Thanks Allan, i don't believe that there is someone with enough value like yourself is making videos like these on youtube. Keep It up Man. we would like to use all the help we can get ^^
The music tip hits really hard... I'm a motion designer and i do find it important that motion graphics are animated according to music and beat... so it's a bit discouraging to hear that employers turn off the sound of the reel
i think there is a difference between vfx reels and motion graphic reels, motion graphics can go and exist with a rhythm to them that hits with the music, vfx does not. I once went to a confference where the recluters from various studios talked about this and they said that music in reels have been an off and on again thing for years, they said add it but know that it might be muted unless its a lipsync animation. I guess that applies to motion graphics as well
I appreciate your advice very much and am excited to apply them to my own reel! Can I give you a word of advice for UA-cam videos, as someone who watches multiple videos every day? Get to your points faster. There was a lot of fluff and UA-cam viewers arent looking for videos to fill their time that are longer than 10 minutes. You could have given us more succinct advice without flexing on us for the first two minutes of your video. Great advice, just needs to be more concise
Super information! I'm looking to put my demo reel together - Spring 2019 semester is my last semester to get my BAS in Multimedia and Video Production Technology. I never would have imagined that I would have this much fun doing video, film and editing. I love VFX - both practical and CG and want to continue and grow in the field. And who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? I turned 58 this year and to be honest and I've never enjoyed doing anything as much as this or that I would have fun doing work. I've looked and found examples of demo reels - this is the 1st time I have truly learned how to make a demo reel. Thanks a million Allan!! I've shared this with our program director and will be passing it on to other students in the program.
Your video deserves to have more likes and views. I found It incredibly useful. Even spend an hour taking notes and glueing them to the wall in my room. Please, keep uploading high quality content like this. (Forgive my english as I am not a native speaker)
Im almost done with my first demoreel. I would like to know: how open are recruiters towards junior artist? Do they want work as high quality as a senior artist ( making it really difficult), or are they ok to hire someone with less experience? Are recruiters ok with hiring juniors with "ok" work but that are willing to practice and put their 120% so they can stay for the long run and become seniors one day?
Thank you sir for telling us, we students are thinking that make some big and get job easy but it's totally wrong. Really it's so much helpful for me. Few of the successful artists tell us the his experience and advice and one of the legend is you.
I’m grateful I found this! I’m worried that it’s harder to execute than it sounds... so much of my best work requires “context” context sometimes require time to develop . I understand there is no need for “filler” but where is the line? Also, “best work”? Wow according to who? Me? You have me completely doubting myself at this point. I return to context. I do a lot of music video promo’s for “agency bands”. I’ve been told that my work is used by competing Agencies as an example of how they should be done... yet i wouldn’t know how to create a “reel” that conveyed that in 90 seconds. In this context the Audio work I do is as important as the video work [as almost all of these videos feature that fact that the audio is LIVE from the actual shoot!!]. I need to create a Reel for a real estate team that is looking for high end production WAY beyond selling houses... I find myself lost. HELP 😂
Hey, I heard so many times this things from my mentors or experts like you but as a student I usually stuck with the resources while planning a huge shot or something and i usually gave up like a artist working in a studio has been working on movies then he later get easily get that shots which he worked on but as a student it is totally a different thing. And It will help so much if show us some showreels or demoreels of student or fresher grade. Or make a video specifically for freshers with some examples. Thanks
In the visual effects industry, the hiring process can be unforgiving, often emphasizing technical skills while neglecting important soft skills. This can lead to talented artists being overlooked. It is unfair for hiring professionals to dismiss candidates based on a single mistake, akin to searching for perfection in an imperfect world. Instead, we should consider the paths that brought us to our positions and foster empathy in the hiring process, recognizing that everyone has room for growth and not subjecting candidates to unnecessary harshness.
Don’t think that your work should be triple A quality all the time. Just do the best you can, there are a lot of different types of projects I can think of, where you don’t have to be the best of the best, top of the rock. Don’t let a guy telling you that he has to plough through hundreds of demo reels, get you down. This world is competing enough as it is, last thing we need is someone telling you, “you have to have the best of the best of the best, otherwise you are nothing!” Fact is, there is a 99,999% chance that you will not be the best of best, but still lead a fulfilling career doing animation.
First I heard 19 seconds and I was like: wuuuuuuuut? But when I read few comments I've realized that I need to make more good animation for my reel. XD
Thank you for that informative video! I'm updating my demo reel myself pretty soon; I needed that. This may sound strange as a question, but this is from a student: what would you consider the minimum length of a demo reel? Maybe I'm just too hard on myself in what clips to use, but I want it to truly be my best work, and I'm afraid of "filler." And I don't have a ton of work under my belt, but I'm getting there. So when is the length considered too short or would worry employers? And if I should keep it closer to a minute like you said, what are ways to draw out your best work in a courteous way?
Demo reel tips: 1. End with your masterpiece. (No room for failer) 2:11 2. length. Less is more (60-90 seconds) 4:36 3- The story is not the main thing. Showing the end results is what really matters. 6:46 (However, if you have a great story then make a short film. That will showcase your ability to tell a story and produce it way better.) 4- Music is not as important. Focus more on getting great shots. 9:20 5- no filler, show ONLY your best shots. 11:22 Hope it helps. Regards!
