A DEMO REEL PRIMER
Written by Zero Dean
What is a demo reel for?
A demo reel is essentially a sales tool. You are selling yourself and proving, to an extent, what sort of positive addition you will be to a company. If you can prove you've got oodles of talent and a creative way of thinking about things, your demo reel will get you noticed. If it is exceptionally good, it's your doorway into the industry.Who is your audience?
Your audience, obviously, is comprised of those people you want to work for. The thing is, you're not alone. Many, many people want and have tried to get the same job you are applying for. These demo watchers have seen countless reels and guess what, they're tired of seeing the same things over and over again. If you think your 3 minute flying logo is going to win you a job, you better consider it very carefully before putting it on your reel. These people are not obligated to watch your entire reel. If they're dissatisfied, they will hit EJECT and move on, possibly missing your Oscar(tm) worthy animation later in the reel.What to put on a demo reel SECTION A (general):
Only your best, most amazing work ever. This stuff has to be the best thing since pizza. If you can do it all (model, render, and animate), do it all! You'll earn points for this. Companies are looking for people who can wear many hats and accept many responsibilities. You need to capture their attention and show them you're more than up to the challenge of working in a creative (and crazy) environment like theirs. You want to not only show them you're up to it, you want to show them it'll be a breeze for you.What to put on a demo reel SECTION B (specific):
You need to get as many strong points across to your audience visually, in as little time as possible. You need to capture their attention, draw them in, and make them forget for an instant that they are watching a demo reel. This can be quite difficult unless you a great deal of vision and a really good story to tell. Currently a lot of business are looking for excellent character animators. You need to bring an object to life, give it a voice, an attitude, "CHARACTER", and have it tell a story. Be fresh, creative, and original (I can't stress that enough). Also, there is a demand for artists who are good at creating low polygon count models. If you have specific skills you want to show off and can, such as adding actual paintings you've created in the real world into a 3d environment, then do it. You are trying to earn as many points as possible. A well rounded artist is always appreciated.What not to put on a demo reel SECTION A:
Probably whatever you are most likely to think about putting on your demo reel first, is the sort of thing you want to stay away from at all costs. You may think you're being original, but believe it or not, everyone else thinks their name or company logo looks cool flying around the screen too. How about spaceships? They're cool, to be sure...but if you're a demo watcher and that's all you see day in and day out, you're probably dying to see something else. Also, with whatever objects you include in your animation, make sure they are decorated (textured) in the best way possible. Most things in the real world are not shiny and new. Instead they are dented, beat up, scratched, or flawed in some unusual way. Prove your texturing skills by creating your own complex custom textures and make your models even more interesting to look at.
Realize that your audience has seen just about every basic transition and effect out there. These are the things that are only one click away in whatever program you're using. You need to be different and your effects need to be hard won. If it can be done from a simple pull down menu, it's probably not doing to impress them. You need to stand out from the rest of the pack.What not to put on a demo reel SECTION B (exceptions):
Of course there are exceptions to everything in the computer graphics and animation industry. If the job you are applying for is going to require specific skills, such as flying logos or spaceship battles, then by all means gear your demo reel in that direction. However, if you are going to be applying to a wide variety of jobs, it is best to have something that will appeal and look absolutely amazing to everyone.How do I create a good demo reel?
Sit, plan, make-up, cross out, plan some more, think, cross out, make up, and then get to work. A good method is to think about what your strengths are and then think about the most effective and entertaining way possible to get those strengths across on screen. Then sit and think about every aspect of what you want to do and storyboard it out. Understand what every scene is going to involve, how long it's going to take, what sort of resources you'll need to accomplish it, and if everything you want to do is really possible. And if it's not possible, how you're going to look that obstacle in the eyes and say "up yours, I'm doing it anyway".What does a good demo reel look like?
Many companies have their own reels which you could probably arrange to get a hold of. Contact these places and see if they will send you one. If these are places you would like to work for, then pay close attention to the sort of things they do. Otherwise, I suggest checking out many cool animation tapes currently on the market. Look for "The Mind's Eye" series by SMV or "Computer Animation Festival" series also by SMV. Watch the tapes, be inspired, and then think about how you could have done it better...and then do something else, since what you're thinking about doing has already been done. Remember, be original. If you want to do something that's been done before, do it differently (if that makes sense).Things to remember!
Put your best stuff first. You want to grab your audience's attention as soon as possible. Give credit where credit is due. If you didn't do something, say so. Also, specify the tools you used to create your demo reel.
Author's Note: The above information was written entirely from memory. However, I would like give credit to those people who have written to me recently and in the past offering general advice and such. I would also like to give credit to the book "Caligari TrueSpace2 Bible" written by Peter M. Plantec. This book provides a lot of excellent information for 3D animators, regardless of what software you use. I highly recommend it.
DEMO REELS: PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Written by Oren Jacob
About the Author:
Oren Jacob is a Senior Technical Director at Pixar. He has been with the company for more than six years now and has worked on numerous award winning commercials like Listerone "Arrows", "
*Disclaimer*: These are the personal views of Oren Jacob. These are not the views of his employer. The following text has no relationship with how his employer as a company, anyone who works there, or anyone else for that matter, feels about this particular topic. This text may not be used or reprinted, in whole or in part, without permission.
