Demo Reel Advice

Demo Reel

Make a demo reel. It’s best to keep it simple so you are highlighting your work, not the graphics/titles around your work. Avoid over complicating the demo reel.

Format

  • Start with a title card, your name, type of demo reel (can even just say “2017 Demo Reel”) AND a way to contact you (cell, email or both)
  • Black and white titles with a simple font is fine, remember you are highlighting your work not the titles.
  • Group into sections with a title card of the project and type of work at the beginning of each section.
  • Put best most relevant work first.
  • Make sure you label everything. What the project is and what you did.
  • Drawings and still images, you can show still images in a slide show, use a title card at the beginning of each section.
  • Show highlights of your work. Do not include an entire animation or short in the body of the demo reel. You can add the entire animatic/short after the demo reel so they can watch it if they want to, but do not include it in the body of your demo reel.
  • End with the title card with your name and contact info.
  • It should be less than 5 minutes long.

What to include

  • Put your most relevant work first. For an internship reel it is ok to include exercises and test.
  • You can include artwork like photos of sculpture and paintings if they are really good. Just put them at the end of the demo reel.
  • Show only your best work. Everyone has done bad work. If you include bad work you are letting people know you can not tell what is good or bad.
  • You do not have to include the entire exercise/shot/test. There might be part of the test that is really working and part that has a problem. Just show the part that works. You do not have to through out the entire test.

Music

Music is not necessary. If you do use music choose music that will not offend anyone. If you have dialog acting scenes, lower the music so it does not distract from the animation.

Resources

There are a lot of resources for editing your portfolio together now and it only takes a couple hours. Aftereffects is a good software to use. You could also use online editing tools like youtube now if you had to. I would make the title cards in something like photoshop and save as single images to bring into what ever editor you are using. I find this an easier way to keep the titles consistent and not dependent on the editing software. Also setting up titles can take a little longer to figure out inside the editing software.

Show the process with example

  • Modeling: For CG models show the beauty pass then the flow line pass. Show the concept work you based the model on. Very important – show your model in a pose that shows acting and character.
  • Compositing, Roto, VFX: Show the progression. Show the shot then show the plate and how you built up the shot.
  • Concept work: It is ok to show thumb nails and explorations with the final painting/drawing. Show your reference too so they can see how you work.

Flat Portfolios for Storyboard/Concept Development

Still good to have a physical “flat” portfolio for storyboards, concept development to bring with you to an interview (and possibly leave behind, so you don’t need to have the original drawings/paintings, bring a good printed copies) but most companies want to see your work online and/or as a pdf file.

Website resource:

  • Log onto google.
  • go to https://sites.google.com.
  • Select a template and start editing.