The top 5 things NOT to do:
1) No filler. I see this advice everywhere, but no one seems to follow it. If you have only 30 seconds of what you would call your best work that’s all you should send. I’ve seen countless reels that started off awesome and then went on a downward spiral into my trash. You are being ranked on not only your work, but also your judgement. Leave the crap out no matter how attached you are to it.
2) If you don’t have access to professional dvd authoring equipment include a vhs copy of your demo reel along with your dvd, or better yet, only send a vhs copy (unless otherwise asked). When going through 300 reels and reel #139 on dvd shits the bed, chances are your contact info won’t be recorded before it gets tossed - therefore no call to ask for a vhs copy.
3) No CD-Roms, links to websites, or online demo reels.. Most companies have open internal networks with strict IT policies. If machine x is rendering a movie with an $80 million fx budget nobody wants machine y hooked up to the same network to be popping in cd-roms that came in the mail. Websites won’t work either.. The systems group cares about artists and production first and second; the chances a recruiter has updated versions of quicktime, flash, shockwave, or divx is pretty much non-existent.
4) Don’t bullshit on your resume or gear it towards the industry if you have no experience.. You can smell the green on it. If you’re 22 right out of school and play with Maya with your friends you don’t own your own VFX company. Take that off of your resume or else it will quickly become an interoffice joke to the owner of the real company you are trying to work for.
5) Don’t overproduce your package. Heh heh, I said package.. Seriously, I’ve seen tapes wrapped in a crumpled up half-page resume that went a hell of alot farther than any nightmare from kinkos. If you’re a student or just starting out you don’t need to make yourself a business card. Get a job and the company will make those for you. Your business card is the material on your reel. Give them only what they need: a resume, a shot breakdown (including what YOU did on the shot or if it is all YOU), and a reel with only your best work. Make sure that if you say, “I’ve always dreamed of working at company x” you actually sent your package to company x and not it’s rival, company y - that’s a biggie..