DEMO REELS: A word or two from Oren Jacob
The work that you put on a demo reel entirely depends upon the work that you are trying to get. If you applying for a jobs as a character animator, put character animation on your reel. Create a story. Compel your audience. Make them laugh or make them cry, but evoke some kind of emotion or response. Almost always, any robot, spaceship, chrome teapot, checkerboard floor stuff will get you ejected as fast as the reviewer can reach the button on the front of the VCR, unless you do something really, really, really creative with that material. And I don't suspect that all of you out there are Chuck Jones or Tex Avery, so pick your subject away from the typical Siggraph palette of tired examples.
If, on the other hand, you are applying for a job as, say, a lighting TD, then show some lighting in your shots. Have some bright regions, dark regions, transitions in between, focus the viewers eye, lead them around the frame, demonstrate a sense of density balance, color balance, and good taste. Maybe if you can pull off an excellent looking frame that violates every single one of these things, then do that too. But just do not submit a flat shaded, poly render of some wizard staring at a point light which happens to be embedded in a flickering candle with tons of ambient filling the scene all around.
Maybe a good suggestion for people who don't know what to do with a reel like this is to imagine that you are putting on a theatrical play. You are the person walking around up there in the cat walk and you can point all of those clever lights with colored gels toward the stage to create an aesthetically pleasing experience for the audience. Just remember to not throw each of the 16,000,000 colors available to you into the picture and thereby totally distract the audience from what they should be getting out of the image. Go buy a book on cinematography and buy a book on black and white still photography. In fact, why don't you include some real photographs in your reel. Show us stuff that wasn't done on a computer. Big points for this. And sketches. Reviewers always love to touch and hold things. Send us pretty pictures.
And, let's say that you are applying for a job as a modeling TD. Then, show us your models. Do not hide every shot in really dark lighting so that we can't see anything. You're applying for a job as a modeler, not a bad lighter. You probably don't want to pretend that you are an animator and try animating your model so that is just ends up looking epileptic. If you do that, then not only can we not see your model but we also know that we're not going to forward your reel to the animators. Just build some cool stuff, render it sensibly - maybe even light it well - and show it off. Give us a few seconds per model to let our eyes understand the image. And you probably want to show several kinds of models. Organic, living shapes. Hard edged, manufactured objects. And all manner of things in between.
In all cases, do not put on some completely lame, Art Of Noise, 1987, super-duper, agro, around-the-world remix of something on the audio track dubbed so loud that the clipping causes the speakers on our televisions to go into a seizure. Every other reel for the past decade has used this kind of techno-garbage. Now, while I may or may not actually like that music when I'm listening at my house, using that kind of stuff on a reel only just pisses everyone off in the review session. Enya can be pretentious but if the images that you are showing are a match, then you could get away with that. Classical music tends to be soothing. Big Band music (highly recommended...) is exciting, robust, and a little zesty. All I'm saying here is search beyond the techno section at your CD store and find something unique. Gregorian Chant? Moroccan? Maybe subtle Japanese string instruments? Just no more techno stuff, please.
And always include a credit list explaining what you did, shot by shot, or model by model, so that the reviewers don't immediately ask "Did s/he do that all by her/himself? No way.. give them a call." And, this is particularly true of folks who work on large group projects like, say, a film effects job.
Don't just lump every single shot from the film that your company worked on in the reel. When we review two reels that come from a company that worked on a show like this, we all immediately ask "I wonder why those two folks put all the same shots on their reel and didn't include a credit list with their resume?" Just avoid this situation entirely and put a credit list with your reel.
And, above all else, more important than anything mentioned previously, do not ever, ever, ever show stuff that you are not allowed to show. If you are working on a film and it hasn't come out yet, NEVER NEVER NEVER put this on your reel. Besides the obvious legal debacle that you are bringing upon yourself, besides the high probability that you will get fired immediately, and besides the overall stupidity of this concept, you will never, never, never get hired.
A few additional thoughts...
Overall, be creative. Be original. And put something on your tape that makes me want to watch it. Draw me in. Compel me in some interesting way. Try and do something that hasn't been seen at Siggraph in the past few years. And have fun doing it. If you really want to make space ships fly, go ahead and make a better space battle than the one in A New Hope. But your odds of success against a mark set that high are, well, not very good in my humble opinion. You probably aren't a better director than Lucas and if you were that good executing effects sequences, you are probably already working in the industry anyway.
I should point out that there are companies that do look for folks who can execute space ship battles copied from films and TV shows. If you are applying for a job in those sectors of the industry, then this email sort of doesn't apply to you because your job will be to make space ships fly through star fields. If that is the case, then disregard everything I've said.
I should also point out that it can really help to tailor the work on your reel to the company that you want to work for. ILM, Disney, Digital Domain, PDI, BlueSky, Pixar, Rhythm&Hues, Sony, and others all do different kinds of work. If you want to work for one of those companies in particular, then it can help to submit a reel that deals with some of the issues that the various companies deal with.
