Reviewing Showreels

For this task, we had to find a selection of showreels online and review them to determine what makes each one either good or bad. This would mean that when it comes to creating our own showreels, we would have a better idea of what things work and what things need to be avoided.

The first showreel, found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEWD7oYyhK8, is split between character modelling and environment modelling. The way the modelling work is shown off in this showreel is one of the best examples I’ve found. Mostly, it is done by showing a clip of the model in situ in a film clip, before showing a 360° of the untextured model. For a couple of the models this 360° also shows the wireframe. However, there are also a couple of examples of a slightly more interesting editing technique. For one of the character models and a couple of the environments, the movie clips fade directly into the models themselves. This perfectly shows how each of the models actually fits into the finished scene. Aside from the modelling shown, the rest of the showreel is very simple, with no real graphics other than the opening and closing screens. The biggest issues with this showreel are the limited contact details shown at the end and the overall running time. At 4:49 this showreel does drag on towards the end and would likely be much easier to watch all the way through if it was cut down.

The next good showreel example, found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeoKBjJuvhk, also uses the editing technique whereby a clip from a film or cinematic fades into the untextured model or vice versa. This showreel is also the first one to use captions to describe the work which is being shown. However, these captions don’t give any real information, other than saying modelling, texturing etc. There are a couple of ways where this showreel is noticeably better then the first one I looked at. The end slate includes an extensive set of contact details, as well as showing the logos of the programs which were used to create the work being shown. Having logos for the programs used on the end screen is something which I will likely use on my own showreel. Another improvement over the first showreel is that this one is 2:11 in length, which makes it much easier to watch all the way through.

I also viewed a couple of other good showreels with certain elements worth mentioning, as I will likely try and include these in my own showreel. The first, found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bhEdB-352U, is a showreel for animation and visual effects. Overall the showreel is good, but the main feature which I will look to use is the information boxes. These pop up for each of the clips and give out basic information amount the client and the details of the project itself. Having these information boxes gives the viewers a better idea of what exactly they’re being shown. One other good feature which I will use for my personal showreel is demonstrated here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jOkEPdLULs. This is one of the only showreels I found which uses a bar at the bottom, which displays an email address throughout. Having an email address visible the whole way through the showreel is in my opinion a good way of ensuring that any potential employer viewing the showreel has access to contact details at any time.

While reviewing these showreels, I found some a number of errors in the poor quality examples of showreels. One thing which immediately makes a showreel seem less professional is poor quality graphics. This can be seen in this example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM7OX9PPkrQ, where all of the graphics feature nothing more than a basic font. Poor quality graphics give a clear sign to anybody viewing the showreel there hasn’t been enough time spent creating it. Another error is having a showreel where the opening or ending screens last too long. When these screens are shown onscreen for too long, it takes up time which could be better used showing off more examples of work. A final major issue which I found are showreels which are far too short. This example, https://vimeo.com/142782045, is only 29 seconds in length. With a showreel this long, it doesn’t matter how good the work on show is, there would be nearly enough time to show off enough pieces of work and certainly wouldn’t be enough time to give out contact details at the end.

After reviewing the various showreels, I have chosen some of the most important points which I will need to pay attention to or include in my own showreel to make it as good as possible. The most fundamental point is to do with timing. After viewing a number of showreels, which ranged anywhere from 4 minutes 40 to 29 seconds in length, I’ve worked out that the optimal length for a showreel is between one and half and two and half minutes long. Most of the good examples of showreels fitted into this length bracket. If the showreel is any longer than two and half minutes long it quickly begins to drag on, which may make some people lose interest. This could be an issue if the viewer is a potential employer because it may cause them to stop watching before the end which is most likely where your contact details will be shown. If the showreel is any shorter than a minute and a half then there either isn’t adequate time to show off enough work or the work is shown in a rushed way which doesn’t give the time required to view it properly. By making sure the length of the showreel is within this bracket, you are able to get a balance between showing off plenty of work and keeping it interesting throughout. For my showreel I will also be using some of the examples of graphics which I found. These include the bar which displays the email address throughout at the bottom of the screen, and the information boxes for each project shown. I will also make sure to put plenty of time and effort into creating all of the graphics I use as having high quality graphics as part of my showreel is a good way of setting it apart from any other showreels with similar quality work shown in them.