My latest Show Reel at DVinfo.net

Daniel J. Mears · December 21st, 2010, 04:56 PM

My latest show reel highlighting some of the projects I have shot over the last year. Including corporates, promos, commercials and short films. Shot on Z1, Canon 550D and various other Sony cameras. Feedback welcome!

Enjoy!
Dan

Daniel J. Mears · December 30th, 2010, 07:12 AM

If you have had opportunity to watch my show reel it would be great to get some feedback, good or bad!

Thanks in advance for your input!

Russ Ivey · January 4th, 2011, 02:30 PM

Daniel, I really like the picture quality you had in this footage. You are certainly doing the right thing!

Daniel J. Mears · January 6th, 2011, 07:35 AM

Thank you for your kind words Russ!

Chuck Spaulding · January 10th, 2011, 12:27 PM

I'm certainly no expert on demo reels and they are so personal that there's not much good that comes from critiquing them, at least for the viewer. Which is probably why you don't get a lot of feedback on 300 views.

I think the music was kind of an odd choice, not fast enough to really move the pacing along and too fast to create a more thoughtful look. It appears that you grouped shopping, school and music scenes etc., together, you have a good diversity of shots but there were shots of the school that weren't that good plus I'm not sure you needed the shots of the Collectible store at all, they just didn't compare to the other shopping shots, especially the Jordon shots immediately following it.

One thing that I noticed is that color grading is all over the place, I realize these are samples from different projects but you might consider color timing and/or re-arranging the shots so that there isn't such a dramatic difference between scenes. I think that would help it flow better.

I realize this is all personal preference, it mostly matters who your giving this to. Also, I only critiqued this because you asked people to give you some feedback. I watched it when you first posted it and I didn't think it was bad but at the same time it didn't inspire me to provide any feedback then. That might tell you more about it than what I said previously.

Your obviously a talented person and there some good stuff in your reel but I'm not convinced the reel does your work justice. That's not a bad problem to have, there are a lot of reels out there that are good demo reels but show marginal work.

I hope this helps.

Daniel J. Mears · January 16th, 2011, 04:10 PM

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for taking the time to feedback, it is much appreciated.

I will definitely take on board your points when I next update my reel!

Also, thank you for your kind words too, you can also see some more detailed show reel pieces on my website that give a better idea of individual projects etc.

Cheers,

Dan

Xavier Pilsudski · January 25th, 2011, 10:25 PM

Hi Daniel

First of all let me tell you where the feedbacks come from so it'll help you decide how relevant the comments are: I work as a professional editor for a major network cutting promos, trailers and sizzle reels. So short formats, along the line of your reel.
You did a very good job! You are obviously a talented DP. Your composition and your shots look very nice.
One the other hand, I can tell you are an one-man-bad: you are not a professionel editor, so your reel isn't as good as you could make it. And again, this has NOTHING to do with the quality of your work.
If I may offer suggestions, the main one would be to keep your reel way shorter.
I saw a lot of repeats, especially with the interviewees. As an exemple I would point out the shot of the girl with a pinkish polo shirt. Her CU doesn't add anything to your reel.
I would also keep the talking heads in a same section, so we understand that you do interviews. I would also try as much as possible to stay away from people talking on camera, since there is no audio.
I would keep together those nice wide shots of the various locations. You do have really nice ones.
And finally I would work on the music. I actually have two tracks. I would start with a punchy track to set up who's Daniel and what he does. And then I would find something that isn't too too specific so you can appeal to a wide range of customers: from stores, to churches, to businesses, to local rock bands, etc...
Then I would have more specific reels I would submit to clients showing interest depending on their professional field.
I hope this helps.
And again, nice job!