No, in fact you’re just giving more opportunity to get your work criticized. I’ve sold this story before but I was at Blur studio reviewing reels for a halo project, And there was someone who was on my list to hire because he had great work but One of the other supervisors put them on they do not hire list because his opening title text was really bad even though all the work on his reel was good. He figured that perhaps the commercial work just had a really good supervisor, and this is the level of quality of work he would do unsupervised. That always stuck with me just showing how volatile things can be, and ultimately your contact information and all the other text isn’t going to make an impression ever, the work is. But badly Create a text will get negative attention, so ultimately I will keep things simple and keep focused on the content the work is the most important part I hope that helps! :-) Thanks Marc!
@@AllanMcKay thanks so much Allan. I’ve seen a metamorphosis of what it takes to get an employer/future clients attention. All other reels I’ve done in the past (20 years in News) I simply I slammed together a few news reports. Different story now. Thanks again. Always a work in progress...
@@MarcC1973 no problem brother always happy to help and yeah ultimately it's just about proving you can do the job. That's so that matters. Thanks for sharing Marc! 👊🔥
What an awesome video. Question: If I´m a filmaker, I mean, I do camera, and DP, and editing, mostly, how can I reflect that in a reeel? Or I´m supossed to make them separatelly? Tanks in advance.
That was some great tips man.. Thanx a lot :) @allanmckay But I have one question for you. Is it necessary to composite our final shot? I mean can't we just show a really good quality render? In the end they are gonna see quality, right? P.S I don't know how to do compositing and I mainly do FX(dynamics) work.
I will say with FX you definitely will increase your chances of getting hired being able to show finished shots. FX and compositing go hand in hand, so you should really be able to treat your FX elements. Ideally what we're looking for is someone I can hire tomorrow to sit in a chair and do the work. If you are able to start busting out shots then it's a no brainer whether to hire you. But if you've got some cool FX elements but they're just rendered on black, then I think everyone's been burned hiring someone who can make something look cool - but actually being able to take the shot through to final is really what matters. So demonstrating that you can finish a shot and have a good understanding of integrating live action and CG is critical. I feel it's pretty easy these days to make cool looking FX elements but it's more about being able to follow direction and be able to bring all your elements together. Hope that helps!
Thank you so very much, Allan , I have seen a number of clips and spoken to a few people and, they all agree you need to keep the reel short and sweet, but how short was never spoken of, now I have a good idea. Are ILM still recruiting is Sydney?
Dude! You ROCK.. Got the message for sure! I make YT vids now. But will be definitely taking these tips to the masses. (masses... like 300subs.. hahaha) DMAX motion Sim
Thank you Allan .. Im very late to watch it after all that time .. but really i respect you and love your personality there .. Im in the making but i have a question that im kinda bothered with to be honest .. when you have these shots that serves you to show you've been part of a specific project .. even if its simple, not as good as other shots .. but you just need it to serve you in your region somethimes . Im humble to hear your opinion about this . Thank again Allan ... Much love ♥️
I'm a film student with very little experience. Most of my work are school projects or internship-related. I started this major last year and am now taking the capstone course. One of the projects is to create a 1-minute reel. I feel very discouraged because I don't have enough good quality clips to showcase. What should I do?
Allan McKay how important is a CV and its format and how to find out its necessary format? Could you please share your points briefly. I'm majorly looking out for 3D Animation.
We did a live stream about this yesterday actually. Honestly a degree in the creative industry doesn't really count for much. It's mostly down to your portfolio, since that's what we hire for - for what you can do. So the piece of paper doesn't hold much clout. It can help with work-visas when working in other countries but your portfolio/demo reel is everything.
Hi Allan, I am new to your channel and just watched this video and was hoping you could answer a couple of pretty basic questions. How do you and other industry leaders feel about viewing a demo reel on you tube for 3d character modeling for video games? Second in regards to keeping a reel to between 60 and 90 seconds, would it be a faux pa if a student sent a demo reel and it showed the creation of a character, some environment stuff and ended in a playable character in a video game? Thus showing that the modeler can create and has dabbled in more than just modeling (assuming he created everything) the playable game would be like maybe a few second walk around a level. What platform do you recommend for demo reels?
Hello Allan! Im currently doing my last half year of college and im starting to plan for my reel. Something i can't really find a clear answer to is wether the reel has to be multiple animations or just a single longer animation? The common consensus i've seen online seems to be many shorter animations, but i thought i should ask anyway as you seem to know your stuff. Thanks!
This video is amazing! I am looking to rework my demo reel because I feel I'm getting passed on because of my reel. I do have one question hopefully you can reply: say that I do have some few shots I've done in production, but i feel that they don't demonstrate every ability i can do clearly. Do you think its appropriate to include my own demonstration of my skillset along with production work?