DEMO REELS: PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Written by Steph Greenberg
About the Author:
Steph Greenberg is Supervising Animator in a well known entertainment company.*Disclaimer*: These are the personal views of Steph Greenberg. These are not the views of his employer. The following text has no relationship with how his employer as a company, anyone who works there, or anyone else for that matter, feels about this particular topic. This text may not be used or reprinted, in whole or in part, without permission.
The following text is composed of a number of postings made by Steph Greenberg in response to queries on the CG-Char Animation List. This information has been arranged and tied together in and orderly fashion and put on display here with permission from the author.
DEMO REELS: A word or two from Steph Greenberg[On Character Animation]
To be a "good" character animator, you really have to want that more than anything else. You are up against CalArts students who spend 2-4 years and at least $30,000 to become minimally acceptable character animators. As people on this list have said before, a walk cycle doesn't make you a "good" character animator.
If you are a "good" character animator, you would not be happy with any other type of work. Good, requires a lot of practice. Richard and I have certainly seen our share of work the creators thought were good, but they were really good starts. Like going to the gym for a week or two and feeling pumped up, but you ain't ready for a body building contest.
That takes a lot more pumping iron, even if you use steroids.
Also, I think most of the discussion about demo reels centers around jobs in the big production houses, where character specialists are character specialists. Someone else does the lighting and modeling. A starting job in these cases is character setup, in which you might get to assemble animatable skeletons and attach the models to the skeletons. You still have to know how to set up and animate a character.
The fact is, character animation as a job tends to be occupationally and financially rewarding, and if you can't muster the resources to get a second tape deck and edit out the non-character stuff from your reel (presentation doesn't count much--in fact, pretentious titles tend to make people say "this better be good"), then you aren't taking this seriously enough.[Regarding output facilities and the cost of putting a reel together:]
I know that we aren't the only ones who've hired people based on pencil tests and wireframes. Real-time playback of wireframes with a couple of still renders played through one of those $200 video encoders tells many of us a lot about your animation.
As I've said, exquisite presentation can often work against someone trying to get their job as a junior animator. I can't imagine what is so costly about making a demo tape specific to the markets you are targeting. I mean, VHS to VHS cuts only editing isn't that expensive in most places, and editing reels at a VHS cuts only place is what I was doing for a living 9 years ago.
I've never spent more than $50 to edit one of my reels in 7 years of full time, professional CGI work. When I was truly, really, really broke, and it looked like I was going to be homeless, I worked out tradeoff deals with small editing places, doing low budget or free logos for their clients in exchange for editing time.
This was at a time when the top CGI animators were earning less than $40,000 per year (5 years ago). I was lucky to get $25,000 per year, which doesn't go far in
Now, beginning animators get $35,000, and after a year of experience maybe $50,000. 3 years of full-time experience in major facilities will get you $60-80,000. People run up student loan debts up to $100,000 to become lawyers and don't make that kind of money for 10 years in most places.
(The definition of major facility is a name brand SoCal or NoCal CGI only production house--3 years in other facilities will get you more like $35-65,000--more or less depending on what part of the country you are in).
I think it certainly helps to have more than one reel. I don't look at names or resumes until after I look at a reel. Sending out more than one reel, separated by a few weeks, gives someone a chance to see your abilities a second time without saying (I've seen this before--eject).[What to include on a demo reel]
Put only stuff that doesn't require excuses on your reel. The only acceptable excuse when I'm looking for an animator is not rendering because they want to show off their animation. Rendering can take a lot of time away from animation practice.
For example, I hate the fact that so much of my work is for real-time animation. Because it was never rendered frame by frame, the action can sometimes be jerky, there are too few polygons, and dialogue goes out of sync. I don't know if it helps saying, "But keep in mind that this was rendered at 60 frames per second, motion blur was not possible, polygon counts had to be kept low because of an 8,000 triangle per *scene* limit, and the rider can view the character from any angle that they want."
And people unfamiliar with real-time animation may be totally unaware that this reel they are looking for sets a new standard for real-time animation.
If your best stuff only amounts to 30 seconds, well, you should do more best stuff. In any case if you are sending in material without a previous contact in a company, mention in your cover letter that you have other things to show if you are called in for an interview (maybe even how many minutes). Excuses and explanations work better in person, in my humble experience.
I put my best stuff in front, so they can stop any time, easily rewind to view the best stuff again, etc. I suppose it would be hypocritical to give advice I wouldn't take myself.
Incidentally, although I have at least 20 minutes of character animation to put on my own reel, I try to keep the total length of the reel down to 3 minutes. If someone couldn't get the idea in 3 minutes, I'd be in reel trouble.[Regarding things not to put in a demo reel (i.e. spaceships):]
Unless you are applying for a job specifically at a place that does space ship sequences, like Foundation, Area 51 or some similar place, space ship sequences will usually result in an automatic eject.
1. No matter how complicated you make a ship, it's still easier than making a convincing character, unless it has the kind of close up detail of the Death Star.
2. Animating space ship sequences is easier than any character. A space ship is simply a flying logo without a corporate identity.
In other words, just don't do it. No matter how much of a science fiction fan that you are. No matter how long you've wanted to do space ships. If you want to do characters, leave all of your space ship shots on the cutting room floor. If you don't have enough character stuff to fill your reel, do more.
