5 Tips For Creating A Cinematography Reel
By Kevin Waczek
Is it possible to sum up your entire filmmaking career into a single two minute video? It doesn’t matter if it’s possible, because in this day and age it is mandatory! In the film industry, everybody is selling their talents. Actors sell their emotions and individual look, while members of the crew sell their technical genius. Regardless where you fall, you need to have a show reel. In this blog post, I will be focusing on cinematography reels and five ways to make them the best they can be.
THE “FILMMAKER’S VAULT”
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How To Make A Better Reel
Creating a Foundation
Show reels take many forms, but the two most common types of reels either show excerpts of full scenes from past films or a montage of the best shots that you have executed in your career. The first step is deciding which type you are going to use in your reel. Of course you can blend the two styles together, but defining a single style makes the rest of the decision-making process easier. There are pros and cons to both styles of cinematography reels. When making a montage there is opportunity to showcase a more diverse shot selection, but by showing excerpts or full scenes the viewer is able to see a more comprehensive sample of your cinematographic style.
An easy way to decide on an approach is asking yourself if scenes from your past films can stand on their own. Perhaps the scenes are too long to put into your reel because they will inflate the run time over seven minutes (that is a really long reel). What if your cinematography is great, but the acting or sound quality is poor to the point where it’s distracting? That is a reason to choose the montage style reel.
2. Start from Scratch
This tip is especially useful if you decide to create a montage for your reel. When creating your reel, if you are able, use the raw footage! Using raw footage may sound like you are going backwards and have to do work that has already been done. The film’s editor has already cut, colored, and finalized the film, so why do the extra work of re-cutting and possibly re-coloring the image? Sure you are using the same footage, but this is not the same project. Free yourself from the restrictions of the creative choices of others. The editor made edits to tell the story of the film, but you may not agree with those choices when trying to show the story of your career. Maybe there is a beautiful long shot that looks gorgeous, but wouldn’t work with the narrative structure of your past film. Here in your reel is where it could shine! Using raw footage is not mandatory, but helps start a very important project from a clean slate.
3. Create a Quality Standard
My mindset for every production is to make this one better than the last. I create a new quality standard during every production to remind me that my new standard is higher than before, and I need to reach that with every shot and scene I do - otherwise I am not growing as a filmmaker. Like my approach to every new production, there needs to be a quality line when deciding what shots to include in the cinematography reel. Take your best shots and analyze them to find out what is great about them. Is your lighting well executed, does it have good use of colors, interesting sense of direction, or does the shot have intriguing movement? Other than the technical aspect of the shot, is the visual landscape in the shot interesting? Having a reel of 30 different people sitting at a kitchen table shows consistency, but lacks creativity and the pizzazz that would keep the viewer from falling asleep. If you can find something in every shot that you are proud of, then you have a contender for your reel’s final cut.
Where many people go wrong is feeling like they are forced to include every single project they have ever done in their reel. Yes, variety in your work is great. Showing that you have obviously worked on more then three projects does show experience, but nobody should add a shot from a project just to meet this inconveniencing requirement. Every shot in your reel is there for a reason, because ultimately your reel is a collection of your absolute best work. You should not allow mediocrity to plague the reel. Don’t give the viewer anything to complain about, because they will most likely remember your worst shot.
4. Separate Yourself from your Babies
Killing babies is a metaphor that I learned in film school. Think of every shot you have ever done as a baby. Some you quickly conceived and are as valuable as a free mint in a gas station bathroom, while others are crafted from fine marble. A little extreme, but I’m sure you get the picture. We are emotionally attached to some shots more than others, and often the quality of the picture isn’t the reason. Emotional attachments usually come when we overcome obstacles: problem solving to get the shot, overcoming setbacks and weather, or just plain hard work and physical exertion can attach us to some images.
As a DP in my latest film, I was camera operating as well as pulling focus for many shots. To bring this technical circus to the next level, I was also using a 15 pound camera package on a shoulder rig. Not only was I the only person in charge of the camera, but I held $10,000 worth of gear in one arm while pulling focus with the other for 12 hours a day for 4 days. There was one particular shot that I completed that was incredibly complicated. It involved a moving camera and moving actors. It had multiple blocking points and ques. To make matters worse, it was so bright outside I had to put my jacket over my head and the camera monitor so I could see. I was blind to the outside world, and could only see where my camera was pointing. I somehow managed after lots of practice, encouragement, and five takes to pull off the shot. That being said, it is important to distance yourself emotionally from shots so you can see their true quality, and I will not let the struggle that went into that shot effect my decision to include it in my reel.
5. Opinion’s Matter
It would be stupid advice to say that opinions don’t matter, because they do. Some opinions matter more than others, and the opinion that matters the most is the person in charge of hiring you based on your reel. So where am I going with this? Rather than waiting for the opinion of the executive, test your reel out on people you trust. Preferably choose people who have an understanding of film, but were not on set with you during the production of these shots and do not have an emotional attachment to your photography. You are looking for honest opinions! Figure out which shots people like and which ones they don’t. Don’t word the questions like “which shot is the worst?” No one wants to talk down about your work especially right in front of you. Instead ask, “which shot is weaker than the rest?” or, “which shot is good but not great?” or my favorite, “I am trying to make my reel shorter, which shots do you think should be taken out?”
Your reel is supposed to be your best work, so showcase only your greatest material. Keep your reel short and sweet, and if you are struggling to fill your reel with shots then it is time to start shooting more.
Thank you for supporting The Filmmakers Blog. If you would like me to elaborate on and of the topics in the article comment below! Or email me at kevin@thefilmmakersblog.com.