Help! How do I make an awesome animation showreel?
You’ve just graduated, looked at your overdraft, had a bit of a cry and realised you need to start earning some money. Now what? How do you let the world know of your many talents? You could try: telepathy, sky-writing, a message hidden in toothpaste. All good, but there is another way: The Showreel.
With a showreel you can approach companies for work or placements, apply for funding or just let people know you’re pretty darn talented. Your showreel is the first impression you make on a prospective employer. It needs to be professional. You can pretend to be professional right? No..Here’s how:
1. THE CONTENT
The demoreel
What’s a demoreel?
It is a 45 to 90 second edited sequence made up of the best of your work.
WAA BOO HOO: You might think 45 to 90 seconds isn’t long enough. Remember your showreel isn’t your entire life story. It’s a taster to leave people wanting more.
A demoreel is fine on its own but you can include short films or longer clips afterwards, if you think they are good. A typical showreel might contain:
- Demoreel
- Short films and Clips
- Slideshow
Top tips for a top reel
- Only include your best work.
You need to be proud to show what is on your showreel and be able to stand behind it. If you’re unhappy with some work, leave it out. You don’t want to be making excuses if you have to talk about it.
- Keep it short! Studios are busy. A demo reel of 45 to 90 seconds is ace.
- Quality is better than quantity. 45 seconds of greatness is better than 45 seconds of greatness + another 45 seconds of yeah-ok-whatever.
- Put your best work first so no one can miss it.
- If you didn’t do much on a project, it probably isn’t work including. It might look like you are taking credit for other people’s work and that’s naughty.
- The work on the reel should be relevant to the job you are after.
- Know your own strengths and weaknesses - choose work which plays to your strengths.
- Have a card or titles at the beginning and end with your name and contact details in case someone threw your case in the fire and scribbled on the dvd disc. It’s good for people to see your name on the telly. It might convince them it belongs there.
- Use the best quality footage you have. Uncompressed files are best.
2. PRESENTATION
The front cover
The cover can mean the difference between someone picking up you reel and tossing it out of the window or choosing to watch it.
A good cover should have your name, the title “Showreel”, and a big striking image of your work. Keep it bold, clean and simple. Look at a commercial dvd cover you like and learn from that.
The back cover
The back cover should have:
- An optional short paragraph about who you are and what you’ve done or are looking for.
- Your contact details.
- If you want to keep your cover uncluttered, put the details on an insert in the box, including a running order and related information. This could be the title of the project, the studio and/or director credit, and your role (animation, colouring, compositing etc.)
- List the programs you used to make the showreel.
- Put the month and year on your cover somewhere. Useful in the future, so you can be sure people have the up-to-date version of your reel.
The label
The DVD disc label should include your name, the title “Showreel” and your contact details. Sad but true, cases and discs get separated… I know, sob.
WHOOPS: I’ve seen showreels were people have just scribbled their name in felt tip on a cd. To me that says “couldn’t be bothered”. If you make it look like you care about your showreel, it’s more likely someone else will.
The menu
Simple is best. A wacky, crazy, zany menu system is going to annoy people who are tired, busy and possibly still hung-over.
3. THE MUSIC
Choose your music carefully, make sure it’s got either lots of screaming or swearing in it. Not really, the music should complement your work, and not be too much of an assault on the senses. Remember not everyone’s as cool as you darling.
Well chosen music makes editing you reel a lot easier and will help it feel more alive and dynamic. If you are cutting on the beat, pick something with a good amount of variation, that will hold your viewer’s interest from beginning to end. It should have rhythm and a satisfying finale.
4. YOUR AUDIENCE
There’s no point throwing showreels around like ninja stars, it’s wasted time and effort. Look at the companies that interest you, find out what they are looking for and pretend to be that by tailoring your showreel accordingly.
5. USE THE INTERNETTING-WEB
It’s not just good for looking up celebrity recipes and shoes, you can use the internets to showcase your work and promote yourself. Sites like Youtube or Vimeo, and social tools like blogging, twitter or linkedin, can be a great way to get a “presence”. Keep it professional, pictures of that great night out might not look so innocuous to a boss. I suggest replacing pictures of yourself looking wasted with pictures of yourself reading thick books and wearing a nice poloneck jumper.
6. Be persistent
Be patient, don’t sit by the phone like a teenager waiting for a call, it might be a while. Most studios will only contact you if they are interested in hiring you. Don’t be put off. Keep working on your showreel: update it, re-cut it, resend it every 6 months. That will show you are really interested and if a suitable opening comes up, they will remember you.
7. Be creative, have fun and good luck!
8. The single most important thing to remember is:
DO NOT SEND YOUR SHOWREEL TO ME.
HA HA HA!
No I’m not kidding.
I’m busy.
I can’t use a dvd player.
I’m washing my hair.
I’m about to go on holiday tomorrow.
I’m allergic to dvds.
I had a terrible accident and my eyes are bandaged.
…Did I say “good luck”…is that lady Gaga over there…
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