When I last did an open call for reels on this list, I was very specific: NO FLYING LOGOS, NO SPACE SHIPS, and yet when I got the reels, what did I see? If you are going for a character job, and you have 10 seconds of character and 5 minutes of IDs, logos, flying cameras or whatnot, please keep in mind that the person looking at your reel will resent you wasting their time by putting the other stuff on there.
This means, you may have to show initiative beyond the material that pays the bills. Like working nights and weekends on your own stuff, the first of which will be practice until you feel that you are good.
Even now, I'm looking at buying a computer again for home use to work on my own projects which I feel will highlight skills that I don't think are being properly exploited at work. To explore new looks and styles that the people who pay my salary are uninterested in pursuing. Fun stuff. And I'm no beginner. It's also not like I have excess time on my hands either.[Regarding length of a demo reel:]
Frankly, I think a 3-5 minute short is way over the head of any beginning animator to do well. A good 5 minute short would take 4 experienced animators working full time, a good 2 months or more to do.
Hell, our group worked on a 30 second piece that took 3 weeks to animate, with 5 people animating, 3 people modeling.
Also, you shouldn't attempt to pad out a reel to 3-5 minutes as a target. If you only have 1 minute of good stuff on your reel and you send out a 1 minute reel, I and many others who look at reels will appreciate it. 5 minutes is a god awful long reel. Ask Richard, who came over and watched reels with me one afternoon in a mostly *comfortable* environment.
I think beginning animators, and I mean beginning character animators regardless of how long that they've been doing 3D, should not do any pieces longer than 30 seconds for their first 5 works. The additional time that you have left from not over extending yourself can be spent refining and polishing the animation.
You can even tell stories in 15 seconds that will show off your animation skills and give you practice that can still impress prospective employers.
The problem with attempting a longer piece is that you get better as you go along in the production, or you run out of time, and both of these lead to extreme variance in the level of animation quality. Also, few people are really good at understanding how ambitious 3 minutes really is. So let me tell you, it's bone crushingly ambitious, will take at least ten times longer that you thought, and 90% of the people who attempt it end up not finishing, or declaring something unfinished to be finished.
Then they are surprised when no job offers come back after they send reels to everyone.[Regarding the length of a reel and the time put into it]
The last 10% takes as long as the previous 90%. Also, it's in the last 10% that all the timing refinements and overlap are perfected. If you do excellent animation by yourself and sustain it for 30 seconds, I'll know how ambitious or tenacious you are. If you do 4 very different 30 second spots that are good instead of one 3 minute opus, I'll know the type of styles you can handle.
You can't learn anything about how a person animates by watching a pose to pose 3 minute piece to shows them to be a jack of all trades and master of none. It takes a lot of time to hand edit channels for the shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers, staggering them at different times for just the right timing. It takes a lot of time to get the head nods jwst right, the eyebrow lift in just the right spot, the pupils to point in such a way that the character appears to think, the set of the jaw during dialogue, the recoil from a finger point just aggressive enough, the overlap on the wrist smooth but not effeminate.
In other words, I don't care if someone knows all the processes of animation, because you can get that from a book. I want to know if they can animate well, which requires practice, practice, practice.
Also, one piece of advice for budding animators: Scratch track! Don't obsess on doing dialogue perfectly, just get the mike out, plug it into the sound board on your computer, act the lines as best you can. Or do what Robin Steele (Stick Figure Theatre) did: bum a track from an old movie and change/exaggerate the context. Frankly, I wish I had thought of it when I was doing my demo work.
I do look for tenacity and self motivation in animators, but if you are just starting out, start out with short pieces. If you do a few of those and still want to do an opus, then you'll have learned quite a few things along the way that will make better use of your time. I still don't recommend anything over 30 seconds until you've done 3 or 4 pieces and gotten feedback on them.[Regarding motivation and effectiveness in creating a good reel]
People are absolutely at their most ineffective when they are trying to impress someone. I've been rejected, multiple times, from the best places in the business ;) (Of course I harbor a grudge against all of them, but that seems to be a common characteristic of animators everywhere).
If you want assurances that you'll be able to come up with a reel that will guaranty you a job anywhere, forget it.[The 3 stages of Character Animation]
This isn't the first time or the last time I'll say this, but here are the 3 stages of character animation, and what separates passable animation from great animation.
1. Characters move without pathologies that make you think, "Something's just not moving right, here". This first bar is a pretty hard one to reach.
2. Characters must be able to show believable emotion, even if it is just through body language. If it's only through body language, you're pretty damn good.
3. Characters must have a distinct personality. Say you have identical twin characters, one good, one evil. You must be able to tell which one you are looking at just in silhouette.
This last one is really, really hard. Think of Lasseter giving those desk lamps personalities. You could tell which was which, even if they had switched bodies. Or if Buzz and Woody had a brain switch, you'd be able to tell it was Buzz inside Woody's body.
Be that as it may, we very rarely, and I mean rarely, get a tape that makes it to #1. So if you have a reel with only character animation on it, maybe a few seconds of it, usually the last piece you did, will show your true potential.
If your character animation were so-so, but you showed a skill at dealing with complex character hierarchies and skinning problems (and if you tell us what software you did something in, we know them all from Alias to Playmation and its more recent manifestations), then you could get a character setup job, learning how we cope with animation challenges and production methods.
