Demo Reel September 2009

[Anghenfil]

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I haven't posted animation in ages, but I figured since I'm about to actually try and get a job for real I should get my demo reel thrown to the wolves at least once.  Comments, questions, and critiques all welcome, especially regarding presentation and the stuff I'm choosing to show, how long it's up, and so forth.  I'm also looking for long-term advice, such as "hey asshole, you're overacting like crazy!  Turn it down" or "your weight could use some work" or "Do some more humans" or "Show more lip sync."

Animation Demo Reel 2009

I'm probably going to take it down in a few days to do corrections, so get it while it's hot.

[Juggleballz]

If you don't get a job the world has gone mad!

Its a stunning reel! Well done babe!

[TheGrayK]

AMAZING!!!
Loved it
It is my dream to achieve your skill set.
Congatulations on Graduation
and I hope to buy some of your work someday.

[Comlock]

Great stuff! wow, the nr 1 is really impressive! love the the special effects  on those "fishes" and plants growing up in the bg!
The animation on that one is also really good! both the acting and the technical stuff with perfect snappyness and overlappies.


nr 2. The female character on the right is Perfect. It really fits her voice well too.

I feel there might be too many poses going on sometimes.

When the guy in green goes "oh my god.." seems slightly overacted to me.
I think it might be stronger if you made less out of it by holding the pose longer (screen-shot below. the one on left)



So he could be staying in the same pose as he goes "oh my god" Maby the shoulder raise wouldn't be necessary at all.
It would look more like his thinking this inside his head instead of showing his reaction externaly for the viewers in a way too.


I love it when the guy in red goes into this pose before he speaks



but I think it might also work better to hold this pose longer too, so he could still be in somewhat the same pose as he goes "no it's speed"
then go into the new poses..

his left hand as he goes "no it's speed, really nasty speed" seems a bit "IK" when it float in some straight lines there (some subtle wrist bends could help to)

Other then that I think the scene is really good. And the acting is very clear all the way trough.



nr5: Haha, fun cycle^_^
But something just feels of here. the dad's pose seems kinda awkward. And he's dragging something, yet it's between his legs and not behind him.
(not that he has to be behind him, but im just confused in a weird way) and somehow the way he shows weight by pulling the kid just doesn't seem believable, but then the kid
doesn't weight much anyway, so that makes it even harder to show weight. And then the kid is swinging back and forwards on the floor because he doesen't weight that much...and
then im wondering if that's wrong or right... Did you use any reference for this? I'm just so confused and puzzled over this piece^_^
At least that's my first reaction when I saw this one

That should do it for now.
It's a very strong demoreel, and I don't think you should have any trouble finding job with all the selection of good stuff you have for now

[Anghenfil]

I feel there might be too many poses going on sometimes.

God, yes.  I showed it to Adam and that was his main comment; it looked really obvious to me on reflection.  I'll do better next time. 

You were actually remarkably gentle on it.  I sent this scene to Nancy and I fully expect to get ripped a new one come this weekend.

nr5: Haha, fun cycle^_^
But something just feels of here. the dad's pose seems kinda awkward. And he's dragging something, yet it's between his legs and not behind him.
(not that he has to be behind him, but im just confused in a weird way) and somehow the way he shows weight by pulling the kid just doesn't seem believable, but then the kid
doesn't weight much anyway, so that makes it even harder to show weight. And then the kid is swinging back and forwards on the floor because he doesen't weight that much...and
then im wondering if that's wrong or right... Did you use any reference for this? I'm just so confused and puzzled over this piece^_^
At least that's my first reaction when I saw this one.

No, no reference really.  I did take a look at this a couple times, but it wasn't very animate-y nor did the kid feel like he weighed much of anything aside from the way she has her body turned.  So I improvised, not totally successfully.  I think it's the weakest of the three, hence why it's last in the sequence.

