Creative Platforms

Showreels / Portfolios

This Session

What is a Showreel/Portfolio?

Why have one?

What to put in it

PLAN OF ACTION OVER NEXT WEEK

What is a Showreel/Portfolio?
This is used for the best representation of your
capabilities to a potential employer/client.
Can take many forms and be presented via - DVD/
Website/Printed/Packaging/
GOOD TO COVER AS MANY AS POSSIBLE

Why have a Showreel/Portfolio?

Demonstrates concrete proof of skills and learning
Provides an opportunity for creative self-expression
Essential tool for organising your work

Why have a Showreel/Portfolio?

As a marketing and self-promotional tool for job
seekers to use in interviews/pitch or for the selfemployed to present to a prospective client
As a tool for students to track and record their
learning experiences, to identify transferable skills,
and to use for job search while in at University and
after graduation

The importance of having a portfolio of work in the

creative industries

Do what you love & love what you do

Putting a portfolio/showreel of work together should not be a
chore. It shows your commitment to your intended industry
and informs the viewer that you love what you do.
It fuels you. It makes you who you are.
Care & attention to detail are vital.
Dedication to your craft.

The importance of having a portfolio of work in the creative

industries

- Building up a body of work should be part of your

exploration into your discipline
- Ideally work done outside of modules - the extra %
- Collaborate with other disciplines (work with Music/Sound
student, games, animation, web, film etc)
- Seek work experience / enter awards etc

Showreels - What to put in them?

Start and finish with strong pieces of work
Group work according to subject and content
Place the most relevant work to date
Ensure work is carefully presented - industry standard

Showreels - What to put in them?

Present a consistent feel to the presentation
Quality is more important than Quantity
No more than 10-20 pieces / 3-5 films
Should demonstrate your range of skills

Showreels - What to put in them?

Preliminary sketches can be included to demonstrate
the design, film etc processes as employers would
want you to talk through with them particular pieces.
Alternative ideas can be included to show versatility.

Showreels - What to put in them?

FILM / VIDEO / ANIMATION WORK
No more than 1-3mins length.

Check with company

or job advert
re Format

Show creative talent and range.

Need to edit this well to show diversity.
Remember to add film title/your role on each clip.

Showreels - What to put in them?

FILM / VIDEO / ANIMATION WORK

Best work.
Beginning of showreel is very important as you need
to capture attention within 30 secs before they press
the eject/stop/quit button.
Remember titles including your name/logo important
Soundtrack - copyright FREE - Vimeo Music Store
Film Titles/Your Role
Buy domain name GET YOUR WORK ON A WEBSITE
https://vimeo.com/musicstore

FILM
http://www.thecrewingcompany.com/our-top-tips-for-creating-your-showreel/

Keep it the right length & pace

Keep it clear
Keep it relevant
Keep it consistent
Keep it up- to-date
Over 150 examples of reels

http://www.thecrewingcompany.com/showreels-tv-film-video-production/

Showreels - What to put in them?

WEB / Multi-Media / Digital
Best work - quality over quantity
Must be online and live - good url (domain name)
Range of skills on show - web, animation, games, sound
Consistent design
Relevant work for industry - high standard - live projects
Buy domain name GET YOUR WORK ON A WEBSITE

Showreels/Portfolio - Interview
FILM / VIDEO / ANIMATION WORK / WEB / DIGITAL

Start and finish with strong pieces of work

Be prepared to talk about your influences and
inspirations.
Be prepared to explain how you went about creating a
piece of work.

DIGITAL DESIGN
http://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2016/04/04/industry-leaders-share-their-top-tips-digital-designers-get-ahead

DIGITAL MARKETING
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/10-new-must-skills-digital-marketers/132241/

1: Writingand Copywriting
2 : WordPress
3: Photo Editing
4: HTML
5: MailChimp
6: Google AdWords Advertising
7: Facebook Advertising
8: Social Media Marketing

Best way to demonstrate skills: Content

Website to pull together.
Show campaigns from start to finish with
audience numbers/stats etc

Also - self promotion savvy, good personality & good visual storytelling
abilities

Before you do anything

RESEARCH YOUR INDUSTRY
What skills are they looking for?
What format do they want to see you work in?
CAN YOU DELIVER THIS?
Quality over Quantity

DIGITAL

http://jackdaly.me/

DIGITAL - websites

http://manarabuisson.com/

http://www.petebradley.co.uk

DIGITAL

http://www.jamesleighfield.com/
more examples:
http://portsmouthstudentshowcase.tumblr.com/

http://www.lidiyafatiny.co/

DIGITAL INDUSTRY

http://builtbybuffalo.com/

http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/guestlectures
http://builtbybuffalo.com/

DIGITAL INDUSTRY

http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/guestlectures
http://builtbybuffalo.com/

DIGITAL INDUSTRY

http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/guestlectures
http://builtbybuffalo.com/

DIGITAL INDUSTRY

http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/guestlectures
http://builtbybuffalo.com/