DEMO REELS: PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Written by Robert Skiena
About the Author:
Robert Skiena...(info when available)*Disclaimer*: These are the personal views of Robert Skiena. These are not the views of his employer. The following text has no relationship with how his employer as a company, anyone who works there, or anyone else for that matter, feels about this particular topic. This text may not be used or reprinted, in whole or in part, without permission.
DEMO REELS: Some thoughts on Demo Reels by Robert Skiena
Show both quality and variety.
I don't think that it is possible to rule out any one genre, except 1 space ship flying through space. If you have 3-5 minutes of QUALITY work, that says a lot about you to potential employers.
You will be judged primarily on the worst part of your reel, not the best, so don't stick any crap on your tape. Depending on what you want to eventually end up doing, tailor your reel to that. Know ye well that the fastest route to employment is a tape that shows you can animate a character in a somewhat classical style and give him or her definitive personality. Realistic motion is nice, but animation is not necessarily realistic motion. Exaggeration and the other aspects of classical animation should be applied.
Lastly, realize that the people who will be watching this reel will be seeing probably dozens of other, mostly horrid, reels. Make yours stand out, but not by adding "flash" (lens flares, sparkly effects, frontal nudity), but by actually trying to make your tape as enjoyable to watch as possible. Nice, COMPLETE stories show that you can actually follow a job through to the end -- just make sure that your stories are well-edited and tight. Don't have long spaces of dead air on your tape, as that's boring to watch and would make people (me, anyway) question what your tolerances for quality and pride in your work are.[Demo Reel: Telling a good story]
I actually attended a "trade school" for CG in Vancouver, but in my previous life I held a BA in English from a respected East Coast American University and made my way as a writer in New York City (and it is well established that if you can make it there you can, well, you know. . .). I learned the elements of story from a different perspective than many people in this industry, so my reactions to your [demo reel] question may not be the norm, but here goes.
Your basic story has three elements: a Beginning, a Middle, and an End. Before you roll your eyes at this (oops, too late) it is basic concept that many people don't consciously recognize.Beginning - Introduction to who, what, when, where, why, how of the story. Essentially set-up time for the story.Middle - The meat of the story. This is where everything happens that leads up to the climax of the tale.End - Well, what do you think happens here?, The story is wrapped up (usually) and concluded.
Dull lecture time is now over. If you're trying to make short animated piece, and you're LOOKING for a story, then I wish you luck. The best story ideas have always just come to me, although I am always on the lookout for them.[Rob Skiena on building a story]
I think it depends upon what the function of the piece is going to be. If you're trying to create a demo reel to try and get a job, I would try to start with a character in a situation, but if you're trying to win an Oscar(tm) then you may want to try and center around a concept. In trying to find ideas, though, I think the easiest way to go about it is to come up with a character and then come up with a situation (example, an insecure fish trying to learn how to swim.) If you define the character before creating the story, the story will almost write itself, since the character is essentially reacting to the situation.
DEMO REELS: PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Written by Beverly Garland
About the Author:
Beverly Garland was Art Director at Titanic Entertainment at the time this was written. Prior to that she was employed at Origin, as a 3D Artist/Animator for almost three years ("Privateer," "Ultima VIII"), and an Art Director ("Crusader: No Remorse") for another two years.*Disclaimer*: These are the personal views of Beverly Garland. These are not the views of her employer. The following text has no relationship with how her employer as a company, anyone who works there, or anyone else for that matter, feels about this particular topic. This text may not be used or reprinted, in whole or in part, without permission.
DEMO REELS: A Top 10 by Beverly Garland
If you're interested in the exploding Computer Games market, they have plenty of room for good animators. In my former life, I helped screen hundreds of demo reels for a game company called Origin, so here are some suggestions for what an Art Director might be looking for in your demo.
Not in order of priority: (Oh, yeah--it doesn't hurt to show non-computer art, too, if you've got something worth showing. You will be required to draw with a pencil *gasp!* once in awhile)1) Evidence of original design abilities--include conceptual sketches and storyboards, as well as the finished piece, to illustrate the design process on at least one of your samples. (No copies of the USS Enterprise or X-Wing fighters, please!)2) Visual story-telling ability3) Modeling strengths: Complex objects, both organic (monsters, people) and inorganic (space hardware, architecture)4) Texture mapping and attention to detail: scanned texture maps can be very cool, but make sure you show your ability to make-do from scratch, using anything like Fractal Painter, Animator Pro, etc.5) Realistic Set Design: build a complete environment where architecture, accoutrements, and effective lighting allow the viewer to imagine him or herself inside the space.6) Wow Factor: There should be one or two pieces that really stand out in their originality, execution and artistic composition7) Craftsmanship: Not all pieces need to be ready-to-broadcast or print quality, but an example of one highly-polished project will greatly help in demonstrating your ability to produce "finished" artwork.8) Animation ability: human figures performing a simple, natural and fluid action are extremely desirable. Choose an action that would NOT be found in Muybridges "Humans and Animals in Motion." Now, if you really want to impress, think "Jackie Chan."9) Resume: organize it so it's easy to scan at a glance. They're more interested in what's so special about you than in what schools you've attended. If you have extensive technical experience, stress that. If it's artistic experience, stress that.10) Important-- Along with your demo reel, enclose a sheet that describes what is contained in your reel. With what application is each piece done? Was it a group project? Did you build the mesh yourself, or use a commercially available one? How much time did each one take to complete? This is INVALUABLE information to them.