Hi InToFaceFilmWorks I believe I mention this in here otherwise I do extensively elsewhere. But honestly - if you plan to tell a story, go make a short film. Nobody cares at all whatsoever about your story when reviewing a reel to look for someone to hire. This is one of the biggest baddest pieces of advice I see people give all the time "your reel needs to tell a story" I completely agree, if you're making a short, find someone to create a score for your short film. There's amazingly talented up and coming music students/wannabe composers who if you were to shop your short film to them would probably gladly jump at the chance to score it as a chance for exposure and experience for themselves. So combining talents on a creative passion project is a great idea. For a demo reel - 99% of your audience is going to watch the reel with headphones off, and likely to start skipping ahead, or skip to the next reel to review if it isn't cut tight enough to respect their time. So music does not matter - I still think for general viewing online, it can't hurt to have music, but always keep in mind that if your reel is built with the intent to get a job - expect that the managers, supervisors, HR or whoever it is that ends up viewing your reel when it's sent in more than likely is reviewing a 50+ reels that day and you're just a row in a spreadsheet and nobody is listening to music or caring about story - they just need to know "can you do the job?" and your focus should be on showcasing your skills and to qualify you for the position. I always say - if you want to tell story, go make a short film. Because I've interviewed plenty of talented artists and directors on my Podcast that did go the short film route - and it allowed them to jump start their career and bypass working their way up - because they ran their short through the film circuits, got the attention of the right people. Hope that helps. Thanks InToFaceFilmWorks
How do you break into other genres of film? Genre meaning Sports, Wedding, Music Video, Commercials, etc. If the only thing you have in your demo reel is something no one cares to watch. Example a Demo Reel of your Cats and Dogs but you want to get hired to shoot Live Concerts. How do you break through the walls of entry?
Hey! sorry i am almost too late to see this video but in end of my 3rd year that is now I finally know that I want to be an environment artist and I nearly have two environments to showcase also I live in India so there are no highly experienced people out here to help I basically learnt most of the things which are and also not related to environment art from youtube and honestly I've spent like 400 hours in blender yet a lot to explore I know Maya, substance painter, Blender, Photoshop and what not. can you suggest me some things like should i keep these 2 environments in my reel or should i work more and also I have little to no knowledge about what to show in the reel, like should I show the finished product or the process or the technique I used to make it possible I hope you reply me here Thanks
I got a question. I am a video editor that just graduated out of college, so the only stuff I have to put on a demo reel is from my school projects and one internship. How do I put together a demo reel showing off my narrative video editing and how long should the demo and clips within it be approximately? I have a show case on vimeo, but I think I need some sort of single file with a compilation of my work. How can someone new to the real world field even get a job when it seems everyone wants someone with more experience. Seems like a catch-22. Cant get more experience if I don't get the work in order to get the experience.
Yeah you want to set the tone from the beginning and keep them captivated. If your best shot is at the end - you'd be surprised how brutal some sup's are, they'll just turn the video off and move to the next one if they're not instantly captivated. I'll admit there's plenty of reels I've never watched because the title (their name) at the beginning went for too long. When you have loads of reels to go through you need to be captivated from the start or it's easy to lose someone.
@@defaultaccount9522 the longer it is the less likely they'll get to the end. I like 90 seconds, I wouldn't make one longer than 3 minutes for a personal reel
I just started to learn animation and don't know much about the industry so what do you think i should do vfx or fx what would you recommend please do reply.
hey! really sound advice, resonates with me totally. I suppose these tips can also be applied for a video production company demo reel to get the attention of potentially not creative people looking for corporate or whichever videos.
If it's all you've got then it's all that you've got - but ultimately supervisors will want to see your work applied in a real shot. I feel it's pretty easy to make FX look cool - but to take a shot through from start to finish and demonstrate that you can fit within a real studio pipeline is critical. But we're all guilty of that in the beginning :)
Yes exactly, as a student, it is kind of harder to find those opportunities cause not alot of other students have films where you can do effects, so I personally would have to go out and kind of create my own to show that I can track footage and composite different elements together into a shot! I would have a habit of being too caught up with making a specific effect and not the context to which it could fit into. thanks again for your advice, i need it! your podcast is great too :)
Thank you for the advice! Can I ask you something? I'm a student. I want to get the Comp position. Do I need a 3D comp reel? I mean I made my reel included roto, paint, key, projection and so on but I didn't make a 3D comp like pass comp. Consider the third factor you mentioned, these worries seem to be meaningless but as for me who can't texturing, lighting, animating, I'm a little curious about it.
Also, do we need any kind of information in the video or on the side??? That part still confuses me in all the videos and google/bing searches that I have done.
Thanks buddy! More to come - I am publishing a (massive) guide on this subject end of this month, so there's a lot of info related to this I'll be posting. So definitely more videos on this subject to come :)
Hey Allan , that's amazing thanks for sharing. I have one question , let's say you developed a method of going around certain problem , you think that it can be implemented in lots of production scenarios , but you created it on the rnd scene with a very simple model. Is it a good idea to drop that inside your reel with a RnD sign next to it and add a little breakdown ?
I will say that if I see a reel with loads of production work and then there's 'one' non rendered piece or personal work, it is always a reflex to pick up the resume right away to see if they are a student or not. So typically anything not polished, that takes you out of the flow of the reel is always going to disrupt the viewer. If you have lots of this type of work, what a lot of technical directors can do is have a TD reel that accompanies the main reel, and that can typically be screen recordings of a lot of the tools that were developed in production, to showcase what those tools or contributions did. Otherwise I would mention at the end of the reel 'for additional demonstrations of production tools and technical director material - please go to www.MyWebsiteHere.com" and post those as individual videos on your website with an in-depth break down of what they did. That's typically what I would suggest - but every scenario is different. Hope that helps!
