Demo Reels
What it takes to get noticed
What it takes to get noticed
Your demo reel is perhaps the most important thing that will be reviewed by a potential employer. With the possibility of landing your dream job or your first job in the industry, cutting corners is something that you can't afford to do. Enjoy the process and let it help you push your skills doing the work you love to do!
Tips for Creating Your Demo Reel
This list of dos and don'ts is not specific to any studio, but is instead made up of some general suggestions that professional artists throughout the film and game industries have found to be the most beneficial for creating a great demo reel. Remember that it's always a good idea to check with the company that you are submitting your demo reel to before working on it, so you can tailor your reel to their specific requirements.
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- DOs
- Include an outline and the software of the work
- Include a cover letter
- Label your reel inside and out
- Check the company's guideline
- DON'Ts
- Don't worry about fancy packaging
Tips for Submitting Demo Reel
Use our files in you demo reel
(please attribute files & images appropriately)
Include only your best work
While this might sound like common sense, it still needs to be said because it is something that is easy to overlook. A demo reel is only as strong as your weakest piece. As you create new work, you need to constantly re-evaluate what you have in your demo reel and replace weaker pieces with stronger pieces.
Tips: It is much better to have a demo reel with a few great pieces than a lot of mediocre ones.
Start and end with your strongest pieces
There's no guarantee that your demo reel will be watched for more than a few seconds, so be sure that the first piece on there is your strongest piece. Likewise at the end, you should leave them with something to remember you by.
Tips: A demo reel sandwich is made up of your strongest pieces on both ends and your best work in the middle.
Tailor your demo reel to your dream job
If you want to be a character animator but your demo reel is full of character models, then your potential employer is not likely to hire you as a character animator - no matter how great those models might be. If you don't have enough content to put on your reel for the position you want, take the time to create some more for your reel rather than putting "filler" content.
Tips: If you are a generalist, it's not uncommon to have multiple reels that have different primary areas of focus.
Know your strengths and focus on them
This works close at hand with tailoring your reel to the job you want, but it's important enough to point out that you don't need to show your potential employer that you can do everything under the sun. Whatever your strength, your demo reel should reflect your strengths.
Tips: Your demo reel is a reflection of you as an artist, so your strengths should be clearly evident in your reel.
Keep it short and simple
A typical demo reel should be between one and two minutes. If you have more content than that, start eliminating some of the weaker pieces to make room for your absolute best.
Tips: Less is more.
Leave them wanting more
Your demo reel needs to impress, but when they're done watching it they should want to see more.
Tips: Don't settle for 'good enough,' your reel needs be powerful enough to make them remember you.
Ask your friends for feedback
Getting feedback from your friends, colleagues and forums is a free way to get some great, honest feedback. It might not always cause you to re-evaluate what is included on your reel, but it could help you fix some potentially simple mistakes that you might not have noticed otherwise.
Tips: It is better to have one of your friends notice that misspelling than to have it noticed in the interview for your dream job.
Include an outline and the software of the work
You certainly don't want to include work that you didn't do in your reel, but that doesn't mean that you should only include work that you worked on by yourself. In most studios, you'll be working as part of a team, so if you've worked on team projects those can show your potential employer that you can successfully integrate into a team. In cases like this, you'll need to make sure to let them know what parts of the project you worked on.
Tips: Honesty improves your credibility. Do not take credit for work you did not do.
Include a cover letter
Cover letters are very important even though they are often overlooked. The cover letter should be specific to the position that you're applying to and should include a quick snapshot of your skills, experiences and which software and technical skills are your strengths.
Tips: The cover letter is often overlooked and yet it can be the deciding factor that determines if your reel is even watched.
Label your reel inside and out
When creating your reel, make sure to include your name and contact information at the beginning and end of the reel itself. If you are submitting a physical disc (such as a DVD), be sure to label this with your name and contact information as well.
Tips: If a potential employer wants to contact you, they should know how to do so from each item that you submit.
Check the company's guidelines
Most studios are accustomed to receiving demo reels and post exactly what format they need them to be submitted in on their site. Take the time to make sure that your submission falls within their guidelines.
Tips: If you cannot follow along with directions for submitting a demo reel, should a potential employer trust you with following the directions for submitting a complex work of art?
Bring a copy of your demo reel, shot breakdown & printed resume or necessary documents
While it's likely that the people interviewing you have already seen your demo reel, it's also possible that one or more of the people involved in the interview have not seen it. Bring an easily-playable copy of your reel to any interview just in case.
Tips: It is better to bring your reel and not need it than to need your reel and not bring it.
Make your demo reel easy to play
Your potential employer shouldn't need any special codecs or special software installed just to play your reel. Remember that in many studios the person who is making the first round of reviews for demo reels may not be a CG artist with a powerful workstation. Your reel needs to be able to play on any operating system out of the box. Test it on as many computers as you can to make sure it works without any errors.
Some studios have different preferences for what they want you to submit. Check their site to see what format they want the demo reel to be. Often times a studio may want a DVD, but they may also prefer a website or just an uploaded video file to play. If the studio's site doesn't offer any insight into what they prefer then it's best to stick to something safe like a standard DVD video.
Some studios have different preferences for what they want you to submit. Check their site to see what format they want the demo reel to be. Often times a studio may want a DVD, but they may also prefer a website or just an uploaded video file to play. If the studio's site doesn't offer any insight into what they prefer then it's best to stick to something safe like a standard DVD video.
