Okay, so I'm going to put together a demo reel - never know when it'll come in handy! I'm aiming for 3-5 minutes as that seems to be the norm. I'm going to include a clip of Judder but am doing a bit of new work as well.
Quick poll - ballet or kung fu? I'm going to spend a few days with a larger puppet (8" as opposed to the 6" largest I've used before... it's going to be so much nicer!) And to do a few extra bits of animation for the reel I'm thinking of doing an athletic movement (dance, karate) instead of the traditional walk cycle. Any input would be greatly appreciated! What do you think works on a show reel, what to avoid - feel free to give any advice! It would be really appreciated.
Also - support rigs - edited out? If I'm doing a dance piece where the character is in the air a large amount of the time - is it better to edit out the rig to look more finished, or can it be left in? I'm not sure if editing skills are as important as showing the animation, don't want to dedicate time to it if not as important as pushing puppets!
Swamp Witch
12 hours ago
4 comments:
> Quick poll - ballet or kung fu?
(^ ballet. far more difficult.
(^ the arm turnouts and leg positions need that extra twist and the backbend is really important.
((^ plus I'm SO tired of the smack down crunch board boredom^))
(^ OH! you COULD try ti chi with a ballerina spinning around trying to distract the one trying to stay calm?
> What do you think works
> on a show reel,
(^ subtle teasers.
> what to avoid ..
(^ blatant show offiness.
(^ unless you want a job
(^ being a hastle to others
(^ trapped working with you^)
> Also - support rigs - edited out?
(^ hee hee.. animate editing them out.
(^ or make a puppet out of the support rig?! here's the I.D.
> If I'm doing a dance piece where the character is in the air a large amount of the time - is it better to edit out the rig to look more finished, or can it be left in?
(^ make the slow moving ti chi master brek posture to become ballerina second? make a tree out of the rig?
heck.. leave in a generic rig pointy thingy every now and then and HAVE THE PUPPETS REACT TO IT!
(^ like jump back all confused and scared like "wtf was THAT?!!1"
(^ and head shake hand to camera rushing up hand motion across neck " CUT! CUT!
(^ then everyone back in place from position one: clapboard snapping "take # 2"
start silent:
have ballet or dancer keep messing up him/her timing : keeps looking round for the music director for playback..
(^ OH! maybe some deaf subtitles ?
"is there a sound engineer in the house?" peering into the audiance primadonna ballerina who'd rather be backflipping and tangoing with someone
(^... ok. too showy
>I'm not sure if editing skills are as important as showing the animation, don't want to dedicate time to it if not as important as pushing puppets!
(^ depends. what you want a job doing?
Create a kung fu dance piece!
jriggity
My two cents:
I'd recommend going with the ballet concept. Stopmo is a field that's still dominated by men... The internet is filled with crumby clay fight sequences. In this context, Ballet will help you stand out. (It also gives you a chance to show off some subtlety.)
I'd also recommend going through the trouble of rig erasure. Rigs get in the way of seeing the actual animation. And while rig removal may not be part of your job when you get hired, you still want to present the most impressive, finished-looking clips possible.
In a few years, maybe you'll have clips from actual TV shows or feature films to put in your reel... But until then, your clips should look AS IF they were excerpted from a professional production.
Cool thanks - I ended up doing 2 8sec exercise pieces - a warmup and pushups as it's for a demo reel to go out Monday, but I think I'll pursue the ballet piece as well. This weekend I shoot my first lipsync!
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