DIGITAL INDUSTRY

FILM

http://www.lawrencefish.co.uk/

http://www.chrishowesfilms.co.uk/

http://carolinegachathi.co.uk/

http://www.anarfifilms.co.uk/

http://www.rachaelsutton.co.uk/

more examples:
http://portsmouthstudentshowcase.tumblr.com/
http://creativeplatformstvfp.tumblr.com/

http://www.charlietimsonfilms.com/

http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/guestlectures
Emma Pounds - Film Producer
-Started as an extras coordinator on Mr Bean at Southsea Funfair, then moved onto 1st Assistant Director on feature films
- Connections are so important
- Have to want to be in the industry badly
- Love what you do
- Decide which area in film you want to work in - try out
- There is funding available - start with a great script
-Submit work to Cannes Short Film Festival 100 entry feehttp://www.festival-cannes.fr/en.htmlandhttp://www.cannescourtmetrage.com/en/
-Have to be determined, focused, get involved, be persistent, pro-active and indispensable
-Ignore knock backs
- Runner - contact all studios and find list of productions - info on films etc from studios
- Contact Production Managers - these are the people who employ crew on films
- Join IMDB Pro - gives you access to more details on films in production and schedules. 2 weeks free trial https://secure.imdb.com/signup/
index.html
-Contact people - phone first and pester (need face time)
-Do anything to be around the industry
-Could start on commercials?
-Only as good as your last job
-Have to be good at organising, bossy and get on with people
-Faster route to progress in the TV industry
-Ideas Factory funded her new feature film which has full cinema release -http://theideasfactoryentrepreneurs.com/
-Diary Services http://www.suzcruz.co.uk/site/default.asphttp://www.saraputt.co.uk/contact/
-The Knowledge -http://www.theknowledgeonline.com/
- Kays - production companies and film studios -http://www.kays.co.uk/
-Look at films/tv in production athttp://www.pcrnewsletter.com/pcr/

http://alanparker.com/

http://www.michaelchance.com/

http://londonfilmproducer.com/

http://miikkaleskinen.com/

Show Vimeo channel

https://vimeo.com/channels/666660

Domain Name
Important to buy your name - .com / .co.uk
Looks professional - on business cards / CVS
Your email address should then
be:info@yourname.com - make sure to check that they
offer the email as some domain registrations do not!
look on namedomain.co.uk etc - you can forward
your domain name to tumblr or another portfolio site

Website
Ideally all of you should have a website - whatever
discipline in the creative industries
landing page / embed content from other sources
- vimeo, you tube
You could create another page in tumblr or . .

Website
be very wary of free sites like WIX, Weebly and
Google Sites - bad interface, advertising and NOT
professional enough.
Try and sift through to find the most minimal
interface design.

DIGITAL

http://99u.com/articles/7127/6-steps-to-creating-a-knockout-online-portfolio

Keep the website design simple, and let the work take centerstage.
When designing a portfolio, you want a website that is straightforward. You want your content to be the
focal point, rather than a distracting design.
Your website is a vehicle for people to find your work, says Matias. You dont want the site to be
overly flashy or unconventional that will make the content more difficult to access. Its not that I prefer
minimalistic designs its a question of creating the visual environment you need to showcase your
work most effectively. Simplicity in the interface and visual design of your website will push your
work to the surface, where it should be.
This means simple navigation and the fewest amount of website sections necessary. Have a gallery of
work and a contact page? Thats a great portfolio website.
When it comes to customization, Matias advises you to keep it simple pick one font, and keep
things consistent. One font and sticking to it will make your life easier. Pick a color for each link state
thats the same across the site.

go to blog
for free codes

http://themecloud.co/

http://www.slideshare.net/equatoragency/the-creative-cv-guide

Costs:
Domain name - from free
up to 10
Email - from free to 1 a month - set up email forwarding
http://www.dot.tk/en/index.html?lang=en

https://www.123-reg.co.uk/support/answers/Video/Email-Archive/Email-Basics/how-do-i-set-up-email-forwarding-328/

Portfolio Builder - from free to 5 a month

https://www.123-reg.co.uk/

Online Portfolio Links

http://imcreator.com/
http://www.behance.net/
http://carbonmade.com/
http://www.creativehotlist.com/
http://www.portfoliobox.net/
http://www.agoodportfolio.com/
http://dribbble.com/
http://www.dripbook.com/

http://www.viewbook.com/
http://www.coroflot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/
http://shownd.com/
http://subfolio.com/
http://dropr.com/
http://www.indexhibit.org/
http://www.tumblr.com/
http://format.com/

http://www.krop.com/online-portfolio-templates/

REMEMBER
use social media in your campaign to gain employment especially
in digital industries.
hit as many platforms as possible - make sure they are
all linked and work together. Film - Vimeo, You Tube, Website
have a consistent look
check out image sizes as they are all different square - Vimeo/Twitter
rectangle and square - You Tube etc
https://makeawebsitehub.com/social-media-image-sizes-cheat-sheet/

Design your logo to work in a square or circle.

Do not use initials in your logo.

Throughout the year I will be giving you feedback

via your blogs.
Please make sure that your blog enables
comments for EACH POST

REMEMBER TO DOCUMENT
your processes
See blog for examples

DIGITAL DESIGN - BLOG PROCESS

https://jamesverlander.wordpress.com/creative-process-of-website/

Loads more on
http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/resources

FILM - BLOG PROCESS

http://creativeplatformsmatiss.tumblr.com/

Loads more on http://creative-platforms.tumblr.com/resources

Mobile

build contacts
up to 60 secs film/animation

https://instagram.com/brettnovak/
https://instagram.com/mattdunk/
https://instagram.com/ilovedust
https://instagram.com/mrperou

http://kotaku.com/the-video-game-people-you-should-be-following-on-twitt-1532776063

http://www.indiewire.com/article/9-cinematographers-you-should-follow-on-instagram-20140912

same with any discipline

https://medium.com/@hiutdenim/10-newsletters-and-vlog-s-that-all-creatives-should-subscribe-to-389cab5edb04

Work to do

Work on CVs - print off and hand-in to me or send via email.

Logo - this will then feed into CV, Website/Showreel, Cards.

Should by now have joined the unit blog and started your own
blog - email me url.

Start to collate your best work to show on your blog

Make contacts in your industry

possibly get social media accounts and Vimeo + You Tube

Buy domain name and set up email

Great progress so far from some of the

work I have seen.
Next Lecture - Branding - what, how,
examples plus Logos and Business
Cards