Showreel advice

DMcG

DMcG

Member
Hey. I'm currently trying to launch myself as a freelance video producer but I'm struggling to find a way to approach my latest showreel. I direct, shoot, edit and do animation/motion graphics. Should I stick everything in one reel or separate things out into different skill sets each with their own reel? I haven't worked on any big productions doing mostly small scale/low budget projects so no major credits to my name. Do people find they get more work offering the full package as a videographer or applying specifically for work as camera op or video editor?

Here's my reel from 2011, mostly just camera work I did:

https://vimeo.com/31037212

If anyone has feedback or examples of their own reels or advice/resources for putting a good reel together, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
I would separate everything into three seperate reels. If I'm looking to hire a gaffer to light a project, but see half their reel is another position I might get turned off. Nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades, but part out different reels.
 
It's simple: if you want to create a showreel as a producer than put all your projects if not create individual reels. Another great thing to do is maybe create one reel and just divide it in sections or just put some text on the bottom of the reel "the name of the project" and "your position on the project". Hope this helps.

And I do agree with robmneilson: if I need an editor I'll want to see your editors reel. BUT I as a producer when hiring people do appreciate if they know more stuff. So if I was to see you reel that had your other stuff in it I would appreciate it. BUT then again some people might not, because you know the saying "A jack of all trades a master of none".
 
Thanks for that Rob. So that would be 1. Camera 2. Editing and 3. Motion Graphics/Animation. With the showreel presenting editing skills, is it best to just present segments of edited work including original audio and soundtrack or to re-edit everything as a montage to a cool soundtrack? Most editing showreels that I've seen are montages but they include well known feature films which are impressive credits in themselves, obviously I need to demonstrate more of my skills.

Any videographers out there that find presenting the whole package works for them?
 
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Thanks Kino, I understand about the producer vs specialist decision, not an easy one to make but I like the idea of creating a reel that can be divided into sections. That way I could produce a 3 min production showreel that could be easily separated into 1min reels targeted at specific roles depending on the client.
 
Why not put everything in one reel that's under 2 minutes? Not only will it feature your cream of the crop work but it will also get you more jobs since people who will watch it just for one of your trades will get the full package. No sections, nothing. You' ll also get the chance to show off your editing skills cause it's not easy to blend all those. Think about it :)
 
Hey Homey, thanks for that. Ideally that is what I would like to do but I worry that people would be put off by the lack of a specialism. I really like the look of your stuff on the sites you have linked in your signature. Like you I try to specialise in music based content, do you have a showreel of your work that you could share?
 
Sure DMcG. Here's our latest, it features production, 3d/2d animation, cgi, and compositing. Music's ours too. It's password protected since we' re waiting for some of these stuff to be released.

http://vimeo.com/67061810

pass: lr@prgrs
 
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