A pro demo reel is an animator’s gateway to a successful career. A poor one shuts the door on dream jobs. But what makes the difference between quality and sloppiness?
In a pair of insightful video tutorials, Jean-Denis Haas, a veteran animator and animation supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic, gives a whole array of tips on crafting the perfect reel. The first episode broadly covers what sorts of shots to include in a reel, while the second focuses on overall presentation. They run to around half an hour in total, making extensive use of actual reels (which are all referenced in the video descriptions).
Some of Haas’s advice may seem obvious: spell-check all text, avoid politically charged content, don’t include shots you’re not allowed to show. Presumably, though, even these mistakes are still common.