Demo reel advice

Hi Rich,

As a production company owner and somebody that hires people very frequently here are my recommendations:

-Make it shorter, keep it under 90 sec.

-You have plenty of material so dont repeat shots. (like the card animation, the guys with the guns, Frisbee). Good example: http://vimeo.com/11178466

-Take out shots that may be offensive. (like the taxidermist shots might repel animal lovers)

-Keep things in sequence and give them something new every shot they see. (Slowly reveal your talents and let them gasp in the end!!!)

-If needed custom build an animation ending. (You have the talent, let your best work showcase your name)

I think your stuff looks very nice, I think your reel will get you good work.

Cheers,
Emre
 
I think you've got some really great stuff in your reel. Really great. But, yeah, it's too long. If it were my reel (and I wish it was!), I'd cut the following clips (starting points):
* 0:26
* 0:31
* 0:45
* 1:05
* 1:07
* 1:10
* 1:24
* 1:27 (might keep 'cause it's a bit different but probably not)
* 1:31 (same as above)
* 1:43
* 1:50
* 1:58 (keep it but cut first second out so he's already turning to camera on cut)
* 2:01
* 2:16
* 2:17
* 2:19 (cut all pinata clips; they don't do anything to demonstrate your skills)
* 2:30 (could stay...)
* 3:09 (keep first tennis shot; cut the rest)
* 3:51 (both frisbee clips)

I might also move a timelapse or two around, interspersed throughout the video.

Again, you've got some great stuff in there. But I'd guess that most people wouldn't watch past the 1-2 minute mark. It starts strong and finishes strong but the middle isn't as strong. Hope this helps.

Dave ©
 
Since you do everything perhaps you should make a reel for each thing you do, 1 for Cinematography, one for Videography, and one for CGI. Each would be short and you could then send out a more custom video to each client
 
Hey thanks so much everyone! Really appreciate all the feedback. Back to cutting room for me! I haven't sent this reel to anyone yet, so this feedback is great to work from and trim the fat.

Thanks again,
Rich
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top