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TickyTicky 10 posts
Hi,
I was wondering what's the general rule in using music in ones demo reel? Do I have to get permission from the studio to use a 30sec - 1min clip of their song? And if not, am I still breaking copyright laws? I'm a litle confused on this and any knowledge pertaining to this would be of great help.
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hype 2,964 posts
touchy subject. every place feels differently about demo reel music.
i would certainly reccommend having the rights, though. i mean, maybe there's some slack considering your not using the music to profit from, unless you consider it selling yourself.
best to just use royalty free, or get the rights.
however, some places don't like music on demo reels. alot of places don't even turn the sound on when they review them. and what if you put rock music on, and the 3 people reviewing your demo HATE rock?
rarely have I heard demo music that I thought PERFECTLY fit the demo reel, and added to it. One of the best examples I've ever seen is Ravi's rigging demo reel, here on this site. And I don't know where his music came from.
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TickyTicky 10 posts
Thank you for the reply.
My last question would be is what program do you use to burn your demo reel on for DVD? I'm sure there's multiple programs I could use, but I'm not quite sure how to. I have a quick time of it but I have a feeling I have to make the actual demo reel in a DVD program?
The program I'm currently trying to use is Adobe Encore DVD, but I'm not sure if that actually makes DVDs. Any suggestions?
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hype 2,964 posts
that's pretty much ALL encore does, makes DVD's.
it's DVD creation software! and my personal favorite! you should be totally set with that.
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iest_rob 1,671 posts
One other thing I dont et about Demo is what sort of DVD to use?! We've got 3 types here in the UK, DVD +, DVD - and DVD +/- !! Most DVD's that are + encoded dont play DVD - and vice versa (well at least the ones me and my freinds have - I tried it on multiple DVD players before sending one off!!)
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hype 2,964 posts
yep, we have DVD+, DVD-, and DVD+/- too. i used to have the best luck in DVD players with DVD-, and used DVD+ for data storage, but lately everything been working fine for me in all DVD players.
i think the only thing i've changed is going from Encore v1.5 to v2.0
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Claymation 600 posts
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zachm 1,230 posts
my advice is just to burn it as an autoplay with something basic like Roxio. Unless you're a big company making a reel, not many people will even bother to look at the "etra stuff" Just make it so it plays when you put it in.
As far as music, doesn't really matter too much, as has been said already, most places just turn it off. Though refrain from any profanity or hard techno type stuff. Maybe something similar to a movie tune or something. Remember, you're selling yourself to geeks who are just as into this stuff as you are.
-Z
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mechis 520 posts
It seems like lots of places say that they just turn off the sound when watching demo reels.
That said, this is one of the coolest environment/effects reels I've seen and the guy built the reel according to the music, not the other way around (which is what usually happens.
http://www.psanitra.com/2006/?page_id=52
For compositing folks, he also put in a "making of" section on his web page.
~Mechis
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Claymation 600 posts
Visually and technically, that's a nice reel.
I would never send that to potential employers like that though, unless I was applying for a job making music videos. Because that's what it basicly is, a music video.
A lot of employers do turn the sound off, but a lot don't, either. I know here we usually all watch the demo's we get together as a group, with the sound on. I like this music, but it personally turns me off of this demo. My boss especially would hate it, he's a middle aged(40-50) year old korean man that likes classical music.
I think music with words is terrible for demo reels, and loud abrasive music is usually a bad idea also. For this piece since it's built around the music already, I would try to get just the music alone without any lyrics, and tone it way way down. You don't want music that distracts from the visuals.
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Goul 246 posts
I think music could be an intersting addition in a demo reel.. especially if you are a vfx-guy, or an animator..
A good knowledge of rythm is often a little add to a demoreel...
The demo you've posted in the last exemple is a really good exemple. He just fit all his footage on the music..
I'm not really fan of the soundtrack he use, but ... that's a freakin' awsome demo ! That's all matter.
Anyway, this one is quiete extreme, should scare some recruiters :p
Bad used, music can have the opposite effect tough , so you have to choice your soundtrack carefully
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MikeWilson 638 posts
Avoid bands, or anything with lyrics, vere away from rap/country,
I personally used a slowish/electric hiphop beat, and it went perfectly. Just make sure that whatever you choose will not offend or displease the listener. If your reel is damn amazing, it won't matter what you use.
Hahhaa and speaking of which, I was thinking EXACTLY of what Mechis posted. So if the employer doesn't like Linkin Park, it is the companies loss.
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JayG 1,164 posts
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hype 2,964 posts
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TickyTicky 10 posts
You guys have some really great advice here, thanks for sharing!
I was wondering, if you have a piece of animation that you want to put on your demo reel that is extremely short, like 2-3 seconds short, is it okey to loop it twice or should it only be played once on the demo reel?
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TickyTicky 10 posts
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Claymation 600 posts
