How long should a demo reel be?

[Todd Terry]

I should have mentioned this in my first response, but clicked “Post” before I realized it… so here’s an addendum …

A lot of it has to do with what particular skill or area of expertise you are trying to showcase… you didn’t really say what kind of reel this is.

Is it a cinematography reel? If so, then yep a minute’s worth of killer stuff might be plenty. VFX? Yes, you might can show that in a minute or less. Editing? No, no way. When I watch editing reels I want to see fair-sized chunks of a single project at a time (so many editors send me a two minute real that is butt cuts of clips from 40 different projects… that shows me nothing about how a person can edit). A reel from a full-blown production company? That one I’d prefer to be longer, with several larger chunks from different projects.

I’m guessing yours is purely a cinematography reel (again, you didn’t say… it shows some very nice camera work, but no editing). If so, I think the length you have is pretty good. You might shorten it a bit (and certainly don’t make it any longer), but it’s in the ballpark.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Richard Herd]

I ask myself this pretty much everyday. The answer turns out to be “however long the music bed is.”

[Todd Terry]

Haha… best answer.

And people wonder how Richard finds such perfectly-timed beds.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Richard Herd]

LOL.

Sometimes I cut the music on the beats, but almost never.

I should also mention, the best reel I ever cut I took Mark S’s advice and added an entire sound design. So although the cut was the length of a music bed, the additional audio made it much better. (Still thanking Mark on that one.)

[Andrew Kimery]

[Todd Terry] “Editing? No, no way. When I watch editing reels I want to see fair-sized chunks of a single project at a time (so many editors send me a two minute real that is butt cuts of clips from 40 different projects… that shows me nothing about how a person can edit). “

A few years ago I abandoned making reels and just started putting examples of my work up on my Vimeo page. If it’s short form, like a promo, I’ll put the whole thing up but if it’s long form I’ll just put an excerpt up. I like It because it enables me to show off more of my work without overwhelming the viewer.

[Cody Walters]

I suppose it is mostly a cinematography reel. I’ve always had my full length edits posted on vimeo and my website. My intent was to create a reel that would poke some interest. I’ll make another pass on the edit based the comments I received.

Thanks for the insight Terry. I always enjoy you answers!

Cody Walters
Houston Video Production
Houston Wedding Videographer

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