In canvasing for a new job, It dawned on me that it made squat all difference if you had a nice polished resume but couldn’t back it up with any work you have done. I mean who cares if you worked for Danny Yount if you don’t even know what blending modes are?

Ok well, I am not saying I have a killer reel, but I know how to edit my stuff so it looks way better than it actually is.
In any case, I have read time and time again from various industry professionals – if you want to get a job in this industry, you need to have a good reel.

What constitutes a good reel?

Well I have narrowed it down to a few things:

1. Keep it short (less than 2 mins) – you want to keep your audience interested. Chances are there are at least 20 other people going for the same job and to watch through large amounts of video can be tiresome. Keep it short and snappy.

2. Only edit in your good bits – Don’t just throw any bollocks in, make sure you use the good bits. Stuff with clean movement that matches the tempo of the track you are using are always good. Remember, think about what you are putting together. Take pride in putting your work together. I mean you could put in the part where you forgot to matte paint out to the edges or where the track in your shot went bad, only if you want your future employee to think – “this foo is a chump! I wouldn’t let this foo put text on my timeline…”

3. Pick an appropriate music track – music always enhances the mood, but just keep in mind not everyone has the same taste as you. Pick something you know the end user will enjoy and we’ll all have a good time. I mean maybe the interviewee does like “Cradle of filth” but just in case they don’t maybe pick something a little more hip like the trolololo guy

4. Put in relevant stuff – if you are going for a DOP position then obviously don’t put in stuff that showcases your motion graphic skills. And likewise if you are going for a mograph position, don’t put in your shots of a wide sweeping plane. Keep it relevant.

5. Don’t advertise yourself – By that I mean, don’t show a chunk of animation and have a lower thirds saying “animation”. It’s pretty obvious you do animation. That’s why it’s there in your reel! Your contact details at the end are fine , but it’s more during the video. It looks tacky and it makes you look like you think the person you’re showing this too doesn’t know jack all about the work you do. And if they don’t, still don’t do it. Just wow the crap out of them and they will definitely ask for more

6. Only put stuff you have done – I mean you could put in someone else’s work, but good luck trying to replicate it if they ask you to do something similar

All clear? Then get out there and impress the crap out of people!

Merry Almost Christmas everyone! I hope you’re all having a swell time out there in internet land.

We currently are having our annual Christmas Spectacular which as it turns out is probably our best one yet! So if you haven’t already got tickets, you need to go find a scalper and get some ASAP!

It’s been a humoungous year and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with so many talented people and learned so much! You guys and girls all rock my bloody socks off! Anyways, I decided I’d celebrate by posting my annual highlight reel up as well.

Enjoy!

PS. AVATAR = AWESOMENESS

Sorry it’s been a while. I really haven’t had a good a chance to post something up here with Sunday night live. But rest assured there will be more hilarity to ensue.
In the meantime i wanted to share with you my 2008 Show reel. Not as much to show you how awesome I am (but yes you may bask in my glory) , but just as a mo-graph/filmmaker I reckon its always really encouraging to see where you have been So I encourage you, if you’re just starting out, or you’re the most senior of senior filmmakers, get that reel together! You never know when you’re gonna have to use it!