I wanted to hit the subject around portfolio's and demo reel shard this month.
Mostly because there is so much information, I wanted to shed light on some of it here.
Also, as mentioned in the video - check out www.allanmckay.com/myreel/ for the Ultimate Demo Reel Guide, which all of these videos are built around (It's Free)
One of my big goals for next month is I'm shooting a sequence involving 'Venom' which I wanted to build some training around. So expect end of August to be doing some killer visual effects shots around live action of Venom and the Simbiote suit :)
BTW any ideas you have - or reference - hit the comments area and let me know, because I'm still boarding out the sequence and getting an idea of what I want to do for this. But it's going to be fun!
Thinking of your reel as the same reel, just improved with the latest work each time of your career is probably going to wield you the same results. We want to change up our reel as time progresses. I want you to think of your reel as your first impression on someone. But more importantly, what if it was the most critical first impression you could ever make? It had to be perfect. I want to do this because it's going to make you want to think less about how tight your work is or how awesome the track is that you cut it to -- and more about the mindset you want the person watching it to be in; what you want them to be thinking while they're watching it, and how you want them to feel after it ends.
So, am I overthinking this? Because this probably doesn't line up with those fluff articles you've been reading and what your 3D teacher told you in college right?
Again, this is results driven. Results being: If that supervisor watching your reel, starts to click through because they're bored, they're not engaged -- and you are doing something wrong. If they're watching it and something comes up, and they instantly pull out your resume to check "Is this person a student?" Doing it wrong! If they have no idea what your contributions to a shot were, or even what kind of position you're going for, or if they're not fully engaged in consuming your work -- you need to rethink your whole message.
What you want is them be FULLY ENGAGED -- commenting or yelling out to others around them to come and check out your work. You want them commenting on it and even rewatching it when it's done. You want them to make it their priority to reach out to you as soon as they finish watching and placing you in their mind (and spreadsheet) as a definite hire.
Going beyond this, do you think this is going to affect what kind of salary you can ask for when it comes to negotiating if they're in this state of mind? Because this is all about frame control, which is a psychology term for basically saying “you want to control their state of mind:. You want them to be impressed, you want them to understand your message and you want to make sure the work you're showing them, aligns perfectly with the type of work they are potentially looking to hire someone for. This is how you cut through the noise and get results.
There are dozens of types of reels. But I want you to think more of the evolution of yours over your career.