The Reel Deal: Creating Your Professional Reel

In my experience as an active job hunter and as a filmmaker, there are three things a company will ask from you when applying to a position:

1. Your Resume

2. A personalized Cover Letter

3. Your Reel (referred to as a Demo Reel, Show Reel, Industry Reel, or just plain Reel)

There are plenty of resources out there that talk about resumes and cover letters, but not a whole lot of resources about reels that are consistent. I thought that I would take the time writing this little article about reels and what you should do when making your own!

It's definitely a task cutting a demo reel! Image via renderforest.com.

It's important to remember that no two reels are really ever the same, which can be a good thing! Think of your reel as a summary of your career accomplishments and goals. It should show your skills in the field you are accomplished in. It sounds really simple, but sometimes it's easier said than done! There are a lot of things to keep in mind when creating a reel.

Contact Information

A major point to remember, even before selecting clips from your projects, is your contact information! Super fun, I know. It's vital to put your contact information on your reel, along with your name. Include your name, job title, email, phone number, and your website if applicable. I would not recommend putting your address on it for obvious reasons (please don't tell random strangers your address). Social media accounts can be mentioned in the description of the video, but I wouldn't put them on the reel itself! I'm a big fan of putting your information at the beginning and end of the reel, but that is definitely up to you. Just remember to make it easy for people to contact you!

This is a great example of a demo reel title card by Bee! Found via https://www.coatofbees.com/demo-reel

Take Ownership of Your Work

When creating a reel, you must properly credit what work you've done! The viewer needs to know what you have done from what they're seeing. If you're showing multiple jobs in one reel, make sure each one is properly identified. I personally like to put the project title along with what I'm credited as, that way if someone wants to see more of a particular project, they can find it online. That is a personal preference, however, so do what works best for you! Along with that, the last thing you will want to do is credit someone else's work as your own. That is a BIG NO-NO in the film industry, so don't even try to do that! Properly crediting yourself is taking ownership of your work. Take pride in what you have created!

Timing

The biggest question I hear about reels is "how long should they be?" Everyone has a different answer for this. Some say ninety seconds, while others say five minutes. Here is my opinion on the subject: think about who is viewing this reel. How much time will they give to your work? Does a recruiter from, for example, Disney have time to view a ten minute reel when there are hundreds of applications to look at? Definitely not! My advice is to keep it short and sweet! Don't ever go over three minutes, and if you can help it, the shorter the better! The key to a good reel is to be able to show your best work in the shortest time possible.

Clip Placement

Along with that, your best work should be the first thing you see, along with the last! This is something I learned oddly enough from my chorus director in high school. Always start with your best work to reel in the viewers (pun intended). The end should also be one of your best works because the viewer will remember that part the most out of all the works shown. The number one goal of a reel is to be memorable! Set yourself up for success by having the best pieces at the beginning and end.

"Anatomy of a Demo Reel" by Tool Farm brings up a good point I did not mention above. People will tune out just as quick as they tune in, so the first 30 seconds NEED to be your strongest.

Find your Niche

A big part of what your reel should represent is what you aim to achieve with your career. If you want to work in film, use films to create your reel. If you want to work with dancers, your reel should have a lot of dancers! Using projects, music, and graphics are all ways you can show off what style and aesthetic you are interested in working with. Your reel is a way to present your experiences and style as different from everyone else. Honing in to what your niche is will help with getting jobs that you want!

Get Outside Opinions

When it comes to your reel, you know what you want to choose. But sometimes, seeing the same work over and over causes everyone, myself included, to overlook what could be great to include on your reel. When you feel like the reel is done, or even if you're stuck, phone a friend! Friends and colleagues can be really important because its fresh eyes on the material. For example, when I created my first reel I sent it to a professor of mine. He responded to me with ideas to make my reel pack a better punch to the viewer. With my reel, I was thinking too much like a sound designer; showing off small nuances and tiny effects that only sound designers would recognize as a valuable skill. He noted that my reel is for everyone, not just other sound designers, and I needed to show things that were "bigger" design wise. Because of this advice, I definitely created something better that more people will enjoy! Just like creating a new film or series, reels need someone from the outside to view and critique it. Doing this helps create a better reel to show off to everyone!

Add all the pieces together. Image via Premium Beat.

To be completely honest, there aren't any set rules when it comes to making your own reel. However, following the advice above will help you in creating something that will successfully show off what are you particularly good at. Remember: your reel is an extension of who you are as an artist! Start with your best foot forward when it comes to getting hired. Create a reel that best represents you!