They focus a lot on the business of art and I had the pleasure of going to one of their free artists info days which they hold approximately every 6 months.
The topics at that even ranged from legal assistance to doing your own PR to getting yourself organized (called “Getting Your S**t Together”), and while CCI tends to be more geared toward visual artists, I found it to be extremely valuable for other artists, such as actors, filmmakers, musicians, etc…
I have been going through a number of director reels right now and I have a sample of three reels that I would like your feedback on…
The first belongs Jake Barsha of Right Hook Films. I have worked with Jake and I really love his reel… especially the visual quality of it… It’s sexy and has great visual quality (reminds me of a music video). The thing is that we never hear the actors interacting (except for the very end), which is a big part of directing.
The second reel belongs to my friend Jeremy Feig. His reel mostly contains clips with dialogue. I like this because you get a sense of the story and the transactions between the actors.
Third, is my reel. It’s been a “rough cut” for the last year, but now that I have a bit more access to better editing programs (and have become a better editor myself) I’m feeling compelled to redo this…
I would love feedback on how to make my director reel better… (and I’m sure my readers would like that, too!)
Do I add more music? Keep it with dialogue only? Make it more flashy? Playful?
I’ve been tempted to “front” the reel myself… shoot a “hello” intro… What do you think of that idea?
A lot of actor reels do this, and I like it because it puts a face to the material (something that most director reels don’t have).
But is that unnecessary?
Dunno.
I also didn’t add the “Grey Street” music video. I feel it is actually one of my best productions, but it is also a bit violent and I don’t want to repel anyone (Jake’s video is awesome but it’s also a bit violent for me at the end).
Additionally, do I jump genres too much? I know I go from commercial to comedy to drama. I’m really most interested in comedy, so I don’t want to give the impression that I’m aiming for horror or drama (not that I can’t do that, but I have a luke warm feeling toward drama and horror down-right repels me now. I won’t take jobs that are for horror movies.)
Soooo………..that’s why I’m asking you for feedback.
I encourage you to leave comments below. And please add links to YOUR film website, blog and especially to your own director or acting reel.
If I get one or several cool reels, I will maybe do an entire post to highlight them.
