Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
prevent visual sameness from overtaking your reel. If you are working with docu-
mentary film, for example, you should look for places where you've captured strong
emotion or facilitated a great dialogue between two people so you can mix up lively,
external moments with intimate scenes. Nothing is more deadly in a reel than pieces
of six projects that are good individually, but that when excerpted and strung
together feel like a wall of gray sameness.
Variety is important, but not all clips are equally appropriate for your reel. As
with any other portfolio, avoid explicit violence, sex, and bathroom material.
Unifying idea
As you rethink your work as a series of short moments, you should be looking
for ways to smoothly connect your clips. There is no single right way to do this. Some
people concentrate on visually linking to and from each clip in the sequence. You
can make those links with subject, position of main
objects in the frame, color, and direction of movement.
Or more subtly, you can use pacing and music to create
a mood. All the great cinematographers and directors
find ways to cut between two disparate shots while
maintaining continuity, and so should you.
If you are a good storyteller, you have a power-
ful plus in developing your reel's structure. You can
create a unifying idea and use it as a thread to sew
your reel together. Some refer to this unifying reel concept as a theme. However,
many people misunderstand the term and take that to mean a visual style, like a
desktop skin. That's the opposite of a concept theme, because it is an unrelated ele-
ment grafted on top of the work rather than having a true connection to it. A real
theme helps to put your work into perspective by making disparate projects feel that
they belong together.
You can find a unifying theme from within the clips themselves. For example,
you can use a character or object as an MC. Or you can create playful opening and
ending screens that place the viewer in a frame of mind or environment: an airplane,
a beach, in 1920s Paris, or in an alien dinner theater.
We look for game artists and ani-
mators who can bring an original
personality to their work. It's a
plus if they can tell a good story.
The more multitalented the per-
son, the happier we are.
—Jay Laird
Your reel structure is really very simple. The reel is “just” a collection of clips
drawn from a variety of material, techniques, and challenges. Your objective is to
mine your body of work and provide the viewer with an expansive impression of your
imagination, knowledge, and abilities.
