Corporate Demo Reel with 7/5D & EX Footage

[Ben McElroy]

Hello All, check out our new 2012 Corporate Demo Reel. This is comprised of footage shot this year by our company. Our clients range from Non-profit Organizations to Fortune 500 companies.
Let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!

2012 McElroy Films Demo Reel - YouTube

2012 McElroy Films Demo Reel - YouTube

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[Ben McElroy]

Any thoughts or suggestions? Looking forward to some feedback.

[Tom Bostick]

fantastic looking reel Ben, solid shots and editing!

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

I think it's a great showreel and you've got a lot of variety. I love the way you've lit the interview scenes, great skin tones.

One suggestion: I thought it might take it to another level if you could incorporate a voice over track, especially during the first third part of the video. All the best!

[Ben McElroy]

Thanks Tom.

Sareesh, Do you mean move the voice over section to the first part of the Reel rather than the middle? We wanted to show all the industries we work with in the beginning to set up the whole reel.
Or do you mean have voice over narration for the actual demo itself?

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

I mean the latter - have a VO for the demo reel, to unify everything and give it perspective.

[Ben McElroy]

Oh okay. I was seriously thinking about it. However, my idea was shot down by my editors. They thought it would be too cheesy. Also, we couldn't really find many Corporate Demo Reels with voice over narration to model ours after.
Thanks!

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Originally Posted by Ben McElroy

They thought it would be too cheesy.

That's probably because they aren't marketing folk. Most advertising looks cheesy, but that's the reality of selling. Toothpaste ads are cheesy, but they sell millions. P&G haven't changed the basic layout of their commercials in decades, and they have the numbers to back this approach.

Ask any editor who regularly works on 30 second commercials for a fresh perspective. If your goal is to sell your services via your showreel, then you might want to look at the AIDA principle for starters.

Chances are, what your editors think is cheesy is what will get you more phone calls and emails. It's not their fault, of course. All the best.

[Ben McElroy]

Definitely not marking folks that's for sure but the fact of the matter is we couldn't find a lot of demo/show reels with voice over narration for that purpose alone. If you've seen some that have inspired you. Please send me the links.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Your clients (and most companies wanting showreels) seem to think it important enough to sell whatever message it is they are selling, don't they? Most non-fiction work seem to benefit from VOs to give it direction. Even news has commentary. There are exceptions, but VOs are the norm. There are even people who are convinced VOs are mandatory for two minute movie trailers!

I would group your showreel as a non-fictional video not unlike the corporate videos you make. There's no reason why you should take my advice, but it might be wise to learn from the experienced marketing folk in those companies. Why don't you leverage your relationships with them for specific marketing help?

My response was to your editor's implication that VOs were good enough for your clients' reels but not good enough (cheesy) for your own showreel. Don't get me wrong. Among the reels I've seen, I feel yours is one of the better videos, and is edited very well. Your work is really good.

But it takes as much dedication and experience to be a good sales person or marketer as it is to be an editor or filmmaker. It's unlikely a sales person will make a good editor. so why rely on marketing expertise from your editor? On the other hand your editor might be an experienced marketer, and I could be wrong in my assumption.

Anyway, don't listen to me. Hopefully your clients will see it your editor's way and it won't affect your bottom line.

[Ben McElroy]

Thanks for the further explanation. I'm completely aware of the reasoning behind VO. We use it on 8 out of 10 videos we produce. My editor's concern was that if it was done incorrectly it would have been a complete waste of time. With the scripting and hiring process to find the talent. To add them and re-edit.. may not have been worth it. So we chose to make the reel without.
I'm not saying that VO wouldn't have helped the reel. I think it's a great suggestion. In Fact we're working on a promotional video that will have client testimonials and words from me and the staff that will help give a better insight into our firm. So I didn't want the reel to be too much of a corporate video since one of those is being produced. We wanted this to strictly be a show reel.

I love learning from others in the industry who are more experienced. That's how we learn and get better at what we do. I'm not claiming we're the best. That's why my reel is on here because I'm looking for suggestions.

With all that said. Please send me some of the demo reels with professional voice over so I can get a better insight as to what others have done.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Originally Posted by Ben McElroy

With all that said. Please send me some of the demo reels with professional voice over so I can get a better insight as to what others have done.

Haven't seen many corporate videos and since I'm not in the business I wouldn't know where to look.

One of my friends runs an operation similar to yours. Here's a link to his website: What We Do

Guess he doesn't think VOs are important for his showreel either!

[Ben McElroy]

That's probably because VO subtracts from what you are seeing. The video is the story.
A demo reel is not a sales pitch, it's a culmination of great work. That's why no one uses VO in demo reels. Our sales pitch will come from the internal video we will do.*