No if you feel your portfolio reflects your current capabilities then use what you have. Typically people want to update their reel because it's newer better work that might help then land better jobs. But if you feel your older reel represents you accurately then stick with what you have. I know people who update their reel every 3 months, but others a lot less
I doubt I'll get a response but you seem to reply so fingers crossed! My son is 12 and has a few featured music videos with some big artist. There are no speaking scenes of course but show tons of emotion and acting ability. Do I use these scenes?
What if its a for an example dancing? Its music alright for that? Like the original sound recording of the video. Or does the music have to be edited as well?
Allan, where would you suggest I put my name and contact info? At start only, in a trim line along top of screen throughout whole video? I'm concerned with too much info on screen at once.
hi Mr Allan Mckay. what do you expect from a fresher Houdini fx artist while reviewing and personally, I don't have a pc which supports me enough to take all my renders so which I've to take my reel with just images so I need your help on this... can you suggest me anything on this? thank you very much
Hi brother.... I'm a Vfx student,I want to learn Houdini. is this work smoothly on i7 8th gen..6Gb 1060 and 16 gb ram .? and I need your Guidance ❤️😊🙌 Social media Account link please
Question, what if the shot you have isn't your best but it shows that you can do a certain thing, should I still exclude that? (Say, the fire sim I made is great but the rest of the shot is lacking.)
How do I apply to places? I am a 16 year old VFX Artist who would like to work for people. I was thinking of starting with very small companies and working from home since I am young but I do not mind. Where should I apply?
Thanks Kyle, I actually do this regularly just privately with my students in my mentorship. We've been doing this every 3 months for the party 7 years. But I've been wanting to do a public one for a while so that might be fun to organize soon. Keep an eye out Thanks Kyle!
@@ashaaibi haha - honestly it's a bit uncomfortable doing it. But I think on a subject this important I'm doing everyone a disservice if I don't paint a picture of how critical this stuff is to get right. So sometimes you have to be blunt or everyone misses the important stuff sometimes Thanks again I'll be putting out a lot of content starting next week I took a bit of a break, the past few months I've been working full time on a personal brand/busiiness course for artists which I'm finally wrapping up So I've still been building loads of content just no time to post
Thanks Allan, i don't believe that there is someone with enough value like yourself is making videos like these on youtube.
Keep It up Man. we would like to use all the help we can get ^^
Thanks so much!
- best work first
- length
- not tell a story
- music not important
- no filler, less is more
THANKS. top "youtube TOP X video" mistake, not include time stamps or a list like this in the description.
Thanks!
It counts nothing because companies don't want to hire people with no experience.
The music tip hits really hard... I'm a motion designer and i do find it important that motion graphics are animated according to music and beat... so it's a bit discouraging to hear that employers turn off the sound of the reel
i think there is a difference between vfx reels and motion graphic reels, motion graphics can go and exist with a rhythm to them that hits with the music, vfx does not. I once went to a confference where the recluters from various studios talked about this and they said that music in reels have been an off and on again thing for years, they said add it but know that it might be muted unless its a lipsync animation. I guess that applies to motion graphics as well
I appreciate your advice very much and am excited to apply them to my own reel!
Can I give you a word of advice for UA-cam videos, as someone who watches multiple videos every day? Get to your points faster. There was a lot of fluff and UA-cam viewers arent looking for videos to fill their time that are longer than 10 minutes. You could have given us more succinct advice without flexing on us for the first two minutes of your video. Great advice, just needs to be more concise
I scrolled down and found your comment after he said "less is more" at 4:29. My sentiments exactly. The irony.
unless there watching a short Dramatic video that entertaining!
Super information! I'm looking to put my demo reel together - Spring 2019 semester is my last semester to get my BAS in Multimedia and Video Production Technology. I never would have imagined that I would have this much fun doing video, film and editing. I love VFX - both practical and CG and want to continue and grow in the field. And who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? I turned 58 this year and to be honest and I've never enjoyed doing anything as much as this or that I would have fun doing work.
I've looked and found examples of demo reels - this is the 1st time I have truly learned how to make a demo reel. Thanks a million Allan!! I've shared this with our program director and will be passing it on to other students in the program.
Thank you Allan for this information. I haven't heard someone be so straight-forward, blunt and honest about demoreels, ever.
Your video deserves to have more likes and views.
I found It incredibly useful. Even spend an hour taking notes and glueing them to the wall in my room. Please, keep uploading high quality content like this.
(Forgive my english as I am not a native speaker)
Im almost done with my first demoreel. I would like to know: how open are recruiters towards junior artist? Do they want work as high quality as a senior artist ( making it really difficult), or are they ok to hire someone with less experience? Are recruiters ok with hiring juniors with "ok" work but that are willing to practice and put their 120% so they can stay for the long run and become seniors one day?
Thank you for taking the time to make this, and share these golden nuggets! Very helpful.
Thanks so much Enna!
Thank you sir for telling us, we students are thinking that make some big and get job easy but it's totally wrong. Really it's so much helpful for me. Few of the successful artists tell us the his experience and advice and one of the legend is you.
i did all the five mistakes thank you allan i am gonna start fixing them.