Xavier

December 21st, 2010, 04:56 PM	#1
Daniel J. Mears New Boot Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 18	My latest Show Reel My latest show reel highlighting some of the projects I have shot over the last year. Including corporates, promos, commercials and short films. Shot on Z1, Canon 550D and various other Sony cameras. Feedback welcome! Daniel J Mears 2011 Show Reel on Vimeo Enjoy! Dan __________________ Freelance Director of Photography www.danmears.tv

December 30th, 2010, 07:12 AM	#2
Daniel J. Mears New Boot Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 18	Feedback If you have had opportunity to watch my show reel it would be great to get some feedback, good or bad! Thanks in advance for your input! __________________ Freelance Director of Photography www.danmears.tv

January 6th, 2011, 07:35 AM	#4
Daniel J. Mears New Boot Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 18	Thank you Thank you for your kind words Russ! __________________ Freelance Director of Photography www.danmears.tv

January 16th, 2011, 04:10 PM	#6
Daniel J. Mears New Boot Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 18	Thank you Hi Chuck, Thanks for taking the time to feedback, it is much appreciated. I will definitely take on board your points when I next update my reel! Also, thank you for your kind words too, you can also see some more detailed show reel pieces on my website that give a better idea of individual projects etc. Cheers, Dan __________________ Freelance Director of Photography www.danmears.tv

January 25th, 2011, 10:25 PM	#7
Xavier Pilsudski New Boot Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: United States Posts: 9	feedback Hi Daniel First of all let me tell you where the feedbacks come from so it'll help you decide how relevant the comments are: I work as a professional editor for a major network cutting promos, trailers and sizzle reels. So short formats, along the line of your reel. You did a very good job! You are obviously a talented DP. Your composition and your shots look very nice. One the other hand, I can tell you are an one-man-bad: you are not a professionel editor, so your reel isn't as good as you could make it. And again, this has NOTHING to do with the quality of your work. If I may offer suggestions, the main one would be to keep your reel way shorter. I saw a lot of repeats, especially with the interviewees. As an exemple I would point out the shot of the girl with a pinkish polo shirt. Her CU doesn't add anything to your reel. I would also keep the talking heads in a same section, so we understand that you do interviews. I would also try as much as possible to stay away from people talking on camera, since there is no audio. I would keep together those nice wide shots of the various locations. You do have really nice ones. And finally I would work on the music. I actually have two tracks. I would start with a punchy track to set up who's Daniel and what he does. And then I would find something that isn't too too specific so you can appeal to a wide range of customers: from stores, to churches, to businesses, to local rock bands, etc... Then I would have more specific reels I would submit to clients showing interest depending on their professional field. I hope this helps. And again, nice job! Xavier Last edited by Xavier Pilsudski; January 25th, 2011 at 10:26 PM. Reason: forgot notification

January 4th, 2011, 02:30 PM	#3
Russ Ivey Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Woodstock, GA Posts: 89	Daniel, I really like the picture quality you had in this footage. You are certainly doing the right thing!

January 10th, 2011, 12:27 PM	#5
Chuck Spaulding Trustee Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Thousand Oaks Posts: 1,104	I'm certainly no expert on demo reels and they are so personal that there's not much good that comes from critiquing them, at least for the viewer. Which is probably why you don't get a lot of feedback on 300 views. I think the music was kind of an odd choice, not fast enough to really move the pacing along and too fast to create a more thoughtful look. It appears that you grouped shopping, school and music scenes etc., together, you have a good diversity of shots but there were shots of the school that weren't that good plus I'm not sure you needed the shots of the Collectible store at all, they just didn't compare to the other shopping shots, especially the Jordon shots immediately following it. One thing that I noticed is that color grading is all over the place, I realize these are samples from different projects but you might consider color timing and/or re-arranging the shots so that there isn't such a dramatic difference between scenes. I think that would help it flow better. I realize this is all personal preference, it mostly matters who your giving this to. Also, I only critiqued this because you asked people to give you some feedback. I watched it when you first posted it and I didn't think it was bad but at the same time it didn't inspire me to provide any feedback then. That might tell you more about it than what I said previously. Your obviously a talented person and there some good stuff in your reel but I'm not convinced the reel does your work justice. That's not a bad problem to have, there are a lot of reels out there that are good demo reels but show marginal work. I hope this helps.