Tips: The best demo reel in the world is guaranteed to fail its purpose if it will not play.
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Don't include work that you don't have approval
If you've done work that is under an NDA or some other not-for-public agreement then the rule is simple: don't include it on your reel.
Tips: If you have a project that you cannot show on your reel but you want to show what you are capable of doing, take the time to recreate the effects in a personal project that you can show publicly.
Don't include work that you don't love to do
This concept is simple, but it's also important. Your demo reel reflects not only work you've done, but tells an employer what sort of work you will be doing should they hire you. For example, if you hate rigging then don't include rigs on your reel.
Tips: If your dream job consists of only work that you love to do, it stands to reason that you will be happiest and perform the best when you focus on doing what you love to do.
Don't worry about the music if it doesn't add to your reel
Adding your favorite track to spice up your demo reel might seem like a great idea, but are you willing to take the risk of the viewers not liking it? Also note that some viewers won't have the audio on. The only universally acceptable audio for a CG demo reel is if it's audio that is directly relevant to your work. For example, lip syncing.
Tips: Adding music to your reel is like adding a photo of your pet. It might be nice on its own, but it is not relevant to being a CG artist.
Don't put work that
you didn't do
you didn't do
This is unfortunately more common that you may think. Remember that the point of a demo reel is to show the studio that you are capable of doing high-quality work. If you are hired and expected to work at a certain level of work but you cannot actually do work of that caliber, it doesn't take long for this to become apparent. This can very quickly label you as "dishonest" and hurt your reputation.
Tips: Since the film and games industries are filled with many artists moving from studio to studio, reputations can spread quickly. Is your reputation one of honesty and credibility?
Don't add things to fill space
Your demo reel should only have your best work, not all of your work. This likely means that you have to make decisions on what work to cut out from your reel.
Tips: Like this.
Don't assume that your
entire reel will be watched
entire reel will be watched
It's fairly common for a studio representative to have stacks of demo reels to go through in a day. As a result, if they aren't impressed in the first 30 seconds of your demo reel they might move on to the next one.
Tips: Your reel should immediately catch the attention of the person watching it. Then it should hold their attention until they're done watching it and make them wish that they could watch more.
Don't worry about
fancy packaging
fancy packaging
You aren't being hired for doing the fancy packaging so rather than focusing on that, focus on making the content of the demo reel stand apart from the rest.
Tips: A demo reel is judged not by its outward appearance but by the greatness that it contains.
Don't call/email a studio... constantly
The larger a studio is, the more demo reels they receive and review. Be respectful of the time of those who are looking at your work by refraining from constant calls and/or emails. Until they reach out to you, keep learning and working to make your reel even better.
Tips: Let your good work get you noticed and not an annoying abundance of calls and emails.
Aspiring Concept Artists
• Pay close attention to the composition, timing and cuts of your shots. Study cinematography as that will help you compose your shots.
• The goal of a concept is to have it modeled in 3D, so it's a good idea to go the extra mile and include orthographic views for your character concepts.
• The goal of a concept is to have it modeled in 3D, so it's a good idea to go the extra mile and include orthographic views for your character concepts.
Aspiring Modelers
• Creating your own concepts is great, but your focus is building those concepts in 3D not creating them. So feel free to use designs that have been done by professional artists. If the design is abstract, be sure to include the concept art.
• Make sure to include wireframes to show your models' topology.
• Even though you won't be animating your characters, take the time to learn how your character would move and behave. This will help you as you build your character.
• Make sure to include wireframes to show your models' topology.
• Even though you won't be animating your characters, take the time to learn how your character would move and behave. This will help you as you build your character.
Aspiring Technical Directors
• Don't try to rig your character to do everything. Stick to building a solid rig that is effective for how your character needs to move.
• Get feedback from an animator on how your character should move and build the rig to do that.
• Get feedback from an animator on how your character should move and build the rig to do that.
Aspiring Animators
• Rather than quick shots of random animations, try creating a couple vignettes to tell a story.
• Take the time to get to know your character well. Learn about your character's likes, dislikes and how your character would react to the situation. Then animate accordingly.
• Take the time to get to know your character well. Learn about your character's likes, dislikes and how your character would react to the situation. Then animate accordingly.
Aspiring Shading Artists
• Nothing in the real world is absolutely perfect. Take the time to add rust, dirt and scratches into your scenes.
• Photographs can make great textures, but just about anyone can apply a photograph to a model. Instead, show that you can paint your own textures.
• Photographs can make great textures, but just about anyone can apply a photograph to a model. Instead, show that you can paint your own textures.
Aspiring Lighting Artists
• Don't use Photoshop to cover up bad lighting. This is best shown by moving your camera around the scene so it's not a still image.
• Your lighting shouldn't just let us see what's in the scene, it should set the mood of a scene. Try creating different moods of the same scene to show off your ability to change the mood through lighting.
• Your lighting shouldn't just let us see what's in the scene, it should set the mood of a scene. Try creating different moods of the same scene to show off your ability to change the mood through lighting.
Aspiring Compositing Artists
• Not all compositing has to be visible right away. In fact, the best composites are the ones that don't stand out.
• Include before and after shots so it's easy to tell what you've changed.
• Include before and after shots so it's easy to tell what you've changed.
Studios and companies often have resources for creating your demo reel.
Here are a couple worth reading:
PIXAR »PIXAR Canada »
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