Hey nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you learn from it - let me know once the new reel is up, love to see it!
sure :D
Thank you for the honesty. I am going to take all that into consideration while working on my reel.
You're welcome my friend 🙏👊
Great video really needed to hear this from someone who's a job it is to actually watch reels.
I’m grateful I found this! I’m worried that it’s harder to execute than it sounds... so much of my best work requires “context” context sometimes require time to develop . I understand there is no need for “filler” but where is the line? Also, “best work”? Wow according to who? Me? You have me completely doubting myself at this point. I return to context. I do a lot of music video promo’s for “agency bands”. I’ve been told that my work is used by competing Agencies as an example of how they should be done... yet i wouldn’t know how to create a “reel” that conveyed that in 90 seconds. In this context the Audio work I do is as important as the video work [as almost all of these videos feature that fact that the audio is LIVE from the actual shoot!!]. I need to create a Reel for a real estate team that is looking for high end production WAY beyond selling houses... I find myself lost. HELP 😂
Hey, I heard so many times this things from my mentors or experts like you but as a student I usually stuck with the resources while planning a huge shot or something and i usually gave up like a artist working in a studio has been working on movies then he later get easily get that shots which he worked on but as a student it is totally a different thing. And It will help so much if show us some showreels or demoreels of student or fresher grade. Or make a video specifically for freshers with some examples.
Thanks
My reel is my only work 🥺. I hope they think it’s the best. 🤞🏽✨thank you for this
In the visual effects industry, the hiring process can be unforgiving, often emphasizing technical skills while neglecting important soft skills. This can lead to talented artists being overlooked. It is unfair for hiring professionals to dismiss candidates based on a single mistake, akin to searching for perfection in an imperfect world. Instead, we should consider the paths that brought us to our positions and foster empathy in the hiring process, recognizing that everyone has room for growth and not subjecting candidates to unnecessary harshness.
Don’t think that your work should be triple A quality all the time. Just do the best you can, there are a lot of different types of projects I can think of, where you don’t have to be the best of the best, top of the rock. Don’t let a guy telling you that he has to plough through hundreds of demo reels, get you down. This world is competing enough as it is, last thing we need is someone telling you, “you have to have the best of the best of the best, otherwise you are nothing!” Fact is, there is a 99,999% chance that you will not be the best of best, but still lead a fulfilling career doing animation.
Great tips ! Thank you
You're welcome!
Thank you Allan for all your advices!
Going to refer to them soon at my first Showreel :)
First I heard 19 seconds and I was like: wuuuuuuuut?
But when I read few comments I've realized that I need to make more good animation for my reel. XD
Thank you for that informative video! I'm updating my demo reel myself pretty soon; I needed that.
This may sound strange as a question, but this is from a student: what would you consider the minimum length of a demo reel? Maybe I'm just too hard on myself in what clips to use, but I want it to truly be my best work, and I'm afraid of "filler." And I don't have a ton of work under my belt, but I'm getting there. So when is the length considered too short or would worry employers? And if I should keep it closer to a minute like you said, what are ways to draw out your best work in a courteous way?
Great watch 👌
Thanks David!
Very Well done Allan! Very helpful to me and my business. Cheers!
Thank you 😊
Story telling is very important...which I only understood after reading a lot about film theory and making my own short films !!!!
GREAT information!!
Thanks for this very helpful video. There is much kindness in wanting to help us make our showreel !
This was even helpful for putting together my acting demo, as well. Thank you!
That's great! Yeah it's funny but a lot of what applies here applies in any industry. So that's really awesome!
Demo reel tips:
1. End with your masterpiece. (No room for failer)
2:11
2. length. Less is more (60-90 seconds)
4:36
3- The story is not the main thing.
Showing the end results is what really matters. 6:46
(However, if you have a great story then make a short film. That will showcase your ability to tell a story and produce it way better.)
4- Music is not as important. Focus more on getting great shots.
9:20
5- no filler, show ONLY your best shots. 11:22
Hope it helps. Regards!
Excellent tips. Like the less is more approach...Do you feel it's important for a reel to have many fancy graphics or titles? Thank you.
No, in fact you’re just giving more opportunity to get your work criticized. I’ve sold this story before but I was at Blur studio reviewing reels for a halo project, And there was someone who was on my list to hire because he had great work but One of the other supervisors put them on they do not hire list because his opening title text was really bad even though all the work on his reel was good. He figured that perhaps the commercial work just had a really good supervisor, and this is the level of quality of work he would do unsupervised. That always stuck with me just showing how volatile things can be, and ultimately your contact information and all the other text isn’t going to make an impression ever, the work is. But badly Create a text will get negative attention, so ultimately I will keep things simple and keep focused on the content the work is the most important part I hope that helps! :-)
Thanks Marc!
@@AllanMcKay thanks so much Allan. I’ve seen a metamorphosis of what it takes to get an employer/future clients attention. All other reels I’ve done in the past (20 years in News) I simply I slammed together a few news reports.
Different story now. Thanks again. Always a work in progress...
@@MarcC1973 no problem brother always happy to help and yeah ultimately it's just about proving you can do the job. That's so that matters. Thanks for sharing Marc! 👊🔥
Thank you very much for your video. Also your DemoReel Book is very helpfull, thanks again!