DEMO REELS: PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Written by Jeremy Cantor
About the Author:
At the time this was written, Jeremy Cantor was head of the Animation Dept. at Tippett Studio (Starship Troopers, etc).*Disclaimer*: These are the personal views of Jeremy Cantor. These are not the views of his employer. The following text has no relationship with how his employer as a company, anyone who works there, or anyone else for that matter, feels about this particular topic. This text may not be used or reprinted, in whole or in part, without permission.
DEMO REELS: Submission Tips by Jeremy Cantor
Having recently waded through several hundred character animation demo reels, I thought I'd offer up my reactions in the form of a list of tips and suggestions regarding such submission materials.
If anyone actually has the time to read this whole darn thing, please feel free to correct, append, edit as you like...(remember, this is just one man's opinions - and a lot of this is undoubtedly redundant to the information on the cg-char/3D-ARK/etc webpages).
Before getting specific I wanted to first mention what I feel is the best piece of general advice I can give to someone submitting a demo reel:
Imagine that the people who are going to review your work are the busiest, most disorganized and inconsiderate folks on the planet. You want to make it as easy and painless as possible for them to look at your work. Try to avoid anything that might contribute to them not being able to (or not wanting to) review your stuff.
COVER LETTER:1) Make it short and to the point. (See previous paragraph).2) If you are applying to a particular department, indicate this so we know who should be looking at the tape.3) If you were referred by someone, definitely mention this.4) Include a list of references. Most of us have had at least one or two bad experiences with colleagues in the past. If you don't steer your prospective employer toward folks who like you, they might stumble upon someone who doesn't.5) Avoid adjectives. I'm always suspicious when someone butters up their cover letter telling me how good their work is. "If your work speaks for itself, there's no need to interrupt." I want an applicant's animations to convince me of their talents, not their words.6) Check your sppeling, grammur, punkshooayshun & typoez. This may not matter to some people but keep in mind that your cover letter is often your very first introduction to a prospective employer. Don't let your first impression indicate that you don't check your work and that attention to detail is not a priority for you.
RESUME1) Try to avoid listing irrelevant experiences.2) Do, however, list skills/hobbies/interests that might be relevant. If you're applying for a job at an interactive house that makes fighting games and you've studied karate, indicate this. Acting/mime/dance/gymnastics/etc are good skills to mention when applying for a job as an animator.3) Accentuate but DON'T LIE! If you were a janitor, say "custodial engineer". If, however, you were a grunt animator at a particular shop and one time you made a suggestion to a co-worker and they took it, don't call yourself an "animation supervisor".
DEMO REEL1) VHS. NTSC. It's a safe bet that the place to which you are applying has a standard VHS deck. They might not have a 3/4 deck or a PAL converter though. Don't send CD's or floppies or zip-drives unless you've called ahead and confirmed that they are able to view such formats.2) Put your best stuff first. Because of the volume of tapes I need to look at, if I'm not "grabbed" in the first ten seconds of a reel I tend to watch the rest in fast-forward mode until I see something that looks interesting enough to stop and look at in normal speed. Don't let me miss your best piece.3) Don't repeat animations. Please don't assume that I wanted to see that particular piece again. I do have a rewind button on my remote. Also, repeating animations implies you have a limited quantity of work and it looks like "filler".4) Keep it short. 3 minutes is a general target length.5) Include a reel breakdown. Unless EVERYTHING on the tape is 100% yours, it is essential that you include a descriptive list of your contributions to each shot. If you don't I am assuming that you are claiming that everything is all yours. If you have collaborative work on your reel, it is dishonest, annoying and downright criminal to not include a reel breakdown.6) DO NOT PUT OTHER PEOPLE'S 7) Don't send inappropriate work. A place that does children's educational software does not want to see blood and guts. We are a creature shop. Don't send us a tape full of spaceships and camera fly-throughs. This shows that you didn't take the time to find out about the company to which you are applying. Why should we then take the time to find out about you?8) Label your tape clearly and put your contact information in the body of the tape. Sometimes tapes get separated from their resumes. Make it easy for us to re-organize our piles.9) Pop your tabs. Remember, we are busy and disorganized. I might hit the "record" button instead of the "play" button accidentally. Remember, I'm thoughtless and inconsiderate.10) Rewind your tape. We WILL charge you $1.00!11) Include drawings on your tape ONLY if you truly think they will help your case. I will certainly be more inclined to want to interview a tape with borderline animations if there are really good figure drawings at the end. Strong fundamental skills are a good indication of someone's overall aesthetic sensibilities. However, don't include bad figure drawings just to demonstrate that you've taken a figure drawing class. Now, I'm not saying that you have to show figure drawings in order to get hired as a character animator, but don't go out of your way to show your weaknesses. It tells me that you aren't a good judge of your own work and will therefore need a lot of supervision.12) Show "acting". Let's face it, walk/run/flight cycles alone will not get you hired as a character animator anymore. Mainly because such motions can be easily copied from a variety of sources. Your animations need to convey emotions and thoughts through body language. Example: Don't