Demo Reel?

Pwolf · Post by **Pwolf** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:24 am

Has anyone attempted to make a demo reel using their amv work? I'm not sure how to go about doing it. I have non-amv related work I plan on putting in it as well.

Niotex · Post by **Niotex** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:53 am

<Niotex> Scot using amv's in a demoreel form wouldn't work. Generally a reel is a compilation rather then snippets here and there. It would make the reel inconsistent
<Pwolfamv> tastes just like chicken
<Pwolfamv> yea
<Pwolfamv> exactly my predicament

Nuff said.

Castor Troy · Post by **Castor Troy** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 2:15 am

I'll send you a pm to mine that actually landed me a job.

I plan on redoing it once I get my first film completed.

piedpiper · Post by **piedpiper** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 5:30 am

Pwolf, there was a thread I started earlier with a similar question that might help answer your question. The name is 'Validity of AMVs in college applications'.

Castor Troy:

I'll send you a pm to mine that actually landed me a job.

I plan on redoing it once I get my first film completed.

Send me that link too

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:52 am

It could work, in a digital portfolio (besides certain copywrite issues) if you know anyone who does graphics/animation maybe steal a copy of their portfolia and see how they put it together.

Castor Troy · Post by **Castor Troy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 1:39 am

I've been getting alot of pm's thanks to this thread, but try to understand that I don't want to send my reel out to just anyone since it has some personal information in it.

If you want to use amvs in a demo reel, then you should show the ones that have good beat sync, effects, original compositions, and storytelling/mood/etc. Maybe show the best 20-30 seconds of these amvs in a reel.

There's really no set way to make a reel other than the fact that it should show your best work. I've seen reels that were nothing but random footage with no concept, yet the editor had tons of work on his resume.

Try looking up demo reels on google and you'll get some good stuff.

Brad · Post by **Brad** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:49 am

The problem is that a portfolio/demo reel centered around graphic design, motion graphics, animation, visual effects, etc. is going to be far different from a reel solely based on editing, which is what most AMV's really are. And typically if you're doing a reel, you want it to be focused on one primary area of expertise as opposed to being all over the place. And as far as editing goes, it is indeed a hard sell to show just straight-cut edited AMV's, since without the whole video, the context becomes lost and it just doesn't deliver. So Castor's point of showing your best 20-30 seconds of a video that is more than just straight-cut editing is probably a sound idea. It feels like it's selling the editing aspect short, but unfortunately a demo reel just isn't the best platform to show an editors talent, unless they're working exclusively in short form productions (commercials, "real" music videos, etc.).

But as Ryan and others have shown, it's certainly possible to get places with just AMV's in your resume. But I think it's safe to assume that it's not a terribly common tale. Though maybe that's more of an indication of the number of people who've attempted it rather than it's actual effectiveness.

Zero Link · Post by **Zero Link** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:22 pm

I would never make a demo reel out of my amvs. I feel as if I have to make the entire animation/ motion graphics by hand. With that said, I can only take amving to a certain extent.

rubyeye · Post by **rubyeye** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 9:06 pm

Yes, my demo reel has a couple of my AMV on it, but it also includes some live-action work, 3D animation, and motion graphics designs. If you want to get an idea of how to put together a demo reel you should look at how animators/studios do theirs. I highly recommend Motionographer which constantly posts links to the latests videos and sometimes demos by the industries' top designers. Click on CREAM at the top of the page for a list of studios.

I wouldn't mind showing my demo reel to anyone interested, however, I don't have it posted online at the moment. Sorry.

Shinodude · Post by **Shinodude** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:33 am

ask Batto! I know he did a demo reel earlier this year using amvs he made.