Demo Reel Question

1. oc6088
   Member

   

    I own a small video business.  I saw a job for a local tv station looking for a commercial producer.  I have done some of these for companies' web sites, trade shows etc., but I know I am out of my league getting this job, but I thought I would try. My only hope is this is a small town and no one else applies!

   My basic questions are about the demo dvd they are requesting..  Do I put each example as a seperate file and make it a full blown dvd with chapter menus?  Or do I blend them all together?  What type of file MPEG, AVI?  How many examples should I send?

   Any help would be much appreciated!

   Linda

   Posted 3 years ago #

2. Ken
   Member

   

    oc6088,

   This reminds me of several years ago, when I was a Navy photographer. A fellow Navy photographer was planning on starting a business, and was wondering what to put in his portfolio. After much discussion, we decided the best approach was to have one example of each of the types of photos (portrait, sports, product, architectural) he might be hired to do. Then add an extra one or two examples for the types that were his specialty (or that the client said he wanted).

   I suppose a similar approach could be taken for a Demo Reel DVD.  Maybe a 20-second flashy intro, followed by a menu of video examples by type (commercial, news, instructional, sports, human interest, animation).

   Some employers ask for a link to a website of video examples.

   That's my 4 cents worth. (It would be 2 cents, but with inflation ..... well, you know.)

   Ken

   Posted 3 years ago #

3. NewBirthProductions
   Member

   

   Well the first question do you have any commercials that you have done to put on your resume/reel?

   Your reel is your resume and it should reflect the job your applying for, in this case that is commercials.

   Unless you have some non-commercial clips that really shows off your creative side, I would leave them out.

   Title menus, if you have a lot of clips of differant styles then a menu is a good idea, if not if you just have a few then conciter making it like a short film.

   Just keep in mind that they will make up thier mind in the first 2 mins, so wow them.

   good luck mate

   Posted 3 years ago #

4. Editinglinks
   Member

   

   Target the reel to the company needs.

   If their need is about commercial production just include the best you have and be extra careful with the initial shots to grab their attention.

   Keep it short (2-4 minutes) Sometime less is better than too much (impress them and they will come to ask for more).

   if you have a lot of work edit to a good music a short intro-compilation with best shots of your commercial projects including great images, graphics compositings, etc as a hook. Then include three of your best commercials complete, make sure that they are different in content.

   Hope this help,

   Rick
   http://www.editinglinks.com

   Posted 3 years ago #

5. ProJuiceTV
   Member

   

    I would produce a nice and tight 30 second commercial for yourself showing a montage of your work. Let this sequence play out and take you to a DVD menu with seperate links to individual pieces of work. It's a bit of work but i always think it is worth tailoring your CV and Reel for each job you are applying for.

    Nick @ Pro Juice TV
   http://www.projuice.org
   http://www.animusindustries.com
   Online portal and television series about music, video and multimedia for ‘guerrilla producers’ that want to make, distribute and market their media.

   Posted 3 years ago #

6. EarlC
   Moderator

   

   "I would produce a nice and tight 30 second commercial for yourself showing a montage of your work. Let this sequence play out and take you to a DVD menu with seperate links to individual pieces of work. It's a bit of work but i always think it is worth tailoring your CV and Reel for each job you are applying for." - PJT

   I have to agree with PJ's recommendation. Tight, snappy, nicely edited montage of cherry-picked shots from your work as the intro. DVD menu with chapters leading to some of your individual stuff.

   I would only add, START with your BEST stuff, don't "build" up to it. Your best stuff is the ONLY stuff that has any hope of keeping their attention for any length of time. I also agree with another poster who suggested an over-all length of not more than five minutes. Believe me, they ARE NOT going to watch it all unless you prove in the first 10 seconds that you are the new god of video production.

   Quality work, with NO gimmicks (often stuff used to cover production mistakes - strobing comes to mind for covering up unstable camera shots) and quality audio - TIGHT EDITING works.

   Ultra intense or complex composite sequences can and do wow people on both sides of the screen, but you have to realize (well, it has been my experience anyway) that unless you are going to become the station's grapics production person and will be required to pull off some major network looks, most local stations and cable companies are looking for someone who can produce some basic popout stuff - think auto, electronics, mattress "...will beat anyone's price or YOUR MATTRESS IS FREE!" and related spot ads for example.

   Posted 3 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Supported video provider:

youtube, myvideo, funnyordie, gametrailers, collegehumor, dailymotion, glumbert, liveleak, redtube, googlevideo, sevenload, metacafe, clipfish, vimeo