Showreel format

[Nir Shelter]

Hi.
I'm wondering what you think is the best format for a directors showreel?

I ask this because I have seen many director showreels that had more wiz bang editing and super slick cinematography than story in them.
As DP or editor showreels they where great but as director they didn't' show much of an ability to tell stories.

Do you think that a director should show longer segments of set lengths or sections of scenes illustrating plot points? Or fast cut clips of pretty looking shots?

 

[Mark Allen]

When I was putting together my portfolio site I had this same struggle. Ironically (because I started in theater) a lot of my work is whiz bang and not scenes, but I did want to make sure that I showed some scenes, so I put together a montage to catch people's attention and then followed it with longer pieces from 30 sec to a couple minutes. That way people who just want to get a quick sense of what you do can check the first thing... but people wanting or with a reason to investigate further can continue into the cut scenes or full commercials.

www.markdallen.com was the result.

For DP's I like seeing several shots from the same scene even on their montage reel. I don't need to see the whole scene until I'm thining of hiring... at first though I do want to see what shot choices are used within a single scene

 

[Liam Hall]

Show that which will most impress the person you are showing it to. I make different reels for different clients all the time. Some are whiz bang, others are more considered.

 

[Emmanuel Decarpentrie]

In my opinion, a "director's showreel" is almost like an oxymoron if it's only showing what his/her DPs were capable of. A director should only be interested in showing what he is capable of, not what the people he is working with are capable of.

I've never heard an orchestra "conductor's" demo tape which would include solos of each instruments. What matters, for the director, is not the "picture quality", but the "whole picture". The story, the acting, the editing, the sound, the music, the effects, everything matters; everything together gives an idea of how capable is the director.

This is why I believe strong references, a good CV are much more important for a director than a "nice looking showreel". As a tool, the showreel should only matter for cinematographers or people whose job is directly related to the art and craft of making pictures.

Unfortunately, nowadays, many producers ask directors for a showreel. And most "director's showreel" are indeed nothing more than a sample of what their DP's were capable of: i.e. "fast cut clips of pretty looking shots". As a DP, I find it somewhat offensive to see my work used by some directors as their own, especially so when the director didn't have much involvement at all in my work while shooting and doesn't even bother to credit my name at the end of his reel.

Ironically, I've never heard of a director's demo tape or "audio-reel", although the sound is, in my opinion, at least as important an ingredient as the picture to make a movie...

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I think it also matters who you're selling to.

If you're selling to an agency then showing off your visual style which should be distinctive regardless of DP. When you see a Kosinski spot you can recognize it just from the cinematography. When you see a Fincher commercial it looks like a Fincher commercial.

To a lesser degree that's true of feature films and dramatic work but in commercials I would say the whizBang is often most of what the director brings to the project. And since commercials are often punchline driven you can get in a few lines of dialog pretty easily.

 

[Zakaree Sandberg]

have someone shoot behind the scenes footage of you in pre-pro. working with actors - post (editing room) so on...

footage of the actual film is really pointless for a director

 

[Ace]

Directors "Demo's" should show the full piece, beginning middle and end. So best to create a website where they can view each TVC / Music clip / Or provide Screeners of features.

 

[Nir Shelter]

Ha ha very true Zakaree a director’s job is mostly behind the scenes. Good directors will dedicate the time and energy needed to each department accordingly.
But as Ace pointed out it’s the story that counts at the end of the day how ever the production gets there.

It seams as if there are 2 common show reels for directors. The first mostly used by directors wanting to work with TVCs and video clips and the other by directors mostly wanting to work with longer form story telling.

But after all a producer or agency that are looking for talent normally don't have the attention span needed to appreciate a well-directed scene. It seams to me as if the ideal showreel would be a website as appose to a YouTube clip. On the splash page have a nice eye candy clip and a menu option to view the full-length scenes as well.