Critique my reel

[slackerinabox]

I have a meeting in a few days and they required a dvd reel. I haven't done this in months so let me know what you think. There are three shots in there I need to take out (the one with the guy (well, me) peaking from behind the tree in particular) so remember this is a DRAFT. I'm also shortening it a bit.

Thanks!

http://www.swbfilms.com/reel.mov

 

[akubi]

drugs are bad for you, mmmkay?

 

[Renob]

I live it very much, Great Job

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: Renob
I live it very much, Great Job

Thanks! is there anything you would like to see removed/shortened/ or more of? For example, I think the lesbian kissing goes on too long so I'm going to trim that. Be honest, I'm not looking to be an attention whore - just getting back to looking for gigs after doing a lot of pro-bono work and need to put my best foot forward.

Thanks!

 

[slackerinabox]

anyone else?

 

[suse920]

Wow, i'd shorten it a little bt. However i dont know what you could take out

 

[DiamondJ]

uhh, is it supposed to mean something or just be a bunch of random shots? There didn't seem to be anything tying them all together. It was anti-climatic/boring with no variation in the music and no speech/ no text.

maybe i just didnt get it

edit: well, there was a little variation in the music, but not much... also WTF is up with the guy taking a grinder to something and having blood shoot all over his face and he's licken it up?! :Q

 

[imported_Ed]

Originally posted by: DiamondJ
uhh, is it supposed to mean something or just be a bunch of random shots? There didn't seem to be anything tying them all together. It was anti-climatic/boring with no variation in the music and no speech/ no text.

maybe i just didnt get it

:thumbsup:

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: DiamondJ
uhh, is it supposed to mean something or just be a bunch of random shots? There didn't seem to be anything tying them all together. It was anti-climatic/boring with no variation in the music and no speech/ no text.

maybe i just didnt get it

It's a reel not a movie, in other words - it's like a portfolio - clips from stuff I shot over the years.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: suse920
Wow, i'd shorten it a little bt. However i dont know what you could take out

Okie dokie, tree shot is gone - I HATE THAT YOU CAN'T SEE THE HAND IN IT.. hah.. sorry, thanks for the advice.. but i really like the music so i didn't want to shorten it, though that's a silly reason

 

[EvilYoda]

I'll be quite honest, so don't be offended...but you really need some variety in there. Unless this is a specialized reel, it's too much of the same. I'd take out at least one of the shots wrapping around a point...keep the fast motion clips...I'd take out the girl blowing chunks as it's not very impressive and looks too staged. There was a shot of a female towards the end that I'd keep...I'd change up the transitions if you could, instead of all just fades...you could utilize time better if you creatively used wipes, slides, dissolves, whatever.

Other than that, I only watched it once. It's your reel so I don't need to give too much input...best of luck, regardless!

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
I'll be quite honest, so don't be offended...but you really need some variety in there. Unless this is a specialized reel, it's too much of the same. I'd take out at least one of the shots wrapping around a point...keep the fast motion clips...I'd take out the girl blowing chunks as it's not very impressive and looks too staged. There was a shot of a female towards the end that I'd keep...I'd change up the transitions if you could, instead of all just fades...you could utilize time better if you creatively used wipes, slides, dissolves, whatever.

Other than that, I only watched it once. It's your reel so I don't need to give too much input...best of luck, regardless!

i appreciate honesty very much. I'm going to spice it up with more static shots and maybe a wipe - haven't used one of those in years! The blowing chunks bit is an inside joke but I'll think about removing it

I'm cutting a good 30 seconds and I'll remove some of the spinny cameras.. I just really like spinny cameras

 

[Trygve]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

I'm cutting a good 30 seconds and I'll remove some of the spinny cameras.. I just really like spinny cameras

I'm way too tired to think straight at the moment, but I liked the "spinny cameras"; I didn't like the blowing chunks, and the whites looked blown out in the beginning of the chessboard sequence.

I personally would have preferred to see more natural color and less black-and-white, but part of that is a prejudice developed from years of selling films to distribution companies who universally *hate* *hate* *hate* anything shot in black-and-white. I'd really need to know how good the use of light, color, and composition is in a natural-color shot because I'm interested in making movies that will produce positive returns on their investments.

What else I'd say would depend on your target audience; if it's someone looking to hire a DP for a non-documentary feature, they're going to be looking at smoothness of camera movement, good lighting and exposure, creative and interesting framing, and (at least for me) the use of the camera as an active participant in creating the emotional content of a scene rather than a passive observer. Anything that demonstrates the power of the camera to create or enhance a feeling is a great thing to show, and that's what I would remember (in a positive way) about a reel.

On the other hand, if it's for someone looking to tape sports footage, that's a whole different perspective.

 

[slackerinabox]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to work on everything you mentioned, I have a chunk of new footage coming in soon that I'll add.

On a positive note, I have an interview based on the draft! W00t!