This is all stuff I learned in school (2003 DAVE School grad) but it's good to have it drilled into my head some more. Haha
Too my surprise, it was awesome! Thank you McKay...Director CMack
This info is so valuable! thanks a lot bro
What an awesome video. Question: If I´m a filmaker, I mean, I do camera, and DP, and editing, mostly, how can I reflect that in a reeel? Or I´m supossed to make them separatelly? Tanks in advance.
That was some great tips man.. Thanx a lot :) @allanmckay
But I have one question for you.
Is it necessary to composite our final shot? I mean can't we just show a really good quality render? In the end they are gonna see quality, right?
P.S I don't know how to do compositing and I mainly do FX(dynamics) work.
I will say with FX you definitely will increase your chances of getting hired being able to show finished shots. FX and compositing go hand in hand, so you should really be able to treat your FX elements.
Ideally what we're looking for is someone I can hire tomorrow to sit in a chair and do the work. If you are able to start busting out shots then it's a no brainer whether to hire you. But if you've got some cool FX elements but they're just rendered on black, then I think everyone's been burned hiring someone who can make something look cool - but actually being able to take the shot through to final is really what matters.
So demonstrating that you can finish a shot and have a good understanding of integrating live action and CG is critical. I feel it's pretty easy these days to make cool looking FX elements but it's more about being able to follow direction and be able to bring all your elements together. Hope that helps!
Allan McKay thnx man :)
thank you so much! it's very helpful and informative
Thank you Allan, you're inspiring me since 2009 and today I'm in MPC Montreal. Thanks alot!!!
That's so great! Say hi to the guys at MPC Montreal for me, hopefully we can all get a beer someday!
Allan McKay definitely!!! I am waiting for the day, we'll catch up for sure whenever you are in Montreal. Cheers
Thanks Allan! You are a mentor for all of us
Thank you so much I am honored
Thank you so very much, Allan , I have seen a number of clips and spoken to a few people and, they all agree you need to keep the reel short and sweet, but how short was never spoken of, now I have a good idea. Are ILM still recruiting is Sydney?
Appreciate the honesty of this video.
Dude! You ROCK.. Got the message for sure! I make YT vids now. But will be definitely taking these tips to the masses. (masses... like 300subs.. hahaha) DMAX motion Sim
Thank you Allan ..
Im very late to watch it after all that time .. but really i respect you and love your personality there ..
Im in the making but i have a question that im kinda bothered with to be honest .. when you have these shots that serves you to show you've been part of a specific project .. even if its simple, not as good as other shots .. but you just need it to serve you in your region somethimes .
Im humble to hear your opinion about this .
Thank again Allan ... Much love ♥️
I'm a film student with very little experience. Most of my work are school projects or internship-related. I started this major last year and am now taking the capstone course. One of the projects is to create a 1-minute reel. I feel very discouraged because I don't have enough good quality clips to showcase. What should I do?
Allan McKay
how important is a CV and its format and how to find out its necessary format? Could you please share your points briefly. I'm majorly looking out for 3D Animation.
I have always been curious but does a person with a bachelors degree in the creative industry does that matter vs a person that has a AA degree?
We did a live stream about this yesterday actually. Honestly a degree in the creative industry doesn't really count for much. It's mostly down to your portfolio, since that's what we hire for - for what you can do. So the piece of paper doesn't hold much clout. It can help with work-visas when working in other countries but your portfolio/demo reel is everything.
Hi Allan, I am new to your channel and just watched this video and was hoping you could answer a couple of pretty basic questions. How do you and other industry leaders feel about viewing a demo reel on you tube for 3d character modeling for video games? Second in regards to keeping a reel to between 60 and 90 seconds, would it be a faux pa if a student sent a demo reel and it showed the creation of a character, some environment stuff and ended in a playable character in a video game? Thus showing that the modeler can create and has dabbled in more than just modeling (assuming he created everything) the playable game would be like maybe a few second walk around a level. What platform do you recommend for demo reels?
Thank you, Allan, some great advice. Bonza!
Great video and advice! Many thanks for this!
Hello Allan! Im currently doing my last half year of college and im starting to plan for my reel. Something i can't really find a clear answer to is wether the reel has to be multiple animations or just a single longer animation?
The common consensus i've seen online seems to be many shorter animations, but i thought i should ask anyway as you seem to know your stuff. Thanks!
This video is amazing! I am looking to rework my demo reel because I feel I'm getting passed on because of my reel. I do have one question hopefully you can reply: say that I do have some few shots I've done in production, but i feel that they don't demonstrate every ability i can do clearly. Do you think its appropriate to include my own demonstration of my skillset along with production work?
If you’re telling a story, music is absolutely important.
Hi InToFaceFilmWorks I believe I mention this in here otherwise I do extensively elsewhere. But honestly - if you plan to tell a story, go make a short film.
Nobody cares at all whatsoever about your story when reviewing a reel to look for someone to hire. This is one of the biggest baddest pieces of advice I see people give all the time "your reel needs to tell a story"
I completely agree, if you're making a short, find someone to create a score for your short film. There's amazingly talented up and coming music students/wannabe composers who if you were to shop your short film to them would probably gladly jump at the chance to score it as a chance for exposure and experience for themselves. So combining talents on a creative passion project is a great idea.
