Here is my demo reel of 2011 stuff. Love to know thoughts 
http://vimeo.com/34397222
http://vimeo.com/34397222
OTHER: My Demo Reel.
- Thread starter crot0019
- Start date
Jordan Scott Price
Veteran
What do you want to be? A Director? An Editor?
Your reel is comprised of 4 projects - a fashion shoot, the surreal stuff with the girl and the woman in the field, the guy in the woods, and the doco stuff in a third world country.
So, my question is - What do you want to advertise yourself as? It is a very short reel, which is fine, but it's also somewhat thin.
If you're a Director, your reel should show off your style, as well as your command of a scene. Some of the best Director's reels I've seen are nothing more than a scene from each of a handful of their films. Some are a hodgepodge of great dolly or VFX shots. It depends on the kind of Director you are - an "actors'" Director; a "visuals" Director; or both, etc. And those reels don't have music overlaid - that's really for a DP reel, where it's ALL about the visuals. A Director's reel is about everything.
I don't get a sense of what kind of Director you are here. Your projects show a range - Sci/fi (?) narrative; documentary; video art (?); event video/promo - but the reel itself doesn't tell me anything about your style or command. It's too all over the place.
I think what would make your reel much stronger is if you showed us a scene from the film in the woods, maybe a scene from the surreal-looking film with the girl and woman, and then maybe a snippet of the doc, if you have some really engaging shot or moment to show us - something that you did to encapsulate the poverty or endurance or state of affairs of that family. And that should all be with the sound from those projects. Lose the fashion show. The goal here isn't to make your reel longer, but just more exemplary of you as a Director.
A Director is not as specialized as a DP, a Sound Mixer, a VFX artist, or an Editor. A Director's hands are in everything, and thus he/she is responsible for everything in the film - the visuals, the sound, the performances, and how it is all cut together.
How you and your style command those elements is what you want to advertise in a reel.
Your reel is comprised of 4 projects - a fashion shoot, the surreal stuff with the girl and the woman in the field, the guy in the woods, and the doco stuff in a third world country.
So, my question is - What do you want to advertise yourself as? It is a very short reel, which is fine, but it's also somewhat thin.
If you're a Director, your reel should show off your style, as well as your command of a scene. Some of the best Director's reels I've seen are nothing more than a scene from each of a handful of their films. Some are a hodgepodge of great dolly or VFX shots. It depends on the kind of Director you are - an "actors'" Director; a "visuals" Director; or both, etc. And those reels don't have music overlaid - that's really for a DP reel, where it's ALL about the visuals. A Director's reel is about everything.
I don't get a sense of what kind of Director you are here. Your projects show a range - Sci/fi (?) narrative; documentary; video art (?); event video/promo - but the reel itself doesn't tell me anything about your style or command. It's too all over the place.
I think what would make your reel much stronger is if you showed us a scene from the film in the woods, maybe a scene from the surreal-looking film with the girl and woman, and then maybe a snippet of the doc, if you have some really engaging shot or moment to show us - something that you did to encapsulate the poverty or endurance or state of affairs of that family. And that should all be with the sound from those projects. Lose the fashion show. The goal here isn't to make your reel longer, but just more exemplary of you as a Director.
A Director is not as specialized as a DP, a Sound Mixer, a VFX artist, or an Editor. A Director's hands are in everything, and thus he/she is responsible for everything in the film - the visuals, the sound, the performances, and how it is all cut together.
How you and your style command those elements is what you want to advertise in a reel.
Ben_McElroy
Active member
Nice Reel! Keep up the good work.
jghenderson
Well-known member
I agree with Jordan. While the reel is not bad if you wanted to be a cinematographer, it tells me nothing about you as a Director as all it shows is random shots from projects you've done. If you want to advertise yourself as a Director, I think it would work best for you to break the video up into 4 sections (for the 4 projects) and show basically a "scene" from each project, that way we can get a sense of how the acting is, how everything cuts together, etc.