Creating a Show Reel (Part 2)

So, this post contains my Show Reel's, I took footage from my own videos and college projects in order to create these. I used two editing software's to create my video, I used Kinemaster Premium for the majority of the editing process, and I used Splice for the transitions. Splice has more advanced transitions. The main video I used for inspiration was the cut media show reel from 2019, you can see my analysis on my previous post. I filmed both of these show reels using my Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, and my Galaxy S8.

Firstly I gathered footage from my phone, as well as my YouTube channel. I downloaded some of my videos that are no longer on my phone on X2 Download, this allowed me to regain access to my old work. Once I had all my footage I ran them through the editing process.

Firstly I put all the clips into Kinemaster, and added the necessary text to them. I then saved them as individual files, and put them into another project. After this, I put them all together and made them flow together like a montage. Once I was done with the segment I would export the video and begin putting them into Splice.

I then put the shots in order, and added the transitions. Once I added all the transitions, and effects I needed I exported the video and brought it back to Kinemaster. I used transitions such as glitch waves, colour fade and ripple. Transitions like this look really professional, and they display a good understanding of technical skill. I want to show the consumer the best of my technical skill.

I then opened the video in a new project, and added my logo as a watermark in the corner. I lowered the opacity, to make it look professional. I made the watermark cover the whole video. I then exported the video to my phone.

I then added the music, which is a remake of the Rae Sremmurd song power glide. I added the music to my show reel, and made it fade out towards the end. This makes the show reel feel a lot smoother. By doing this I am not disrupting the flow of the video, and ending abruptly.

Once my video was exported to my phone, I uploaded the video to YouTube as an unlisted video, This allows people to watch the video from my Blog, and Create Britain. The editing process was really important, and I really enjoyed experimenting with different effects.

My Show Reel Draft 1

In this draft I wanted to focus on my content, and showcasing it in a quick and snappy manor. The music I used was the instrumental for Rae Sremmurd, Swae Lee, Slim Jxmmi and Juicy J's song Powerglide. I really think it's fast paced, hip hop style fits nicely with a show reel. It sounds like your on a mission, which represents me well. The transitions were a key thing for me as well, I really want to show the consumer my editing skills. I am quite a diverse creator, so I wanted to show all the different types of content I have made. This shows the consumer that I am capable of doing lot's of different content, which makes more employable. I also included my logo as a watermark, I decreased the opacity to reduce the chances of it clashing with my video. Channels such as The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 also do this.

My Feedback

I created a Google survey in order to receive feedback on my show reel. Everyone said that my show reel looked like it was for a media company, this is really reassuring because this was one of my biggest concerns. It's great to hear that I spent my time effectively. You need to make sure your show reel actually reflects your brand.

I then asked what they liked about my show reel, and whether they would change anything. The main responses I received where people complementing my editing, transitions and song selection. This really means a lot, because I put time and energy into my content. However, I did receive one request for improvement, and that was to add more special effects. I did what any good creator would do, and took this advice on board and made some improvements.  

So, I went back on Splice and added 5 different special effect scenes to my video. This actually made my show reel look more professional, so I am grateful for this piece of feedback. The main two I used where chroma, plasma and vintage. Plasma created this old glitchy plasma TV effect, that looked great at the start of my show reel. Vintage created that old curved TV screen effect, this looked great in certain scenes. Finally Chroma created sparks and flashes, this went perfectly with the Beyblades battling and my outro sequence.

As a whole, these changes brought my show reel to the next level, and they have added more flair to my video. One of my personal gripes with my first draft is that it looked plain at times, so these effects are the solution to that problem.

My Show Reel Draft 2

Feedback - Neil Wilson : I like your editing because it's really snappy, but I would extend the business card length at the end. But over all it's a good show reel.

My Show Reel Final Draft

So, I took this feedback on board and extended my end screen, this gives the consumer more time to read it. I didn't extend it to much because that would kill the flow, but I extended it by an extra five seconds. If this still is not enough time, the user could pause the video. I also blurred out my phone number, I did this so no trolls gain access to my real phone number. It's for privacy reasons. I used Kinemaster's Gaussian Blur effect. I also added another Glitch Wave transition, to make it look smoother. As well as this I changed the first effect because it was making the whole video blurry. I instead used the glitch effect.

I also used Picsart to create this thumbnail for my show reel. It's simple but it does the job. I didn't want to overcomplicate things. I used a green arrow to grab the viewers attention, and the bubble writing stands out nicely.

MY FOCUS GROUP

This is the focus group I assembled in order to obtain feedback on my show reel. However, in the video you will see that there was no improvements given to me. This showed me that my show reel was finally finished. I am grateful for the compliments I received, whether it be about my transitions or edits. I am thankful for the people who participated in this focus group, because they gave me their time. I hope this video helped display the feedback I received.

Evaluation of My Show Reel

I am really satisfied with my final product, and I believe it's way better than the advert I did for A1 last year. It features several clips from my YouTube videos, and college projects from last year. I have also included work from this unit such as my logo and business card.

I have cleared up any minor problems with the first draft, such as it looking a bit plain and made my show reel more professional. My feedback has definitely helped too and the suggestion of adding special effects has helped my project massively. For example I have added various different special effects, I did this to make my video look more advanced. All in all, I do think it was well worth receiving feedback and acting on it, because I am now way happier with my final product. I received a lot of compliments about my work, and that is truly appreciated. 

I could definitely use this show reel in a real life setting, as a way to introduce people to me and what I do. I believe this show reel highlights my strengths within the media industry.