For a demo reel - 99% of your audience is going to watch the reel with headphones off, and likely to start skipping ahead, or skip to the next reel to review if it isn't cut tight enough to respect their time.
So music does not matter - I still think for general viewing online, it can't hurt to have music, but always keep in mind that if your reel is built with the intent to get a job - expect that the managers, supervisors, HR or whoever it is that ends up viewing your reel when it's sent in more than likely is reviewing a 50+ reels that day and you're just a row in a spreadsheet and nobody is listening to music or caring about story - they just need to know "can you do the job?" and your focus should be on showcasing your skills and to qualify you for the position.
I always say - if you want to tell story, go make a short film. Because I've interviewed plenty of talented artists and directors on my Podcast that did go the short film route - and it allowed them to jump start their career and bypass working their way up - because they ran their short through the film circuits, got the attention of the right people.
Hope that helps. Thanks InToFaceFilmWorks
Thank you so much for this insight!
You're welcome thanks so much 😊
Thank you, Mr. Allan. I can't believe I acually paln to make all this mistake in my first demo reel. That funny right.
How do you break into other genres of film? Genre meaning Sports, Wedding, Music Video, Commercials, etc. If the only thing you have in your demo reel is something no one cares to watch. Example a Demo Reel of your Cats and Dogs but you want to get hired to shoot Live Concerts. How do you break through the walls of entry?
Hey! sorry i am almost too late to see this video but in end of my 3rd year that is now I finally know that I want to be an environment artist and I nearly have two environments to showcase also I live in India so there are no highly experienced people out here to help I basically learnt most of the things which are and also not related to environment art from youtube and honestly I've spent like 400 hours in blender yet a lot to explore I know Maya, substance painter, Blender, Photoshop and what not.
can you suggest me some things like should i keep these 2 environments in my reel or should i work more and also I have little to no knowledge about what to show in the reel, like should I show the finished product or the process or the technique I used to make it possible
I hope you reply me here
Thanks
Bro.. if you can see this.. please reply ok.. i need some help
Great tips! Thank you Allan!
I got a question. I am a video editor that just graduated out of college, so the only stuff I have to put on a demo reel is from my school projects and one internship. How do I put together a demo reel showing off my narrative video editing and how long should the demo and clips within it be approximately? I have a show case on vimeo, but I think I need some sort of single file with a compilation of my work. How can someone new to the real world field even get a job when it seems everyone wants someone with more experience. Seems like a catch-22. Cant get more experience if I don't get the work in order to get the experience.
Great tips, I love film riot too haha thanks for this, I always heard the whole best for last bit ....
Yeah you want to set the tone from the beginning and keep them captivated. If your best shot is at the end - you'd be surprised how brutal some sup's are, they'll just turn the video off and move to the next one if they're not instantly captivated. I'll admit there's plenty of reels I've never watched because the title (their name) at the beginning went for too long. When you have loads of reels to go through you need to be captivated from the start or it's easy to lose someone.
@@AllanMcKay what should be the maximum duration of a demoreel??? Please reply soon.....
@@defaultaccount9522 the longer it is the less likely they'll get to the end. I like 90 seconds, I wouldn't make one longer than 3 minutes for a personal reel
@@AllanMcKay thank you....
@@defaultaccount9522 you're welcome brother
Thank you for you advice it helps alot !!!!!!!
Really appreciate what you’re doing sir.. this is really useful...😍
You're welcome, thank you!
I just started to learn animation and don't know much about the industry so what do you think i should do vfx or fx what would you recommend please do reply.
Thank you very much Allan McKay for these important tips. I will really help us a lot.
Thanks so much buddy I appreciate it and I appreciate you have a great day
hey! really sound advice, resonates with me totally.
I suppose these tips can also be applied for a video production company demo reel to get the attention of potentially not creative people looking for corporate or whichever videos.
Hahah when I was a sophomore in college I had a reel that was almost entirely fume explosions on black 😂
If it's all you've got then it's all that you've got - but ultimately supervisors will want to see your work applied in a real shot. I feel it's pretty easy to make FX look cool - but to take a shot through from start to finish and demonstrate that you can fit within a real studio pipeline is critical. But we're all guilty of that in the beginning :)
Yes exactly, as a student, it is kind of harder to find those opportunities cause not alot of other students have films where you can do effects, so I personally would have to go out and kind of create my own to show that I can track footage and composite different elements together into a shot! I would have a habit of being too caught up with making a specific effect and not the context to which it could fit into. thanks again for your advice, i need it! your podcast is great too :)
I think you could set more clear eye-catching title like "TOP 5 SHOWREEL MISTAKES" so more people would see it. Great video tho, thanks =)
Thanks for the advice yeah I planned to go through today and optimize everything a little - but you're right that's a much better title :) Thank you!
Thank you this has been really helpful
Thank you for the advice! Can I ask you something?
I'm a student. I want to get the Comp position.
Do I need a 3D comp reel? I mean I made my reel included roto, paint, key, projection and so on but I didn't make a 3D comp like pass comp.
