Now I've got some footage of my environment being 'played' I just wanted to look again at existing show reels to know what I need to include in mine. This time I'm looking more specifially at showreels by asset and environment modellers.
Unreal Engine 3 UDK Environment Showreel from i3DTutorials on Vimeo.
Scott Homer - 3D Environment Art showreel 2011 from Scott Homer on Vimeo.
These are two examples I thought stood out in particular, and both are aimed at showing models/environments created for video games. So the things I took from these and a few others, that I believed I could include in my own showreel are:
- A title card with your name and what the showreel demonstrates e.g. 3D Environment Design, should also include an email address and website URL if you have one.
- Say which software is used in the making of these models, some people use the icons of software to indicate this.
- Same as I found with other modelling showreels, use lots of panning and zooming to make the video dynamic otherwise it's boring. It brings non-animation models to life.
- Duration, most of the better showreels I watched have ranged anywhere between 1.30 to over 6 minutes. Now I think 6 minutes is far too long (potential employers are not going to watch all of that), so I aim to keep my showreel anywhere under 3 minutes.
- Show wireframes and different passes as well as the textured versions of models. I think the best way for me to do this is with turnarounds.
- Have it end with your title card again to remind who's watching of your name and email, so they remember this is your work and can put a name to the skills you've demonstrated.
