2011 Reel

[emilypants 0]

Hello Mographers,

About a month ago the department I was in dissolved & have since started to go freelance. I'm very very new to this freelancing business & so I made a new reel to promote myself. I'd LOVE it if you could give me some constructive criticism. I have thick skin, so please be honest. And of course, if you have any freelancing tips that would be great too

Thank you in advance!

 

http://emilyskaer.com/#2443911/Reel-2011

[Carey 0]

Hi Emily,

Well, I'm not really in a position to be able to tell you what your potential employers are looking for. We're in different offshoots of the industry. But I can definitely give you a few general suggestions for your reel, which go something like this:

 

1) Your audio choice seems more energetic and charismatic than the work that you're showing. That makes your work a little dull by comparison. This is not to say that you need to change the audio, nor that your work needs to change. It is, however, a reason to...

 

2) Cut on the action, not on the pause. Your editing decision to have us watch something animate, then stop, then sit there, even if just for a few frames, is creating a really repetitive and dull presentation. It's like we start/stop every single cut. Something's happening, then it basically stops. Then you cut to something happening, which proceeds to stop, more or less, so you're killing your own momentum... every... single... cut. If instead you cut in on the action, and cut away from that action to some other action, then you never really kill the momentum. Doing this, you'll also find that one cut can lead interestingly into the next via the actions featured in each. One action leads the eye over here where the next action takes over from across your cut. And when you see how that works, you can start to...

 

3) Create meaningful connections between the cuts. Create emotional connections between the audio and the imagery. Allow the swells and punctuations in the music to indicate to you what sort of stuff you should be showing at any given moment, and where the cuts should be.

 

Broadly: a reel is not a pile of work set to music. It's not a slideshow with audio. It's a film. It should take us on a little journey through your work. And it should be a journey that we enjoy. We should want to watch your reel just to watch it. And when we're done, we should want to watch it again just for the joy of it. Don't worry about presenting your work. Your work will be presented, regardless. Just focus on making that reel so enjoyable on its own that I want to share it with my friends. Let me forget that it's a reel.

[emilypants 0]

Thanks Blinky!

Really need feedback, much appreciated. I can see what you mean. I worry about making it look like cut off but it does seem to settle too much between frames. I could see cuts more blending in from one action to another.

[anthimos 0]

Nice reel, like the overall style, but you might need to work a little more on your editing process. The audio doesn't work for your visuals, try to create a better link between them.

I hope i was helpfull..

[thekinginyellow 0]

is your text getting smaller as i read it? why?

[emilypants 0]

Hey @thekinginyellow I'm not sure what you mean...could you elaborate?

[Aaron Scott 0]

is your text getting smaller as i read it? why?

 

Pretty sure it's just you. Maybe you should get your eyes checked?

[thekinginyellow 0]

uh oh! i'm calling the optometrist now.

[emilypants 0]

I totally thought you were talking about something in the reel. Ha!