this time, yes, primarily corporate video for me and I wouldn't change my course of action.

How do you break in the market? i'm seriously thinking of writing a book on the trials and tribulations. Not the tech stuff, (all the 7Q and SLOG talk goes right over my head and I could really care less) but the human side of things. I'm not lighting the world on fire, but I do stay busy. Very busy in 2013.

A few quick suggestions to potentially get work:
-Scour legit job posting sites and fire your demo reel off to all of them. I get all kinds of random call backs/emails...some of which have led to some amazing clients. (my wife has one of those cushy corporate jobs that allows her time to find leads for me.) : )
-Be a nice guy. Dress appropriately at corporate gigs, shave, be on time and all that.
-Know who the loser clients are and rise above them. Trust me, they aren't worth your time.
-Find the talented shooters and editors in your city and try and get in good with them. Easier said than done, right?
-Same with ad & marketing agencies. Get on their radar.
-Make a legit profile on LinkedIn if you haven't already.

A few more quick thoughts on your demo reel: Maybe take out some of those "barn & nature shots" get this down to 90 seconds or so. If you can't create a nice opening & closing card (the white on black is kinda lame) maybe find a graphic artist or someone who can design something nice?
I don't have the definitive answer for you in terms of getting more work, but the talent is there so just keep doing what your doing. And you'll be able to tell the $300 commercial guys to f*** off. It comes with time.

Hope this helps, I gotta go to work. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks, Scott, much appreciated. That's a lot of good advice… I feel like finding clients and maintaining a smoothly-running business is the most overlooked aspect of freelancing, despite it being the most important. Maybe because those who pull it off don't want to dish their secrets. I'll start increasing my web presence and re-do the title card when I get the chance; I like the black and white but I've had enough suggestions to change it that I realize I should. One difficulty for me is that my day job is not where most of my other contacts are, so if I choose to freelance full-time it will have to be a somewhat clean break, for better or worse.

Fwiw, I split my time between Boston and Hartford/New Haven. If you ever need a shooter on anything, I keep all my gear (camera, grip, lots of lights, a dana dolly, too) about half an hour from New Haven and am always looking for work.
 
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