Demo Reel Advice

filmismymedium

filmismymedium

Well-known member
I'm nearly done cutting my new demo reel but i've hit a snag. I had a song laid down that was super upbeat because most of my footage is fast action material. But recently I've shot a lot more dramatic slow stuff and it isn't dropping in very nicely. Does anyone have a suggestion of a song or artist that might fit in the in-between. I'm open for any suggestions.

Gracias my friends.
 
I was using some Groove Armada stuff for a while...very cinematic. However be aware of copyright issues!
 
Easiest way is just to drop in some Hans Zimmer track, really gives it that cinematic feel. But it's really not the right way. I'm of the opinion that if you're going to showcase your work, you shouldn't be ripping off other people's music to help you do it. There's a ton of starving composers out there who can whip up a track for you that will fit what you're using like a glove. And the best part is that you can use it over and over and the song is all yours.
 
Or find a powerful classical piece that fits. There is always going to be something that fits in the endless bin of classical.
 
The first Crystal Method album, VEGAS or Moby's PLAY. Moby even has free downloads on his website for filmmakers. If you're really concerned about copyright issues get something like Sony's ACID and roll your own. With a little experimentation you can come up with something cool, certainly unique and another service you can offer your customer.

One thing I've had luck with recently is shooting a couple of freebies for local musicians. I shot some little performer profile type projects for no money for their websites, Youtube, etc. Subsequently both musicians have given me permission to use their catalogs for my film projects and one even has offered to compose original material for the film I'm finishing this year. The economy's tight but the dividends have already WAY surpassed what they would have paid me. Good original music can be very expensive and I'm a musician myself but the collab is exciting because these guys are good.
 
classical works good, i agree, and sometimes it is not copyrighted as it was composed and/or performed long enough ago that it has now become public domain. you just have to be sure of when it was recorded, to be sure that you don't hit a copyright snag with the performers of the composition.

samm
 
Yann Tiernsen
Academy award winner for best soundtrack for Amelie.

Don't worry about copywrite stuff. You are not selling your reel on DVD. Even on cinematography.com I have never heard of anyone getting in trouble or getting permission.
 
nickmicros said:
Don't worry about copywrite stuff. You are not selling your reel on DVD. Even on cinematography.com I have never heard of anyone getting in trouble or getting permission.
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Realistically that's true, but do you really want to steal other people's work to promote your own? This is something that's I'll never understand. The chance that you'll get sue for using copyrighted music in short films are also practically nil, and no serious filmmakers will consider it, but the same filmmakers will not hesitate to take other people's music for their reel. It's a double standard. Just because you're not selling it doesn't make it right. If anything it's even more messed up because presumably your reel goes toward making you money, unlike a short film.
 
Your going pretty deep there.

It depends on the musician. If I made a track and someone rocked it out, I'd be flattered.

You could try to reach an artist on a label and make it harder for yourself.

I would rather use a track I love and highens expression rather than search months for an artist with a track or compose a track I would end up not liking.

Honestly, legal permission is the least of my concerns with reels.
 
nickmicros said:
It depends on the musician. If I made a track and someone rocked it out, I'd be flattered.
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Maybe, but that decision isn't yours to make. I would be really pissed if somebody used my work to promote themselves without my permission, and some people have. By asking for permission you show that you respect them as a fellow content creator. People who do not bother to take this step are just afraid of somebody saying no; so they try to justify it via the "see no evil, hear no evil" route.

In my experience, there's seldom a "perfect" track that you MUST have. There's always an alternative track that will work just as well, and finding it is part of the process, just like a normal film. And of course the issue isn't whether you'll get sue, it's what it means ethically for YOU as an artist. Can you make the same argument if you rip off somebody's music for your short film as for your reel?
 
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This is getting redundant and is now silly. It is something you are passionate about and I am not. So I doubt we would ever agree.

But I will say I don't think you understand what I ment by ...

"You could try to reach an artist on a label and make it harder for yourself. "

Let me paint you a picture. Try to get a hold of an Sony Label artist in the first place. Unless your an established producer, which your not... it will be a little hard. Most likely your not in Hollywood like 99% of people on this board cutting reels to get gigs. Which the hollywood pros don't have to do.... So ok, say you get ahold the the artist somehow. Now you get there "permission." Even if you got this far it wouldn't be enough because now you need permission from the labal. Plus it is a corporation, it would be pretty hard to get the "ok" by a business like that. Because the label owns a chunk of the track or maybe even own more of the track than the original artist! You will not get permission by the author or copywriter owner(s) unless the cinematographer digs a track from an artist that is extremely indie and is up and coming. Even then it would most likely be a pain and does not matter.

Plus your not selling your reel on DVD.
Not bringing in gigs because of the the track.
Not bringing in a substanstal amount of money because of a 2-5 minute edit. (If a gig is HIGH paying, to the point where an artist would get pissed. You would be getting the gig bc of previous work or reference not a 2-5 min edit let alone the track in the edit)

I could write more but I think I already went overboard, ranting enough. Plus this is irrelevant to the original message in this thread.
 
nickmicros said:
Let me paint you a picture...
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Ok, so you KNOW in advance that the artist/label will not likely to give you permission to use the track so...you use it anyway? The fact that it's difficult doesn't make it ok to steal. It's easy enough to find a composer or a song with similar style; guess what, you might even love it more because YOU own it.

nickmicros said:
Not bringing in gigs because of the the track.
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I heard this argument before too and I'll ask the same question: if the track doesn't matter, then why do you use it? People act like music is completely incidental to the work that you're presenting, but it's part of the presentation is it not? Show your client a silent reel and see what happens.

My point is, as an artist you need to respect the integrity of your own work and other people's work. That is important. Adopting an attitude where you justify away whether it's "worth it" to take other people's work without permission is just going down a bad path. Just as you take from others, others may one day take from you. Yea, it's a pain sometimes to find original music or ask permissions, that's all part of the process. Presumably you're willing to do it for your films, so why not for your reel?
 
Stealing is stealing, whether it be from a big name artist on a large record label or from some indi art group who doesn't make a dime off of their work. If you are using a track without permission in your demo reel, you are stealing it. Just as if someone took your footage and compiled it into an animated art piece without asking, they have stolen your footage. If you think this is OK, than you are saying that stealing is OK.

If there is a piece you love so much, why not find a composer to write something for you that matches the vibe of that piece?
 
filmismymedium said:
I'm nearly done cutting my new demo reel but i've hit a snag. I had a song laid down that was super upbeat because most of my footage is fast action material. But recently I've shot a lot more dramatic slow stuff and it isn't dropping in very nicely. Does anyone have a suggestion of a song or artist that might fit in the in-between. I'm open for any suggestions.

Gracias my friends.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend making to reals... one for the action, the othe for the drama. That, or make them in two distinct segments. Perhaps the drama first.

If you had a composer working with you, perhaps could meld the two genres together, but with canned or semi-canned music, it is difficult.
 
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