Wednesday, August 4, 2010

rough demoreel

Hi guys!! I'm putting a demoreel together with some stuff I have. It was really weird because it's all over the place, I like doing everything, so it's really hard to focus. But I'm trying hard.
What do  you like and what you dislike?  Thanks a lot!


rough cut - demoreel 2010

8 comments:

  1. Looks cool, man.

    I think in your description you kind of nail the biggest problem with the reel; it's unfocused.

    For one thing, I don't know if there is much value in putting drawings at the end of an animation reel unless they're more gestural drawings. At least in games, drawings at the end of reel make it feel more like student work. I've heard some people say that drawings should only go at the end of your reel if your drawing is just fucking amazing; not just good. For layout, that's probably a different story.

    I think with the different stages of rendering, you do a good job of making it clear which shots are final and which aren't, so that's good.

    For a 3d Animator reel though, you don't usually show the whole short. Show the best shots (and some of your finished shots are looking really nice!) and arrange them to best grab people's attention (best 1st, 2nd best last or vice versa). Even it makes your reel half as long! If you don't have much material to show, a minute demo will at least show you have skills.

    The standout flaw in the short's animation were the different shots of bear crashing on the bike. If you can, I would go back over those with all your new knowledge about curves and trajectories.

    For a layout artist reel... I don't know what those are supposed to look like but I think this works well as one.

    I want to see this short when it's all done! I think it's a really nice idea for one. It seems like it has a lot of heart without being melodramatic. I love that kind of stuff.

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  2. Hey Rodrigo,

    I'm still in school, so I don't have much experience with demo reels myself but here's my two cents.

    It was really confusing while I watched it. You need a reel breakdown or subtitles during the reel listing what you were responsible for in each shot.

    I would also suggest making separate demo reels for animation, layout, and lighting. That way each reel is simple, clear, and very focused. It's my understanding you really need to focus your reels for the job you are applying for. An animator wouldn't put a model they made in their animation reel, because it's irrelevant to what they're applying for.

    In terms of the animation, it all seems a little floaty and evenly spaced. I would definitely try to select clips that show the most range and texture in your timing. Variety in timing is what makes animation interesting.

    You might want to be more critical with the selection of your shots. Even if it's only one or two shots. Quality over quantity. You want to show a studio your best.

    But Ryan's right, it looks really cool. The visuals are really nice and pull me in instantly. Good luck with updating it, I can't wait to see it when it's finished :)

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  3. I wouldn't say it's bad to have your own model on your reel as long as it's not a bad model that distracts from the quality of your work; if that's what you've animating, there's no issue in showing it.

    What you don't want is model turnarounds and texture sheets on an animation reels.

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  4. Awesome, guys!!!!
    Thanks so much, those are great points. Texture in timing... i loved that!

    About the credits, I stated in the end that I did everything... is it clear?

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  5. It might be good to put that in the beginning but really, i think shot breakdowns matter when you have bigger, collaborate shots on your reel. I've never done one for any of my game stuff but I was always either showing playblasts or clips from a short film.

    When I showed my reel to a few of our teachers, no one even mentioned a shot breakdown but I think it depends what kind of shots your showing. For a reel like this, you could just have a "all work shown by Rodrigo Abad" subtitle fade in then out after a few seconds but even then, nothing here was obviously collaborative.

    For feature work, I might be way off base. Maybe they want a breakdown no matter what?

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  6. In an animation reel, breakdowns could also be the passes, no?

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  8. hey Rodrigo Looking cool. I agree with the comments from Ryan and Christina. You need to focus.
    A reel breakdown is just to tell what you did on the shot dont put your passes in there. you can put a shot in blocking if it is a really good blocking. I know people hired by Pixar that the majority of the shots in the reel where still in stteped keys.
    Keep it up man.
    Raf

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