C300: Narrative Demo Reel

Eric Coughlin

Eric Coughlin

Veteran
Narrative demo reel I just finished putting together. Mostly shot with the Arri Amira with Canon cinema zooms, a few shots with the C300 Mark II and a couple with a Red Epic Helium. Comments and constructive criticism welcome.

Comparing the C300 to the Amira footage, I still don't know how some people think these cameras can compare. Sure, you can still have good lighting, set design, etc., with any camera, but the Arri image and ease of grading in a narrative environment blows away the C300 image in my opinion.



I know there are probably going to be people clamoring for a shorter reel, but one thought I had on the subject is that if someone is going to hire you for a month long narrative film, they'll probably have more patience watching reels than say a corporate video producer who is trying to quickly hire someone for next week's one day shoot.
 
Very nice, beautiful imagery.

Just a couple of personal nitpicky observations:

1:00:30:02 - Transition from purple to the next frame is a bit drastic.
1:00:39:14 - Tip of the nose specular.
1:01:06:00 - I would consider lifting the shadows a bit.
1:01:18:21 - Without knowing the context of the scene I would consider increasing the contrast even more or raising the shadows as it now shows like bad front lighting. I would consider removing this scene.
1:01:21:11 - Don't like the green skin tones/lips. I would at least lower the green channel mid-tones and highlights to recover the color of the lips.
1:01:27:15 - Don't like the scene lighting and the shadows looked crushed in the hair. What camera was used here? I would consider removing this scene.
1:02:09:10 - There are details in the super-whites, I would lower the highlights to recover them.
1:02:55:03 - The scene looks a bit flat to me, I would consider raising exposure or boosting highlights.
 
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Very nice.

But what I would like to know is the things a producer wants to see in a showreel.

Did you do research about the things a corporate producer wants to see in a reel?
Is it a specific look, is it camera movement or is it something else?
 
That will always vary depending on the brain in charge and potential project. (A corporate food commercial producer for instance would probably like to see some food shots, macros, etc.)

There is no specific answer, but usually a combination of high-resolution (could be HD from an excellent sensor) creative images with nice colors go a long way. A variety of shots too.

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And per usual...nice work, Eric!
 
Great reel, Eric!

You have great sense of composition, and it feels as if you are comfortable getting intimate with your talent. Your day shots are very, very good. And if it's ok to say, I felt that the night work is not as advanced as the day work. I hope you don't take this personally. I too have a lot to learn... and you might as well feel completely different. That's the beauty of subjectivity. But I would potentially trim some of the night work and be more selective with it. I know you want to show versatility, but I think if you show only the best three or four examples of your night work, it could be enough.

I'm not attributing my perceived quality of execution to your skills, since there are many variables that are in play (budget, time, vision of the director, etc.). But that's what I think.

Great reel nonetheless. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing!
 
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Awesome stuff Eric.

The final shot is a little out of context so comes across a little strange. I think you can have a stronger final shot, something else that could hold its own as a single shot e.g. driving off into the sunset, door closing etc.
 
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