Animations Your demo reel needs to get you hired

What animations need to be on your demo reel to get you hired?

After asking a bunch of animators on Facebook recently and talking with thousands of animators all last year...

Its clear...most of animators don't have any clue.

Making a good reel is just a complete mystery.

"Maybe I just need some walk/run cycles and something original."

And many animators imagine they need overly complicated shots that are "Pixar level perfect" to even stand a chance.

Or they believe their "not experienced enough" so they don't even try.

This sucks.

Its not helping you at all.

I mean how are you going to become a better animator if you don't even know what animations your trying to build your skills up for?

How are you supposed to make a reel that gets you hired?

You need a clearer picture of what shots you actually need.

You need a better strategy to make those shots appealing while also keeping it simple so they don't take years to create.

What you discover may very well get you hired this year.

*** Show Notes and Resources ***

⚡️Question – What did this clear up most for you about making a good demo reel?

👇LMK in the comments below.

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[ErkFX]

Thank you for the tips! I really appreciate it! Now to really decide what kind of studio I would like to work for someday! I’m only 1 year into animating, but I really enjoy doing action shots!

[Renu]

Thank you! This will be really helpful. It is great to hear experience won't matter if reel is solid enough.

[GhOsTWOLF]

Just want to say I'm super grateful to stumble upon your YT channel. Hi, I'm a recent Graduate (Class of 2018) and looking to redo my portfolio. I'm pretty much stuck in that cycle of coming up with new animations, while aslo starting some, but then falling short due to hickups in maya or issues with the rig. I love the Cinematic Animations that are in Movies, and Cut scenes in games, while also loving game animation. I started with a Tier 5 Animation for Demo Reel that involves a Singing piece but soon realized that Its alot to do. After watching your videos, i think I need to start from the begging and work my way back up since it's been a while since I've been animating like I was in school. I'm here to say that I will be starting the standing up animation and work my way through each tiers. I diverted my attention to my current job and fun tasks and have been lazy with working on my animations. Well today it stops. I want to say Thank you for re sparking my reasoning of why I wanted to do this in the first place. I wont be depressed anymore about not being in the Indusrty but more so focus on the present and work on myself, my skill set, and be ready when that time comes. Thank you again. If there is any way of showing you my previous work and comparing it to the work I will accomplish Present time, please let me know I would love feedback. - Also are you doing patreon ? or any kind of Mentoring ?

[الاستاذحميدخالد]

In the maya 3d program, I made solids and made them movement with other programs. The problem is that in the movement making programs, you need to prepare the models to qualify in order to be prepared to complete the movement.

[Just_Another_Youtube_User-ik]

Awesome vid Rusty, thank you so much.

[MacacoBugio]

This is very informative, mate! I've just finished my graduation in 3D, so im having quite a hard time deciding what to animate for the reel, but you just gave me a direction to go for! Thank you! But let me ask you something: As someone whos aiming for the game industry, do you think its a bad idea to make a reel showing in-game and cinematic animations?

[farshadmohiti]

Man! I like your video and helps me so much- Thank you

[davinci]

Could anybody tell me what the scene at 9:11 is from? I'd like to take closer look.

[Florent-yypd]

Hey ! Great video, I just got a question, is it a good idea to put video references alongside the animated shot in the reel ? Like can I show the animation once and then a second time but with video reference on the side ?

[qb]

Great video!! Incredibly helpful. I have a question: what about a demo reel for TV animation? Especially studios that mostly do preschool shows. Should it be similar to the feature animation demo reel?

[jamessmelser]

Thank you for this video! I think it's gonna be very helpful to me in the future.

I just have one question though:

I've recently graduated 7 months ago with my Bachelor’s in animation yet I've never completed an internship. How would I gain the experience needed to get hired at these jobs? Because I look through LinkedIn and Indeed for animation jobs and a lot of them ask for 2-3 years of professional experience, and since I have never done an internship, I lack said professional experience.

Would a demo reel be enough for that? How would I approach this?

[Violazemo]

I think is mainly luck: is your demo reel the last of the bunch or the first one the recruiter is watching today? They are making a game about spiderman so If you don't have a shot with acrobatics and the next demo has those shots then you don't get the job...99% luck...

[luckyeyesjim]

In my experience, there is a mentality in studios in the UK that they don't want to hire someone unless you have relevant production or project experience. Jellyfish Pictures make a point of telling you not to bother applying unless you have the required experience or you will be rejected! I find this attitude demoralizing to say the least. I am not sure how you are supposed to progress in your career if no-one wants to give you a clean break. Any thoughts? I notice you say professional experience does not matter, but I find myself being constantly stonewalled because I do not have recent experience and so I no longer bother applying for jobs at all. I also find age to be a barrier to re-entering the world of work. If you are over fifty it is very tough. You are much younger than that and so probably haven't experienced this problem in life yet.

[brkrvisions]

Where can we post the videos that we made