Showreel-
For our industry materials assignment, the last pieces of work that we are to submit are an edited showreel of our best animation work, and an optional portfolio to show off additional still image work.
The showreel was something I knew I would enjoy making, as I have a good amount of animation work to show from my time in the course and had also taken up video editing as a hobby recently using a free version of Adobe’s Premiere Pro called Premiere Rush.
Below is the final version of my showreel that I had edited together. I was taught to only include the best work I had as its best to have a few high-quality pieces of work, as opposed to many lower quality animations. Additionally, we were also advised to use copyright free music in our reels as backing tracks, the one I had used being included as well.
Final Showreel-
Copyright Free Music-
In addition, below is the first pass of my showreel for comparison.
First Showreel Edit-
I had edited this version together for an industry day with the university where industry professionals would come in to see our work, also taking the opportunity to get feedback from lecturers. I was given the positive critique that the content I shown was very high quality and was put into a good order to show my range of skill, However I was told that it was better to have all the clips play out entirely, instead of having them cut back and forth to at different points. Furthermore, I was also advised that I should have higher energy music in my showreel, along with the cuts between animation be synced to the music, which I did my best to accomplish in the final version. I also took on the advice to bookend my reel with my name and logo at the beginning and end of the edit, along with giving contact information for potential employers.
Lastly, my final addition to my showreel were the small textboxes in the bottom left of my screen to communicate which part of the animation I was responsible for, and what characters featured were of an existing property. I had noticed this through one of my main references for when I was editing, which was a professional animator that I had been following for a long time named Maelene Naftzger, A.K.A IceArtz, who has their showreel featured on their website (ABOUT | IceArtz (maelenenaftzger.wixsite.com)). Whilst watching through their reel to get inspiration on what to include in my edit, I noticed the small messages they had included that stated the parts of production they were responsible for, thus I decided to do the same for my portfolio to heighten the professional aspects of my reel.
Portfolio-
In addition, I also decided to put together a portfolio website to display my still-image work in order to apply for placement positions that have the requirement of including a portfolio. Whilst the main recommended site was ArtStation, I preferred to use a different website, in which I was recommended WordPress as it allows for making a site suited towards portfolios for free, albeit with some stripped back features such as custom backgrounds.
Below is a link to the portfolio website I had created, which features my logo, professional email, showreel and several still images from this year’s modules as I felt they were some of the highest quality pieces I had to show.
Tiernan O’Donnell- Art Portfolio [May 2024] (wordpress.com)
To conclude, I personally feel very confident in my showreel and portfolio when applying for placement and future jobs. My animation work is something that I have become very proud of, and many employers want to see a high level of enthusiasm and skill, which I personally believe that I have effectively displayed in my industry materials.