animate a kid eating a bowl of peas. Animate a kid who hates peas but his mother is making him eat them anyway. If you can tell such a story through timing, posing and facial expressions alone, you will get hired. (I actually rarely have the volume on when watching tapes).13) Avoid large, cumbersome packages that are difficult to catalogue, file and shelve. I've seen them bent to fit into boxes. Which of course brings up: Don't send original artwork. It WILL get damaged.14) Don't show stuff you don't want to be asked to do.15) Wireframes with solid motion are better than fully textured renderings with mediocre motion. (You might accidentally get hired to do lighting!)16) Be careful when including work that isn't supposed to be publicly viewed yet. If you are showing me clips from a film that has not yet been released, you are telling me that you'd be willing to show OUR work before it's released as well. Make sure your interviewer knows that you've cleared it with your current/previous place of employ first.17) Make sure your tape really shows what you're capable of. I get a lot of tapes from ReBoot/Beast-Wars folks who mention that they have very little time to do a shot and the style is dictated very strictly. Given such restrictions I can't really judge their skills by seeing this work alone. When I get such tapes I immediately request additional work. Include personal stuff as well as professional work. I like to see what you can do on your own as well as what you can do on a team.18) Be honest with yourself. If your entire experience with character animation includes nothing more than having pulled off 2 walk cycles, you're probably not quite ready to offer your services as a character animator. Only apply to a place where you truly feel you can do the work.
INTERVIEW1) Be on time. Remember, first impressions are lasting impressions.2) Dress appropriately. You don't have to wear a suit, but error on the side of overdressing rather than underdressing. Don't worry, you're not going to insult a prospective employer if you are better dressed than they are. Chances are you will be...after all...they already have the job!3) Bring another copy of your reel/resume. Remember, I'm really disorganized, I might not have it handy.4) Bring some additional work. Don't let me believe that your reel comprises everything you've ever done.5) Be very careful when speaking negatively about a former job or boss or co-worker. This is a very small industry. There's a chance your interviewer knows the person/place of which you speak. I lost a job opportunity myself because of this once.6) Watch for trick questions. "Oh...come on...you can show us those shots from that movie that isn't out yet...we won't tell anyone!" Or: "Hmmmm...I see you have 3 months to go before finishing your current project...we could really use you sooner...are you sure you can't just abandon your current team and join us now?" If you do it to them, you'll do it to us.
FOLLOW UP
Keep in mind it often takes a while before a demo tape gets reviewed. If you haven't heard anything for 3 weeks or so it is okay to call and make sure your tape was received. But don't be a pest. After an interview, it is a good idea to send a follow up letter thanking your prospective employer for taking the time to meet with you. Don't call unless you haven't heard anything for a while. And don't contact the company repeatedly.
If you don't get hired, resubmit your materials every 6 months or so. Our needs and criteria change all the time. Your skills/style might not have been appropriate for last year's project, but they might be right for this year's.
That's all for now. Time for me to do some work...
DEMO REELS: What to Focus on & Generic Critique
Written by Mark Mahler, Rainbow Studios
It is very important to focus on what you are best at on a demo reel. If you are the best at modeling, the more sophisticated the model the better. Add a great deal of detail so the craft of you work really stands out. If you are not good at animating then leave the object stationary, but don't move the camera in a non-traditional
If you focus on Texturing (we do have a few specialized talent for textures) then focus on creating very detailed textures. Spend time creating your own, or customizing a stock texture so it doesn't look perfectly tiled. Spend enough time on the .bmp and displacement maps, to add the needed level of 3D and quality to your object. Every object has a varying surface in real life as it should in the computer generated world. The most important thing is everything has to be high quality and consistent. I can't express how many reels I have seen where there was a great deal of variation of quality between the textures, models etc.
If your focus is character animation, then a great deal of effort needs to be spent making the animation not only life like but also emote expression. All aspects of the character must be consistently good. It is not enough to have a lifelike face if the rest of the body is to stiff and not expressive. Great upper body motion is not enough if the legs don't move accordingly to maintain weight and balance.
Most of all, if your modeling and texturing abilities are very weak, and your character animation abilities shine, then your best bet would be to make a very simplistic model with procedural textures. That way it is your animation that stands out, but the model doesn't draw from the performance. I have seen some excellent character work created with just a wood mannequin.
Finally only include your best work, that you don't have to make excuses for. If you have created something and a client or boss changed it, then create the second version exactly like you wish it to look (your own director’s cut). There is no excuse to put something on a reel that is not exactly like you would have wished it to be. Often times it doesn't take that much additional time to rework the original and make it stand out.
Generic Critique:Advice: Don't watch films, study feature films! Muting the sound of a film will allow you to concentrate on film making instead of the dialogue (story).
This is a brief description of how to improve your abilities and take the 3D world by storm.