The kid is going "back and forth" on the floor because  if they were actually going forward in space, the kid would be going foward -> stopping -> going forward -> stopping.  I was going for the dad yanking him forward a bit on each step, which means if the dad is the center of the walk, junior needs to slide back.  Looks totally weird when it's still, I agree.  Maybe this is one where there needs to be a scrolling floor to make sense.

That should do it for now.
It's a very strong demoreel, and I don't think you should have any trouble finding job with all the selection of good stuff you have for now

Thanks!

[bleupencil]

I don't really feel qualified to crit this, just wanted to say it looks fantastic and wish you luck.

[Zwickel]

Amazing, definetly PIXAR worthy you are, I would make my demo reel a bit shorter and more fast paced.

I loved it! Perhaps play with the arrangement too, I think I would find it easier to follow if you showed 3d then penciltests and some stills at the end.

I haven't posted in a while, but you know I love you Arghen!!!    Glad to see you are around, hows life?

[Anghenfil]

Thanks for the additional comments everyone.  I ended up removing my 2-quarter project clip (the one at the end of the animation segment with the purple rabbit and the crow).  I was getting a lot of critique on how dated it looked compared to the other animation.

Zwick:  I agree with you about the length and the arrangements.  I end up changing them around every time I do a new reel, and it's always "It's too short, make it longer!"  or "It's too long, make it shorter!"  and "Put your 2D first, it's better than your 3D!" or "Put your 2D last, it's more organized that way."  It's impossible to please everyone, and most companies have wildly different opinions about what constitutes a good reel.  Maybe one day I'll find the mythical arrangement that everyone likes. 

For those of you thinking about doing a reel, here are the "rules" that seem to be universal:

1.  No shorter than a minute, no longer than five minutes.  If you're still in school or totally green, aim for 1:30 - 2:00.  This, unfortunately, seems to be the one area in which most companies have very strong opinions and no overlap.  Rhythm and Hues for example says "Never more than two minutes!" while Disney says "three to five minutes, please."  I have never seen a company request less than one minute or more than five, though.
2.  When in doubt, leave it out.  Weaker material will always drown out your good stuff.  Don't be tempted to add it just because it gives the reel variety; variety is overrated.
3.  Best stuff first, always.  Most people will watch the first 30 seconds of your reel and if they're not impressed, they'll eject it and pitch it in the trash.
4.  Music is okay.  Done well, it can add to the watchability of a reel.  Heavy metal, grunge, techno, or ANYTHING LOUD OR OBNOXIOUS is a big no-no.  People watching dozens of reels hate it.  Subdued, repetitive easy-listening is always better.  If you have dialogue the music should never compete with it.  Note that a lot of reel-watchers mute reels when they have to watch them en masse, so music is at best a minor plus, and at worst a huge detriment.  Use common sense when selecting a track, or just leave it silent.
5.  Title cards.  They should have your name, desired position/occupation, and contact info.  The beginning one stays up only briefly, while the end one should stay up 10-15 seconds so they can get your contact info or make notes.
6.  Either number or label the shots in your reel in some way.  Have those labels correspond to a reel breakdown that specifies what you did in each segment.

[Zwickel]

True that. lots of nice points thank you! I was just in Siggraph Vancouver and heard a teacher from Les Gobelins explain why the final student films are 2 minutes, well it seems to be like the midpoint duration, while Disney says 3 to 5.....pshhh thats true its hard to make everyone happy at the same time. I found your 3D stuff the strongest, and well, for being 3d all nicely rendered and stuff yeah thats what I'd have first.

Maybe I missed put, but where can I fully watch your 3D short?

[Comlock]

Since you have so many from "Deep fishing" here's one I think you can  take out (or leave parts out of it)

nr13: =o
2:18-2:27: The animation seems kinda jerky, The poses seems to be breaking up the flow of the motion too much.
 Fishingrod  seems to be swinging too slow in in 2:26 and the spacing feels a bit even. the kissing scene after looks great though, nice rig too.