Week 10 - What I should do in the showreel

For this week I will be talking about the show reel itself and what I should make sure I do before I create the show reel. I will also say a few things that I shouldn't do within each section that needs to be included.


Start screen

The start of your show reel I think should always start with a title page saying your name, email, job role and other contact details so that the viewer knows how to contact you and what you work on. I haven't seen any show reels without a title but I think it is a good thing to remember to have in the show reel.


Layout

The layout for the block out show reel should be simple and clear so that it is easy to understand and read when it is watched by not only the lecture but others who may look over it. It doesn't have to have finished work in it but only things that represent what you want to do. You need to make sure you layout each scene clearly and in the right order to what you think will look the best. Keep the camera movements simple and make sure you get to the point and show the most important parts of the scene.


Presenting work

Presenting your work can be hard especially when its the first time making a show reel to put work into because you haven't had experience making show reels which is why it is good to look at other artist show reels to get an idea on what you need to present. When presenting your show reel you need to make sure that you are presenting work for the job role you are aiming to go for in the industry even if its game or film. Make sure you are clear to what you are showing to the person watching it, anyone could be viewing your work on your portfolio so you need to make sure you present it so that anyone can understand it.


Timing

Timing is important when it comes to the show reel because you need to make sure that each scene you are showing is timed correctly. Anything with too much time can bore the person viewing it and if there is too little time then it may not be enough time for the person viewing to see the environment very clearly. Big parts of the show reel will need more time than the small parts so that the viewer can look at the whole scene being shown. I think that keeping the show reel to a minimum of 2 minutes 30 seconds is a good time to show of all the work that I want to submit into the show reel. It will get straight to the point of what I am showing and show off the best points of my work.

The camera needs to be timed well as well when it comes to what you are showing. If you are showing a massive section of an environment then you need to make sure the camera is panning through slowly to see all parts of that environment. If you are planning to zoom in on something in that environment to show close up detail of what you want then its better not to have the camera zoom in and out too fast but to make sure you give it enough time for the viewer to look at your work.


Sound

Sound is something to consider for the show reel but it is not needed unless you really want it. Sometimes sound can be really useful for scenes and help the viewer get a better understanding of what the environments like. There are some professional show reels that don't have any sound because its mainly about just showing of the environment you have built or the asset you have worked on etc. Sounds not vital for the show reel.


Work

The work you are putting into the show reel doesn't really matter as long as you think its your best work. The whole idea of a show reel is to show off what you can do and how well you can model and texture assets or environments depending on what job role you are doing. Sometimes you can add other things to your show reel as well other than just stuff for your chosen job role because this also shows you can work on others things outside of that job role. The stuff in your show reel doesn't have to be the same stuff from the same scene, you can have lots of different assets or environments you have worked on as long as you show the viewer what they want to see.


Breakdown

You need to make sure you breakdown your show reel into sections if you plan on adding different assets or environments just so the viewer knows when the work is changing to something else you are working on. This is not always needed but I feel it would be a good idea to do it. Also I think the best work should be shown first to grab the viewer into the show reel, although best work should also be shown not just at the beginning but its a good starting point.