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Old July 24th, 2012, 08:34 PM   #1
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2012 Demo Reel

Hey guys, just edited together a quick reel earlier today, would love your thoughts. I ended up deciding to save weddings for a separate reel, and decided I wanted something entertaining and creative more than super informative. It's definitely designed to appeal more to a younger edgier crowd.


Thanks,
Evan
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Old July 29th, 2012, 01:06 PM   #2
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Re: 2012 Demo Reel

What exactly is your reel trying to do? Show your camera work editing?
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Old July 29th, 2012, 03:14 PM   #3
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Re: 2012 Demo Reel

First of all, thanks for posting. I've seen you posting on the forum lately and it's great that you've chosen to become a part of the group. Please see some comments below regarding the reel:

Getting back to the reel, a lot of the content just doesn't fit. There's no clear subject or focus in much of it, and it looks like you're just shooting random things with some shallow depth of field. Shaky shots of large groups in bland rooms don't make me feel interested in what you're shooting, and my eye starts to wander in the confusion. You commented on the reel appealing to a younger, edgier group, but does that group have any money or ability to hire you? Think about your audience and who makes the decision to hire you.

The time lapses of the sky were good, the boxing stuff was good for the most part, text/graphics work looked nice, the guitarist in the crowd was cool, the GoPro stuff in the car would have been neat if you were driving through skyscrapers or something more visually appealing, and the handgun VFX was cool.

Stick to putting outdoor stuff in your reel for now until you light your shots, as the unlit indoor stuff (like your edit-suite footage) aren't really making it look very good... I also think you need to be color correcting things so that there is more variance in the reel - it all looks a bit gray. It can be a nice look, but not for everything.

The editing was nice. I like the pacing and glitch edits. However, the un-stabilized and out of focus footage detracted from the quality you put into the edit. Please start using a tripod/stabilizer more often and don't use ultra-shallow depth of field if you're not able to keep the subject in focus.

I know you're pretty new at this, and please don't take these comments as an attack of any kind - it's just honest, no-nonsense feedback. Also, it is my opinion, so feel free to ignore all of it if you so choose!

It's only natural that one of your first reels is a little rough - you don't necessarily have the footage to put into it yet and had improvise a bit. As you continue to do more work, I'm sure you'll add many more intriguing and varied clips, and that will really help. The other comment/suggestion I have is to really focus on what you're capturing when out shooting. Strive to create 5-10 really great shots from a concert, event, or scene, and don't worry so much about shooting a LOT of footage. Panicked/quick shooting is sloppy shooting - and we've all done it. There's a reason why films take so long to produce. Think about how you might represent an object/person/scene from a new and diverse angle rather than simply pointing the camera. It's all about perspective! Again, don't be afraid to be decisive with exactly what you want to capture.

Well, I hope that helps a little. Keep up the great work and I hope to keep seeing you here on DVinfo.
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Last edited by Nate Haustein; July 30th, 2012 at 10:32 AM.
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Old July 30th, 2012, 02:34 AM   #4
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Re: 2012 Demo Reel

Wel, Nate summed it up pretty good, if you do a wedding reel then it's very clear who you are trying to reach but it's much less clear in this reel.
One extra thing I like to add and that was about that last shot of that person (you?) firing a shotgun, with all that bad news I see lately about loonies firing away in public places this one shot might be experienced as offensive to some people. If you do a reel showing animation skills (like videocopilot does with after effects) then it has a place but in your reel it feels a bit "lost".
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Old August 1st, 2012, 10:29 AM   #5
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Re: 2012 Demo Reel

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback a lot! Just some quick background on some of the footage. The candle/large group of college students/giant hand footage is from the first real video I did, which was the midnight candlelight vigil at passion 2012 in Atlanta:

The footage immediately after that was from Penny Arcade Expo 2012, a big gaming convention in Boston:

The concert footage is from a promo I did for a band, filmed at Warped Tour 2012. It was a tough shoot because I couldn't really bring any gear in, so I had to shoot it all handheld with the 3 lenses I had on me. Phone Calls From Home - Warped Tour 2012 - YouTube

The GoPro car shots were just to mix it up really and show the ability to do different viewpoints.

The haircut/butterfly knife in the box/canada dry shots were all from a series of youtube videos I've done.

The slowmo stuff with the kids is from a promo video I did early on for our local youth group.

The Boxing stuff is from another video we did a while ago:


Thanks,
Evan
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