3 Common Sense Things You Must Do When Putting Together A Reel
Intro
Hello friends and readers. This blog is written for animators in mind, but I think a lot of what I’m talking about here can be reapplied elsewhere. Getting work is, obviously very important, but I feel that animators aren’t really taught what makes a good reel. Not good as in “wow that was fun to watch”, but good as in you’ll become gainfully employed from it. The reel is the most important asset in your arsenal as an animator, but many have a hard time putting together the right content to maximize its utility. So I want to take some time to list out the 3 must do’s when putting together your reel.
Keep It Short
This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how often I see overly long reels. Many animators will put together a reel with their weakest work just to fill time. Don’t do this. It is better to have a short reel with your best work than a long reel showing your breadth of work. Employers usually do not have the time nor desire to watch your 3-act reel showing the rise, death and resurrection of your artistic capabilities.
You’re reel, at most, should be no longer than 1 minute and 30 seconds. As for the minimum time. About 1 minute or so.
2.Keep It Focused
The next thing you should do is to focus your reel. I can’t tell you how many reels I’ve see where the animator wanted to show how good their 3D is, character designing skills are, live action cinematagraphy, etc. Do not do this. You’re reel should have 1 main focus. If you have multiple skills, you can put together multiple reels, and in very special case you can do a combo reel.
When you’re experienced in the field, you’ll know when you can make a reel composed of all of your skills, but until you reach that experiential level, keep it simple and focused. If you like character animation and motion graphics, have a separate reel for each. Breaking your art up this way will give employers the chance to see exactly what they’re looking for and if you can deliver. If you’re reel is focused on several different specialties, employers might not know when they’ll get to what they need to see, which can be frustrating and takes away their time. That’s not something you want to do when you’re asking someone to hire you. You want to save them time, not take it away.
3.Put Your Best Work First
If your reel takes 30 seconds before it gets good. You’ve got an ineffective reel. At most, you have 15 seconds to hook your viewer. This doesn’t mean over stimulating thing with colors or anything like that, it means you’ve got to find the hook as expediently as possible. Make that time count, and make it memorable. Remember, you want to save people’s time and by giving them the reason why they should watch your reel as early as possible, you give them a chance to know exactly what your deal is so there’s no second guessing. If you’ve done this part right, when the viewer watches all the way through your reel, you’ll know that they really, really like your work.
Outro
Reels are very important, take the same time and care you do when making an animation while making your reel. When building your reel, be mindful of what you want your viewer to see, and how you want them to feel about your work. You may only have 1 shot at getting an employers attention, so you have to do everything in your power to stack the odds in your favor.
As always, thanks for reading, and good luck!