In regards to tips, follow Modeling: Your models must not be simplistic. After you have created your object or objects, it is important to add depth to the models. This can be done through .bmp maps, lighting, texturing, and just adding miscellaneous detail to it that may or may not belong there in real life, but looks cool anyway. Textures are very important. Textures can make an ok model look great, and a great model look terrible.Lighting: Watch films without sound and focus on just the lighting. For example watch a movie with great lighting such as Bladerunner. Just watch how objects are light in both the foreground and the background. See the colors of different light sources that cast a contrast to background and foreground objects. Reds and blues are the most commonly used colors to create a hot (red) and a cool (blue) feel. Notice where bright ambient lights are used and when dimly lit spots are used on objects and characters. There is no better way to learn then through concentrated observation. In each scene observe the sources of light accenting the main character. Where are the shadows initially, and how did they change during the scene.Duration of Shots: The average shot in a movie is about 4-6 seconds long. Some are much shorter and others much longer. Watch Bladerunner a second time to just get a feel for the duration of different shots. Count 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand… for each shot and you will see what I mean about duration. Mirror the same shot flow in your demo reel and it will add a level of professionalism and awareness of the Shot composition: Most shots in demo reels are one long first person point of view. These animations will be improved by breaking up the long shot. For example start with a 4 sec establishing shot, cut to a shot from another angle closer in on the key object, and then focus even closer in on the main object. Follow the camera movement, shot composition, and narrative told through the eye of the camera.
Consistency is key when creating a demo reel. Great texturing in one place mediocre texturing in most other places will not cut it. The same goes for good lighting and camera work. Spend a couple of hours each week focusing your attention on movies. Choose one aspect of the above for an entire hour, then move on to another. Awareness is what you are shooting for. Through observation your abilities will explode and be realized.
Best of luck, and I look forward to seeing the results.
Demo Reels & Starting Over
Written by Angie Jones, Animator, Oddworld
You should be able to scrap work you do now (not just on your reel) and start over without a second thought. I cant tell you how many times I start with an idea for a scene and it just isnt working (no matter how much I think it is, or want it to be) and I scrap it, only to start clean and finish the scene much quicker and with a much more effective motion.
As far as demo reels go, I dumped all school work after my first job. In fact after each job I took, rarely did I keep any previous work on my reel. This included 4 month contract jobs where the reel was only that 4 months old. Less is more...quality is good...and you have to have a critical eye when it comes to your own work. I know this costs money and its hard when you first start out. I used to work at a lot of video production houses and traded an animation opening for a new, young editor's reel for his assistance on editing an updating my reel. This was a great trade off. Sometimes, I found editors that were so new they just wanted to edit my reel for free to get the experience. Most post houses have some time at night that no one is using the equipment. Also, editing animators demo reels are usually more fun than the stuff most houses edit.
I tend to represent any work I no longer have on my reel---that might not be worthy of the reel but still holds a place in my heart-- for my portfolio book. I dont spend alot of money on this, simple color copies from digital files in a 8 1/2 x 11 book. This way if people wonder about all the production experience I have, I have it represented in the book with stills. However, I have yet to have someone who has hired me ask to see the book. Frankly, if you have a lot of time under your belt, it will show through one animation alone on your reel (your best piece, usually your most recent piece)and the people hiring do not need to see a chronological record of where you've been and where you are going.
[In regards to school projects & duplicating what's been done] I have seen remakes of both luxo and toy story characters on reels and the bottom line for me is no matter what, the viewer will always compare it to the original. These reels I speak of were fair, but fell so far short of the originals I couldnt see past that fact. So, unless those animations are not incredible! Dont use them. Animators who work in 2D are equally discouraged from redoing a scene from a Warner/Disney animation and so, it should be the same for 3D. Originality is important. It shows you have initiative and fresh ideas. Most art directors will find valuable. This doesnt mean you have to recreate an entire world and character an story. Keep it simple. Make sure the animations you are creating show what the prospective employer is looking for. If you dont know, call an ask what they are looking for. : )
Good Luck!
Angie
More Demo Reel Tips
Written by Pamela Thompson, Independent Recruiter
You should only include work that is absolutely great on your reel. If you question it you can be sure someone else will. Make sure your BEST stuff is up front. If the work is fabulous by all means include it. Otherwise, why not create something new to put on instead of the basic animation assignment? It is very important to keep your reel short yet GREAT. Realize that companies get many reels every week and if your reel does not stand out you will not be getting an interview. Try to create something original instead of putting on assignments that everyone else has or tutorial work. Unless you come up with something very clever and unique, it will look the same as everyone else.
Also, it is important to know that animating space ships or logos does not make someone a character animator. I would recommend avoiding these two items and concentrating on making an animation of a four-legged walk or run cycle. A guy got a job based on making a cat get up from a nap, stretch, walk and rub itself against a vase. It may have been 15 or 20 seconds long at the most. That was what was on his reel.
Remember to include a resume with your name and phone number and email address, a breakdown list of your reel (explaining what you did on it) and make sure your reel is labeled with your name and phone # and I like to get email addresses too. Include a resume with every reel you send out no matter how many resumes you have already sent to that person. Just yesterday I got two reels from experienced people--one reel had no name or phone number on the label, the other didn't come with a resume.
Pamela Thompson, Independent Recruiter
Thanks to Aatur (CGTANTRA Tech Crew)
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