Consider the third factor you mentioned, these worries seem to be meaningless but as for me who can't texturing, lighting, animating, I'm a little curious about it.
Instead of worrying about music, what about having scene dialogue on your reel if your reel consist of interviews or dialogue scenes?
Also, do we need any kind of information in the video or on the side??? That part still confuses me in all the videos and google/bing searches that I have done.
Thanks for super info/insights
Thanks buddy! More to come - I am publishing a (massive) guide on this subject end of this month, so there's a lot of info related to this I'll be posting. So definitely more videos on this subject to come :)
Hey Allan , that's amazing thanks for sharing. I have one question , let's say you developed a method of going around certain problem , you think that it can be implemented in lots of production scenarios , but you created it on the rnd scene with a very simple model. Is it a good idea to drop that inside your reel with a RnD sign next to it and add a little breakdown ?
I will say that if I see a reel with loads of production work and then there's 'one' non rendered piece or personal work, it is always a reflex to pick up the resume right away to see if they are a student or not. So typically anything not polished, that takes you out of the flow of the reel is always going to disrupt the viewer.
If you have lots of this type of work, what a lot of technical directors can do is have a TD reel that accompanies the main reel, and that can typically be screen recordings of a lot of the tools that were developed in production, to showcase what those tools or contributions did. Otherwise I would mention at the end of the reel 'for additional demonstrations of production tools and technical director material - please go to www.MyWebsiteHere.com" and post those as individual videos on your website with an in-depth break down of what they did.
That's typically what I would suggest - but every scenario is different. Hope that helps!
Thanks a lot for answering I will either consider applying it to real scene or split into two different reels.
Thank you Allan, great video!
hello sir...
thank you so much...this helps me a lot...
How can i start to learn dynamics sir ?
is it compulsory to make a showreel or portfolio every year.?
No if you feel your portfolio reflects your current capabilities then use what you have. Typically people want to update their reel because it's newer better work that might help then land better jobs. But if you feel your older reel represents you accurately then stick with what you have. I know people who update their reel every 3 months, but others a lot less
I doubt I'll get a response but you seem to reply so fingers crossed! My son is 12 and has a few featured music videos with some big artist. There are no speaking scenes of course but show tons of emotion and acting ability. Do I use these scenes?
What if its a for an example dancing? Its music alright for that? Like the original sound recording of the video. Or does the music have to be edited as well?
Worth every second 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks buddy ♥️
thank you
Thanks!
Oooh this is super helpful, thanks!
Allan, where would you suggest I put my name and contact info? At start only, in a trim line along top of screen throughout whole video? I'm concerned with too much info on screen at once.
hi Mr Allan Mckay.
what do you expect from a fresher Houdini fx artist while reviewing
and personally, I don't have a pc which supports me enough to take all my renders so which I've to take my reel with just images
so I need your help on this...
can you suggest me anything on this?
thank you very much
Hi brother....
I'm a Vfx student,I want to learn Houdini.
is this work smoothly on i7 8th gen..6Gb 1060 and 16 gb ram .?
and I need your Guidance ❤️😊🙌
Social media Account link please
@@Agyani_21 ofcourse yeah! sandeep.reddy2697@gmail.com
@@sandeepreddybanala705 thank you Brother....
Do you use any social media...?
where can i ask for help ?
I often hear that you should put your best work first, because 90% of the time the viewer will only watch the first 30 seconds.
Great and useful information Allan 👍
Thank you Mohammed!
Question, what if the shot you have isn't your best but it shows that you can do a certain thing, should I still exclude that?
(Say, the fire sim I made is great but the rest of the shot is lacking.)
Excellent video! Thanks!
solid tips, thank you. i watched it w/sound off. (JUST KIDDING)
useful !!! Thanks Allan !
Thanks Georgi!
How do I apply to places? I am a 16 year old VFX Artist who would like to work for people. I was thinking of starting with very small companies and working from home since I am young but I do not mind. Where should I apply?
How do you feel about montages? How can you tell if someone can edit a scene by looking at just a fast montage sizle reel?
You are my inspiration
do reels need to be montages? are stand-alone sequences bad to have?
How about costumes, like a U.S marine, etc?. Thanks
this guy wiggles a lot
What means "wiggle" ?
He forgot to apply "warp stabilizer" on himself.
please do a video reacting to reels!
Thanks Kyle, I actually do this regularly just privately with my students in my mentorship. We've been doing this every 3 months for the party 7 years. But I've been wanting to do a public one for a while so that might be fun to organize soon. Keep an eye out
Thanks Kyle!
@@AllanMcKay Looking forward to it! I don’t know why but it’s so funny when you talk shit about people’s reels 😂😂
@@ashaaibi haha - honestly it's a bit uncomfortable doing it. But I think on a subject this important I'm doing everyone a disservice if I don't paint a picture of how critical this stuff is to get right. So sometimes you have to be blunt or everyone misses the important stuff sometimes
Thanks again I'll be putting out a lot of content starting next week
I took a bit of a break, the past few months I've been working full time on a personal brand/busiiness course for artists which I'm finally wrapping up
So I've still been building loads of content just no time to post
Any info on how to do an Film Composers Reel????
Can they be self made? If you have no experience?
What are reels made of? A CD or DVD?
Thanks, Allan you are superb