RyanT
Veteran
Interested to hear your thoughts on anything. Having a lot of issues with compression on my reel, but it's getting there...
http://rdthomas.carbonmade.com/
http://rdthomas.carbonmade.com/
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Chris S. Alexander
Well-known member
I really enjoyed it. I'm definitely a fan of deep depth of field, and you definitely have a lot of it. Sometimes making it that deep can be a bad thing, because the more you show the more you have to worry about and it seems to me that you do a wonderful job filling the space.
Snapper123
Well-known member
On the 2011 reel, the honest truth is I feel like many of the clips don't represent the professionalism that would get you the clients wether it's a big-name company looking for advertising, a small-budget drama film looking for a DP with a beautiful vision, or any filmmaker filmmaker who needs a visual story told. The Jordan Sparks clip was an amazing point to ad, things like that appeal to advertising companies greatly (especially if they see a well known name!), but I feel like the Jumpsuit Guys at the beginning, and the clips that deal with that project, feel too "student film-like" for a true reel and may hamper what some people feel about your work. At the end of the day, a reel is simply advertising; wether you're an amazing DP, or you're a DP that's just starting out, you have to make sure to include only the absolute most professional, Hollywood-grade footage in your real that you possibly can - even if you're very proud of a project, sometimes short films or past projects have to be left where they are, moving aside for clips from only the most recent or best of works.
So beyond the Jordan Sparks clip (which maybe you should show more of!) and the Jumpsuit Guys clips, there's the Man With Flowers and the Kids clips, both of which are pretty good and show off a more serious tone that I think would appeal to a greater business aspect, with the Kids clips being the most appealing out of the selection. Then, there's the few band clips, which to be honest, just have choreography that's very unappealing or "goofy" to my eyes and while the DP'ing work isn't bad for those clips, I feel it's more of what's going on on the screen that's making this reel suffer with actions, characters, or movements that look a bit too student-film like. Now, I know that it's not a DP's job to direct the actors, have good sound, or write-direct the project, but having a reel is truly an advertisement for your past selections of work, and to prospective clients, many simply look for a reel that showcases a very even standard across the board, with nothing looking too much like a goofy project or practice work.
My advice would be to keep using the clips of the kids, keep using the Jordan Sparks clip, and even the clip with the blowing plastic bag is an impacting clip. Hey, even the man with the flowers is pretty good and acceptable. I think those clips really push the feel to a very high standard place and seeing those clips would really make me trust you as a DP for a project. The other projects, while the DP work isn't bad per-se, those clips to me just feel like less-serious work - hey, low budget comedy might be your passion - but in that case, I would probably make a low-budget comedy reel, and then make a very serious reel for those big clients. The honest truth is that if I was a big-name director and I needed a local DP fast for a quick project, the opening shots of those Jumpsuit guys, or even that graveyard shot with the old man and 'old film grain' effects, would probably be the last type of genre clips I'd want to see. That type of "student work" genre has to be avoided as soon as you get some professional clips that outshine them, and as long as the reel is, I feel like you could simply cut a few clips with no harm done.
So beyond the Jordan Sparks clip (which maybe you should show more of!) and the Jumpsuit Guys clips, there's the Man With Flowers and the Kids clips, both of which are pretty good and show off a more serious tone that I think would appeal to a greater business aspect, with the Kids clips being the most appealing out of the selection. Then, there's the few band clips, which to be honest, just have choreography that's very unappealing or "goofy" to my eyes and while the DP'ing work isn't bad for those clips, I feel it's more of what's going on on the screen that's making this reel suffer with actions, characters, or movements that look a bit too student-film like. Now, I know that it's not a DP's job to direct the actors, have good sound, or write-direct the project, but having a reel is truly an advertisement for your past selections of work, and to prospective clients, many simply look for a reel that showcases a very even standard across the board, with nothing looking too much like a goofy project or practice work.
My advice would be to keep using the clips of the kids, keep using the Jordan Sparks clip, and even the clip with the blowing plastic bag is an impacting clip. Hey, even the man with the flowers is pretty good and acceptable. I think those clips really push the feel to a very high standard place and seeing those clips would really make me trust you as a DP for a project. The other projects, while the DP work isn't bad per-se, those clips to me just feel like less-serious work - hey, low budget comedy might be your passion - but in that case, I would probably make a low-budget comedy reel, and then make a very serious reel for those big clients. The honest truth is that if I was a big-name director and I needed a local DP fast for a quick project, the opening shots of those Jumpsuit guys, or even that graveyard shot with the old man and 'old film grain' effects, would probably be the last type of genre clips I'd want to see. That type of "student work" genre has to be avoided as soon as you get some professional clips that outshine them, and as long as the reel is, I feel like you could simply cut a few clips with no harm done.
RyanT
Veteran
Definitely some great points. I sort of had that sneaking suspicion, but as you know I've been looking at this footage for so long that it's a bit difficult to see those sorts of things. Great to hear it from someone else.
I think also part of the problem is I like the portion of the song that I have right now...and looking for clips to fill that time was starting to get a bit difficult....I'm sure I can find a way around it though. Probably just gotta bite the bullet for a little while and pretty much lose the beginning.
I think also part of the problem is I like the portion of the song that I have right now...and looking for clips to fill that time was starting to get a bit difficult....I'm sure I can find a way around it though. Probably just gotta bite the bullet for a little while and pretty much lose the beginning.