Showreel Research

Prior to the sessions in which we will be producing our showreels, I researched some showreels from others in the same sector of the animation industry that I aim to get involved in. Below I have listed four of the most notable showreels I looked at, and will explain why I think they worked/didn't work and how I will use this information to ensure my showreel does work.

The first animator I looked into was Matt Timms, a 2D visual effects animator. The first thing that I noticed about this showreel was that it begins and ends with the artist's name, yet no contact details. This seems like a common mistake made in showreels, and I aim to include a complete set of contact details when I produce my showreel.

Besides the lack of contact details I enjoyed this showreel, although it did feel as though the video ran on for far too long considering much of the work is very similar. I found myself wanting to click of the video after a minute or so.

The second showreel I looked into was by 'Tendril'. Although this showreel was around the same length of first one I looked at, it actually felt shorter. This is due to the lack of repetition featured in this video - which also goes to highlight the diversity in Tendril's output, and the range of animation styles they are capable of.

Furthermore, I noted that the music in this piece blended very well with the animation due to it's neutral and reserved nature, whereas the music in Timm's showreel was fairly brash. A neutral audio track will help draw the viewer into the piece without distracting them from the visuals.

The next showreel I looked into was produced by 'Rubber House' - a 2D animation studio.

Once again this showreel features an extremely high quality of work, yet very little variation in terms of the styles showcased in the video - this, once again makes the video feel far too long. The effect of this is that people are likely to click of the video before the end, which is a serious mistake considering this studio only provided details at the end of their video, and even so, their is no contact information, just the name of their studio.

Finally, I looked at a showreel from 'Meindbender Animations'.

Of all the showreels I looked at, this one appeared the most professional and appealing. The music is not too subtle, yet compliments the visuals. The showreel begins and ends with both the studio's name, and a way to get in touch (their website URL). The showreel also shows variety and quality, featuring a range of different animation techniques and projects from the studio. Even though this showreel features a greater amount of project work, it is still the shortest one I have listed.

In conclusion, from my research into existing showreels, I have learned that when I come to produce my final showreel, I should:

• Keep it brief
• Try to use neutral music to avoid jarring audio
• show as wide a variety of project work as possible
• make sure to begin and end with clear contact details