The Dos and Don’ts of Creating Your Demo Reel

Image Source: www.thegnomonworkshop.com
High quality Environment rendering by David Lesperance

 

What is a Demo Reel?  A demo reel is a short video, usually no more than two to three minutes, showing off your best work.  In the VFX, film, and video game industries video can be necessary to show your work completely.  Still images won’t completely convey the quality of work produced.

First, who will be viewing your demo reel.

 When filing an application with a company to try and be hired, it is important to firstly read all of their specific directions.  It would be wise to do this before final edits of your demo reel have been made.  If you have specific companies you wish to be employed by, then first step is looking up what their process and guidelines are.  These guidelines will help direct your demo reel, and let you know if there are any formats they do not accept.  Sometimes the human resources department will simply email out the links for peoples portfolios with their forwarded resumes and cover letters.  Other times, the department heads will request DVDs, so they can all get together and view the work at the same time.   When department heads take time out of their schedule to review a possible candidate, they usually look at more than one.  They will have a stack of resumes, cover letters, and DVD’s, and most likely want to be as efficient as they can, so they can go back to the work the more thoroughly
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Second, let’s talk quality.

 Your demo reel is to show the great and amazing work you have created, not the ‘kind of ok’ doodle you did during lunch on a greasy napkin.  The quality of the work needs to be of your highest caliber, and nothing less.  The first work shown on the reel should be your best.  The people looking at these reels do not want to wait through lesser work to see your best.  Saving the best for last gets your video stopped and ejected before it’s ever seen.  This also means dropping any quality of work not deemed to be the same level as your best.  A shorter higher quality reel is better than a longer mediocre one.
The advantage to sending companies DVDs of your work is the quality of the video can remain high without having to be compressed for online viewing.  The disadvantage is that they have to actually open a box and put a disc in a drive.  Different companies have different preferences so make sure you double check what they want.
 

Third, it’s all about you.

It may sound silly but people often times forget who they are, or at least forget to put who they are on their demo reel.  There should be an opening slide that has all of your contact information. 
There should also be a slide before each piece shown to explain what your contribution to the piece was.  If it’s an animation of a car burning rubber and sparks and smoke, there needs to be a slide listing what YOU did with what software. “Modeled Car using Maya, applied Mental Ray shaders and Rendered in Mental Ray.”

 

 Image Source: www.cgterminal.com
Still Shot of Visual Effects Breakdown by Josh Clos

 

Now the viewer knows what skills you have to offer, and can see the work associated with those skills.  These explanatory slides are known as Demo Reel Breakdowns, and it would be wise to include a sheet of all of your demo reel breakdowns so viewers may have them at all times if preferred.
The demo reel ends with a repeat of your identification slide, and keeps it up there longer than the first time to allow people enough time to see it and write your info down.

Finally, double check everything.

Creating a demo reel tends to be the last thing done when graduating from school, or done hastily when you are unexpectedly looking for work.  The demo reel is a reflection of your work and your capabilities, and that includes how the demo reel itself is presented.  The VFX, film, and video game industries are all very visual, so if you make sure you work is your best, and it’s presented in an aesthetically pleasing manner, then you are that much closer to landing the job .